The wise sages, addressing Parvati, spoke with gentle firmness: “All that is not found among the gods belongs to your father alone. Therefore, striving for such a union is a great hardship, and even then, your efforts may be fruitless. O blessed one, even when one seeks it with all earnestness, this union is rare and extremely difficult to obtain. Only the creator himself arranges and accomplishes such a joining for you.” Hearing these words, Parvati, the mountain-born goddess, was filled with anger toward the eminent sages. Her eyes reddened with wrath, her teeth tightly clenched, she replied with intensity: “What joy can there be in false attachments? Where is restraint found amid misfortune? Who has set those who misunderstand the true meaning upon the path of righteousness? You see me as foolish, as one fond of unworthy and false attachments. I have no concern for myself, since I am devoted to what you call false attachments. “All of you are like Prajapatis, all-seeing, yet surely you do not know that eternal god, the lord of the world—unborn, lord of all, unmanifest, whose greatness and origin cannot be measured. Let that wondrous realization of the true nature of dharma remain, for even the foremost of gods, beginning with Hari and Brahma, do not know it. Do you not know what has arisen in the worlds from his own power and is manifest among all beings? “Whose is this vast sky? Whose is fire? Whose is wind? Whose is earth? Whose is Varuna? Who has the moon and sun as eyes? Whose emblem do gods and asuras worship with devotion in all the worlds, whom the gods—beginning with Brahma and Indra—and the great sages call Lord? Do you not even know their power and origin? Of whom is Aditi the mother? From whom was Janardana born? “From Aditi and Kashyapa were born the gods, beginning with Narayana. Kashyapa is the son of Marichi, and Aditi is the daughter of Daksha. Marichi and Daksha are said to be sons of Brahma. Brahma, from the golden egg, possessed divine powers and perfections. From whose meditation did the primordial elements arise, agitated? In the third stage of nature, the act of generating the slayer of Madhu occurred. “He was born and created the six classes, each according to their own actions and with intelligence. The Unborn became the creator, born from the unmanifest Brahma. By his own yoga, having stirred up nature, he made this world; Brahma attained all perfections, lordship, and the role of creator of the worlds. “What Vishnu and others always know by their own greatness is this: having assumed another body and another vision, Hari again takes form. He performs the deeds of the world—superior, inferior, and middling; thus indeed is the cycle of existence, whose nature is birth and death. And this is the fruit of action, arising in various forms. Then the god Narayana resorted to his own shadow. Impelled by that, he produces birth of various kinds; and that impulse, it is said, is due to action, for those whose selves are powerless. “Just as the mind of one possessed by madness and the like becomes such, so too does it regard as desirable or real even what is contrary. In the affairs of the world, in all created things, Vishnu alone is known to endure both the attainment of the fruits of righteousness and unrighteousness. Moreover, this has beginninglessness, due to its universal nature; for nowhere has its life in a body been seen to be long. This is the law for embodied beings: for some, birth or death is seen by you; for others, it is not. Sometimes one perishes in the womb, sometimes lives afflicted by old age and disease; sometimes lives a hundred years, sometimes dies in childhood. “A man who lives a hundred years is called endless; one with a short life is not said to die at the outset, therefore he is called immortal. Those like Vishnu are considered to have unseen birth and death; who in this world attains such pure sovereignty in samsara? There, due to conjunctions of decay and other causes, various wonders appear; therefore, all celestial beings are impure and possess little glory. “O blessed ones, I desire nothing except Shiva, the wielder of the Pinaka bow; established by gradation, this is the supreme among living beings. The measure of intellect, strength, sovereignty, and action of the great is truly great; since nothing else exists, all proceeds from that. I have taken refuge in him whose sovereignty has neither beginning nor end; this is my resolve, long and exceedingly firm. Go or stay as you wish, O sages.” Hearing these words of the goddess, the eminent sages were deeply moved. With eyes filled with tears of joy, they embraced the ascetic maiden, supremely delighted, and spoke sweet words to the daughter of the mountain: “O daughter, how wondrous you are! Pure as the embodiment of knowledge, you delight our hearts, resting in the essence of existence. Indeed, we know the marvelous sovereignty of that god; we have come here to ascertain the firmness of your resolve. “Soon, O slender-limbed one, your desire will be fulfilled. Just as the sun’s radiance cannot be separated from gems, so too brilliance cannot differ. What is the use of indistinct words? How can we go without Girisha? We have no other means; we must entreat him. That purpose dwells deeply in our hearts as well; therefore, you alone are wisdom, and you alone are the right path. Without doubt, Shankara himself will accomplish this.” Having spoken thus, the sages, honored by the mountain maiden, took their leave and departed.