and death, that
is endued with the effulgence of the Sun, the Moon, or the fire, that is
the root or original cause of everything real and unreal in the three
worlds, and that exists as one and indivisible entity? If in consequence
of my faults, rebirths be mine, I shall, in those new births, devote
myself solely to Bhava."

"'"'Indra said, "What reason canst thou assign for the existence of a
Supreme Being or for His being the cause of all causes?"'

"'"Upamanyu said, '"I solicit boons from that great Deity named Siva whom
utterers of Brahma have described as existent and non-existent, manifest
and unmanifest, eternal or immutable, one and many. I solicit boons from
Him who is without beginning and middle and end, who is Knowledge and
Puissance, who is inconceivable and who is the Supreme Soul. I solicit
boons from Him whence comes all Puissance, who has not been produced by
any one, who is immutable, and who, though himself unsprung from any
seed, is the seed of all things in the universe. I solicit boons from Him
who is blazing Effulgence, (beyond Darkness) who is the essence of all
penances, who transcends all faculties of which we are possessed and
which we may devote for the purpose of comprehending him, and by knowing
whom every one becomes freed from grief or sorrow. I worship him, O
Purandara, who is conversant with the creation of all elements and the
thought of all living creatures, and who is the original cause of the
existence or creation of all creatures, who is omnipresent, and who has
the puissance to give everything.[48] I solicit boons from Him who cannot
be comprehended by argument, who represents the object of the Sankhya and
the Yoga systems of philosophy, and who transcends all things, and whom
all persons conversant with the topics of enquiry worship and adore.[49]
I solicit boons from Him, O Maghavat, who is the soul of Maghavat
himself, who is said to be the God of the gods, and who is the Master of
all creatures. I solicit boons from Him who it is that first created
Brahma, that creator of all the worlds, having filled Space (with His
energy) and evoked into existence the primeval egg.[50] Who else than
that Supreme Lord could be creator of Fire, Water, Wind, Earth, Space,
Mind, and that which is called Mahat? Tell me, O Sakra, who else than
Siva could create Mind, Understanding, Consciousness or Ego, the
Tanmatras, and the senses? Who is there higher than Siva?[51] The wise
say that the Grand