He appeared, resplendent as a thousand suns, his form adorned with the crescent moon shining upon his brow. Serpents coiled gracefully about him, forming garlands, armlets, and bracelets, while a girdle of sacred munja grass encircled his waist. His radiance was heightened by fragments of the skulls of Jalandhara, Brahma, and Indra, which blazed upon him. His matted hair, tawny and wild, was half-wet with the surging waves of the Ganga, which cascaded from his locks. He was as beautiful as a mountain’s edge, pressed by fresh sprouts and broken tusks. At his left ear, a circular earring gleamed. Seated upon the mighty bull, his voice rumbled like a vast thundercloud, and his whole being glowed like a great fire, embodying immense strength and valor. In this awe-inspiring and majestic form, Maheshvara, after imparting sacred knowledge to Brahma’s daughter, lent his assistance to the act of creation. Thus, by the grace of Rudra, in every cycle of time, the unceasing current of creation flows forth through Prajapati, ensuring the perpetual birth of beings. Once, at Brahma’s request to create, the blue-red Lord, by his own will, mentally fashioned all beings in his own likeness. He brought forth entities with matted hair, fearless, blue-throated, and three-eyed—beings untouched by old age or death, bearing blazing spears and excellent weapons. These Rudras, powerful and many, soon covered the entire fourteenfold world. Seeing these formidable beings, Pitamaha Brahma addressed Rudra with reverence: “Salutations to you, Lord of gods and lords! O red-eyed one, create other beings; may it be well with you. These beings are endowed with death.” Smiling, the Supreme Lord replied, “I have no such creation; you yourself must create inauspicious beings. Those whom I have created in mind are great souls, of immense strength. All of them will act with me, wholly devoted to sacrifice.” Having spoken thus, Hara, Lord of all beings, withdrew from the creation of beings, taking the Rudras with him, and stood apart. From that time onward, the great god ceased to create auspicious beings, remaining steadfast, holding his creative seed upward, until the time of dissolution. Yet, when the beings created by Brahma did not multiply, the Creator pondered how to further creation through union. Since the race of women had not yet emerged from the Lord, Pitamaha found himself unable to bring about creation through union. Resolving with purpose to ensure the growth of beings, he understood that only with the Supreme Lord’s grace could his creation increase. Thus, the Soul of the Universe undertook deep austerity. Then, the primordial supreme power—limitless, the source of all worlds, subtle and pure, accessible only through inner realization, and supremely captivating—revealed itself. This power, devoid of qualities, beyond all manifestation, indivisible, unchanging, more pervasive than space, eternal, and ever abiding at the Lord’s side, became the object of Brahma’s meditation. With this supreme power in mind, Brahma fixed his heart upon the blessed Three-eyed One and performed the highest austerity. Pleased by the intensity of Brahma’s penance, the Lord soon responded. By a portion of himself, Hara entered into a wondrous form and appeared as Ardhanārīśvara—the Lord who is half male, half female. Brahma beheld that supreme God—beyond darkness, imperishable, without a second, indescribable and invisible to those of uncreated nature. He saw the creator and Lord of all worlds, united with the supreme power that governs all creation; unfathomable, without appearance, immeasurable, ageless, constant, unmoving, without qualities, peaceful, and the abode of infinite greatness. This all-pervading Lord, giver of all, free from all forms of existence and non-existence, beyond comparison, eternal, auspicious, and the refuge of all, stood before him. Overwhelmed, Brahma prostrated himself in devotion, then rose with joined palms. With words filled with faith and humility, he addressed hymns of profound meaning, their essence drawn from the Vedas, to the God and the Goddess: “Victory to you, O God, great God! Victory, Lord of lords! Victory, best of all virtues! Victory, Lord of all the gods! Victory, O auspicious Nature! Victory, leader of Nature! Victory, you who are beyond Nature! Victory, beautiful one of Nature! Victory, unfailing great Māyā! Victory, unfailing wish-fulfiller! Victory, unfailing great play! Victory, unfailing great strength! Victory, mother of the universe! Victory, you who are the universe! Victory, sustainer of the universe! Victory, friend of the universe! Victory, possessor of eternal sovereignty! Victory, eternal time! Victory, eternal form! Victory, eternal follower! Victory, creator of the threefold self! Victory, protector of the threefold self! Victory, destroyer of the threefold self! Victory, leader of the threefold self! Victory, you who expand the cause of the world by your glance! Victory, you whose indifferent glance gives rise to the fire that consumes the elements! Victory to you, O God, unknowable even to the gods, radiant with the vision of your own subtle self! Victory to you, Lord of the power of the gross self, pervading all that moves and is still! Victory to you, in whose single name all the principles of the universe are gathered! Victory to you, supreme among those who rest upon the heads of demons, leader of the best and their followers! Victory to you, most skilled in the protection and arrangement of those who seek refuge! Victory to you, from whom the sprout of the poisonous tree of worldly existence is uprooted! Victory to you, who manifest the might, valor, and heroism of regional lords! Victory to you, who exist outside the universe, having cast aside all other glories!” With these praises, Brahma honored the Lord and the Goddess, standing in awe before the supreme mystery of creation.