rformed by the
creators of the universe. Thou art the great swan with wings of gold.
Salutations to thee in thy form of a swan.[146] Roots with all kinds of
affixes and suffixes are thy limbs. The Sandhis are thy joints. The
consonants and the vowels are thy ornaments. The Vedas have declared thee
to be the divine word. Salutations to thee in thy form as the word![147]
Assuming the form of a boar whose limbs were constituted by sacrifice,
thou hadst raised the submerged earth for the benefit of the three
worlds. Salutations to thee in thy form of infinite prowess! Thou
sleepest in Yoga on thy snake-decked sofa constituted by the thousand
hoods (of the Naga). Salutations to thee in thy form of sleep! Thou
buildest the bridge for the good (to cross the sea of life) with Truth,
with those means by which emancipation may be obtained, and with the
means by which the senses may be controlled. Salutations to thee in thy
form of Truth! Men practising diverse creeds, actuated by desire of
diverse fruits worship thee with diverse rites. Salutations to thee in
thy form of Creed! From thee have all things sprung. It is thou that
excitest all creatures having physical frames containing the principle of
desire. Salutations to thee in thy form of Excitement. The great Rishis
seek thy unmanifest self within the manifest. Called Kshetrajna, thou
sittest in Kshetra. Salutations to thee in thy form of Kshetra![148] Thou
always conscious and present in self, the Sankhyas still describe thee as
existing in the three states of wakefulness, dream, and sound sleep. They
further speak of thee as possessed of sixteen attributes and representing
the number seventeen. Salutations to thy form as conceived by the
Sankhyas![149] Casting off sleep, restraining breath, withdrawn into
their own selves, Yogins of restrained senses behold thee as eternal
light. Salutations to thee in thy Yoga form! Peaceful Sannyasins, freed
from fear of rebirth in consequence of the destruction of all their sins
and merits, obtain thee. Salutations to thee in thy form of
emancipation![150] At the end of a thousand Yugas, thou assumest the form
of a fire with blazing flames and consumest all creatures. Salutations to
thee in thy form of fierceness! Having consumed all creatures and making
the universe one vast expanse of water, thou sleepest on the waters in
the form of a child. Salutations to thee in thy form as Maya (illusion)!
From the navel of the Self-born of eyes like