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14. THE CONCEPT OF AVATARS
The Vedas said : -- Obeisance to the Devi! To the Mahâmâyâ! To the Auspicious One! To the Creator of the Universe! We bow down to Thee, who is beyond the Gunas, the Ruler of all the Beings! O Mother! Thou givest to S'ankara even His desires. Thou art the receptacle of all the things; Thou art the Prâna of all the living beings; Thou art Buddhi, Laksmî (wealth), S'obha, Ks'hama (forgiveness), S'ânti (peace), Sraddha (faith), Medha (intellect), Dhriti (fortitude), and Smriti (recollection).
55. Thou art the vindu (m) over the Prânava (om) and thou art of the nature of semi-moon; Thou art Gâyattri, Thou art Vyârhiti; Thou art Jaya, Vijaya, Dhâtri (the supportress), Lajja (modesty), Kirti (fame), Ichchâ (will) and Dayâ (mercy) in all beings.
56-57. O Mother! Thou art the merciful Mother of the three worlds; Thou art the adorable auspicious Vidyâ (knowledge) benefitting all the Lokas; Thou destroyest the Universe and Thou skilfully residest (hidden) in the Vija mantras. Therefore we are praising Thee. O Mother! Brahma, Visnu, Mahes'vara, Indra, Sûrya, Fire, Sarasvatî and other Regents of the Universe are all Thy creation; so none of them is superior to Thee. Thou art the Mother of all the things, moving and non-moving.
58-61. O Mother ! When Thou dost will to create this visible Universe, Thou createst first Brahma, Visnu and Mahes'vara and makest them create, preserve and destroy this universe; but Thou remainest quite unattached to the world. Ever Thou remainest constant in Thy one form. No one in this Universe is able to know Thy nature; nor there is any body who can enumerate Thy names. How can he promise to jump across the illimitable ocean, who cannot jump across an ordinary well.
O Bhagavatî! No one amongst the Devas even knows particularly Thy endless power and glory. Thou art alone the Lady of the Universe and the Mother of the world.
62-68. ... O Mother!... Is it that Hari incurred any heinous sin. How can that be! Where is sin to thy followers who serve Thee! O Mother! ..... was it that Visnu became proud and to curb that, ... Therefore dost Thou gladden Her by giving back Her husband's life.
69-73. Sûta said : -- Thus praised by the Vedas with their Angas, with Sâmaganas (the songs from the Sama Veda), the Nirgunâ Mahes'vari Devi Mahâmâyâ became pleased. Then the auspicious voice came to them from the Heavens, gladdening all, and pleasing to the ears though no form was seen: "O Suras! Do not care anything about it; you are immortal (what fear can you have?) Come to your senses. ....
74-75. Does anything take place in this world without any cause? Now hear why Hari's head was cut off. Once on a time, seeing the beautiful face of His dear wife Laksmî Devî, Hari laughed in presence of Her.
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