इतः परं हि किं भूयः श्रोतुमिच्छसि सुव्रते
What more would you wish to hear, O virtuous lady?
शुचिस्मितोवाच- कश्यपं जमदग्निं च देवानां च पुरा कथम् । ररक्ष भस्म तद्ब्रह्मन्समाचक्ष्व मुने मम
Śucismita said: How did the ash once protect Kaśyapa, Jamadagni, and the gods? Tell me, O sage, about this, O Brahman.
दधीच उवाच- कश्यपादियुता देवाः पूर्वमभ्यागमन्गिरिम् । शोकरं नाम विख्यातं गिरिमध्ये सुशोभनम्
Dadhīca said: The gods, accompanied by Kaśyapa and others, once approached a mountain, renowned as Shokara, beautiful in its midst.
नानाविहंगसंकीर्णं नानामुनिगणाश्रयम् । वासुदेवाश्रयं रम्यमप्सरोगणसेवितम्
It was filled with various birds, inhabited by many groups of sages, delightful as the abode of Vāsudeva, and served by hosts of apsarases.
विचित्रवृक्षसंवीतं सर्वर्तुकुसुमोज्ज्वलम् । तथाविधं प्रविश्यैते गिरिं वयमथापरे
It was surrounded by wondrous trees, radiant with flowers of all seasons; entering such a mountain, we and others proceeded.
स्तुवंतः केशवं तत्र गताः स्म गिरिशेश्वरम् । दृष्ट्वा तत्र महाज्वालां प्रविष्टाश्च वयं च ताम्
There, praising Keśava, we reached the lord of the mountain; seeing a great flame there, we entered it.
मामेकं तु तिरस्कृत्य ह्यदहद्देवता मुनीन् । मां ददाह ततः पश्चाद्भस्मीभूता वयं शुभे
Having disregarded me alone, the goddess consumed the sages and gods; then, O auspicious one, she burned me as well, and we became ashes.
अस्मानेतादृशान्दृष्ट्वा वीरभद्रः प्रतापवान् । केनापिकारणेनासौ गतवान्पर्वतं च तम्
Seeing us in such a state, the mighty Vīrabhadra, for some reason, departed for that mountain.
भस्मोद्धूलितसर्वांगो मस्तकस्थशिवः शुचिः । एकाकी निःस्पृहः शान्तो हाहाशब्दमथाशृणोत्
His whole body covered in ash, pure Shiva upon his head, alone, free from desire, peaceful, he then heard cries of lamentation.
अथ चिंतापरश्चासीन्म्रियमाण शवध्वनिः । शवानामिवगंधश्च दृश्यते तन्निरीक्षणे
Then, absorbed in thought, he heard the sound of dying bodies; and as he looked, there appeared a smell like that of corpses.
इति निश्चित्य मनसा जगामाग्निमतिप्रभम् । स वह्निर्वीरभद्रं च दग्धुमारब्धवानथ
Having thus resolved in his mind, he went toward the blazing fire; that fire then began to burn Vīrabhadra.
तृणाग्निरिव शांतोऽभूदासाद्य सलिलं यथा । ततोऽपरां महाज्वालां वीरभद्रस्तु दृष्टवान्
Like fire subdued by grass or water, he became calm; then Vīrabhadra saw another great flame.
खं गच्छंतीं महाकालो ज्वालां निपतितामपि । मनसा चिंतयच्चापि वीरभद्रः प्रतापवान्
He saw a great flame, falling even as it moved through the sky; the mighty Vīrabhadra considered this in his mind.
सर्वेषां नाशिनी ज्वाला प्राणिनां शतकोटिशः । तत्सर्वं रक्षणार्थं हि पिपासुश्चाप्यहं त्विमाम्
This flame destroys all beings by the hundreds of millions; to protect them all, I am eager to consume this flame.
प्राश्नामि महतीं ज्वालां सलिलं तृषितो यथा । एतस्मिन्नंतरे वीरं वागाह चाशरीरिणी
I will drink this great flame, as a thirsty man drinks water; at that moment, a bodiless voice addressed the hero.
