delightful,--Thou shalt, O Krishna, obtain without doubt a son like unto
thyself. Betaking thyself to severe penances, do thou gratify Isana, the
Lord of all creatures. That divine Master, O Adhokshaja, sporteth here
with his spouse by his side. O Janarddana, it was here that the deities
with all the Rishis, in days of yore, gratified that foremost of deities
by their penances and Brahmacharyya and truth and self-restraint, and
succeeded in obtaining the fruition of many high desires. That
illustrious god is verily the vast receptacle of all energies and
penances. Projecting into existence and withdrawing once more unto
himself all things fraught with good and evil, that inconceivable Deity
whom thou seekest, O destroyer of foes, lives here with his spouse. He
who took his birth as the Danava named Hiranyakashipu, whose strength was
so great that he could shake the very mountains of Meru, succeeded in
obtaining from Mahadeva the puissance belonging to all the deities and
enjoyed it for ten millions of years. He who was the foremost of all his
sons and who was celebrated by the name of Mandara, succeeded, through
the boon he had obtained from Mahadeva, in fighting Sakra for a million
of years. The terrible discus of Vishnu and the thunderbolt of Indra were
both unable to make the slightest impression, O Kesava, in days of yore,
upon the body of that great cause of universal affliction.[40] The discus
which thou bearest, O sinless one, was given unto thee by Mahadeva after
he had slain a Daitya that was proud of his strength and used to live
within the waters. That discus, blazing with energy and like unto fire,
was created by the great god having for his device the bull. Wonderful
and irresistible in energy it was given unto thee by that illustrious
god. In consequence of its blazing energy it was incapable of being gazed
at by any person save Siva the wielder of Pinaka. It was for this reason
that Bhava (Siva) bestowed upon it the name of Sudarsana. From that time
the name Sudarsana came to be current in all the worlds. Even the weapon,
O Kesava, failed to make the slightest impression on the body of