1839-] The Mahimnastava, or a Hymn to Shiva. 361 



The safety of the earth became doubtful by the stamp of thy feet— 

 the firmament became giddy and unstable, with all its stars and 

 luminaries, shattered by the stroke of thy hand — and the heavens, 

 touched by thy clotted hair fell into a troublous state, when thou 

 dancedst in order to defend the universe from the Rakshases. How 

 mysterious and seemingly contradictory must be this thy providence, 

 by which thou didst thus trouble the creation while thou wert in 

 fact effecting its preservation ! 



Those streams of the Ganga which extend far in the sky, whose frothy 

 appearance is that of clusters of sparkling stars, which replenished the 

 mighty ocean, forming it like a great ring round the insular earth, 

 looked a small drop when thou didst sustain them on thy head ! 

 What a glorious conception does this give of thy wondrous and ma- 

 jestic body ! 



fwm: wt^r^t ?r ^ itot^t: *r*f*w 111*11 



When thou didst resolve upon consuming Tripura, the earth was 

 thy chariot, Brahma' thy charioteer, the chief of mountains (Man- 

 dara) thy bow, the sun and moon thy wheels, and Vishnu himself 

 thy arrow ! What was all this preparation against a city that was 

 but as grass before thee ? Not that the will of the lord was dependent 

 upon any instruments, but that thou wert pleased, as it were, to sport 

 with those implements. 