भारत्युवाच- वीर मा साहसं कार्षीः क्व तृषा क्वाशुशुक्षणिः । तृषितानां जलेनार्थो विपरीतो वनाग्निना
Bhāratī said: Hero, do not act rashly! Where is thirst, and where is burning dryness? For the thirsty, water is needed, not forest fire.
निकामं योजनशिराः प्रणष्टो राक्षसेश्वरः । शतयोजनवक्त्रश्च शतबाहुस्तथापरः
Nikāma, lord of the Rākṣasas, with a head a yojana wide, is destroyed; another, with a mouth a hundred yojanas wide and a hundred arms, as well.
अगस्त्यश्च महाभागो निःशेषं पीतसागरः । एतानन्यानसंख्याताञ्ज्वालेयं तानमारयत्
The illustrious Agastya drank up the ocean completely; this flame has killed these and countless others.
वीरभद्र उवाच- भीषिकेयं महाज्वाला त्वदुक्ता न हि जायते । सरस्वति भवत्यां च ममरोषश्च जायते
Vīrabhadra said: This terrible great flame you speak of does not arise, O Sarasvatī, except from you and from my own anger.
सर्वदेवार्चितपदं वीरभद्रमवेहि माम् । भारत्युवाच- मयोक्तं हितभावेन न द्वेषान्नान्यतो मुने
Know me, Vīrabhadra, as one whose position is worshipped by all the gods. Bhāratī said: What I have spoken is for your benefit, not from hatred nor from any other motive, O sage.
कोपमुत्सृज वीर त्वमात्मनोहितमाचर । इत्युक्त्वांतर्दधे देवी भारती वीरभीतितः
Abandon anger, O hero, and act for your own welfare; having said this, the goddess Bhāratī vanished out of fear of Vīrabhadra.
अथ वीरो महाज्वालामपासील्लीलयैव तु । क्षणेन महती ज्वाला शतयोजनविस्तृता
Then the hero dispelled the great flame effortlessly; in a moment, the great flame, a hundred yojanas wide, was gone.
एकेन वीरभद्रेण पीता परमदुःसहा । अथ चेंद्रमुखानां च मुनीनां भस्मराशयः
By Vīrabhadra alone, that exceedingly unbearable flame was consumed; then, heaps of ashes of the gods and sages appeared.
दृष्टा वै वीरभद्रेण आहूताश्च महात्मना । न चाब्रुवन्प्रतिवचो मृता मुनिदिवौकसः
Vīrabhadra, the great-souled one, saw them and summoned them; but the dead sages and gods did not reply.
वीरभद्रस्तु विज्ञाय नाशं मुनिदिवौकसाम् । दध्यावमून्कथं सर्वाञ्जीवयाम्यद्य कोविदः
Virabhadra, perceiving the destruction of the sages and gods, pondered, 'How shall I revive them all today? Who is skilled in this?'
ध्यानेन दृष्टवांश्चापि जीवितं भस्मदेहिनाम् । अथाचम्य मृतानां तु भस्मान्यथ च भस्मना
By meditation he saw the life of those whose bodies were reduced to ashes; then, after performing purification, he took the ashes of the dead and with those ashes—
मृत्युंजयेन मंत्रेण मंत्रितेन ह्यमंत्रयत् । अथोत्थिता मुनिवराः स्वं स्वं रूपमुपाश्रिताः
He invoked the dead with the death-conquering mantra, having empowered the ashes with the mantra; then the eminent sages arose, each assuming their own form.
अथ ते गतवंतश्च गिरिपार्श्वं महाप्रभम् । तत्रापि भक्षिताः सर्वे सर्पेणातिशरीरिणा
Then they went to the radiant mountainside, but there too all were devoured by a serpent of immense size.
अथ वीरो महासर्पसमीपमगमत्प्रभुः । वीरमागतमालोक्य भुजगो योद्धुमारभत्
Then the mighty Virabhadra approached the great serpent; seeing the hero arrive, the serpent began to fight.
युयुधे वर्षमेकं तु नानारूपधरः फणी । अथ वीरः प्रगृह्यौष्ठयुगं करयुगेन च
The many-formed serpent fought for a year; then the hero seized its double jaws with both hands—