When Sati beheld Mahadeva in this state, a great doubt arose in her mind. ‘Shiva’ she thought, ‘is Lord of the universe and deserves universal adoration; gods, men and sages all bow their heads to him.

Yet he made obeisance to this prince, saluting him as the Supreme God who is all Truth, Consciousness and Bliss. He was enraptured with his beauty and felt an upsurge of emotion in his heart, which he is unable to control even to this moment!

Can the Supreme Eternal, which is all-pervading, unbegotten, without parts, free from desire, beyond Maya and beyond all distinction, that which not even the Vedas can comprehend, take bodily form and become man?

Even if Vishnu takes a human form for the sake of the gods, he is omniscient like Shiva, the slayer of Tripura. Can he wander in search of his wife like an ignorant man, - he who is a repository of knowledge, the lord of Shri (the goddess of prosperity) and the foe of demons?

Yet again the words of Shiva cannot be untrue, for everyone knows that he is all-wise.” Thus her mind was filled with infinite doubt and her heart could find no solution.

Although Bhavani did not open her lips, yet Shiva, who knows the secrets of all hearts, came to know everything. “Hearken, Sati,” he said, “the woman is foremost in you; you should never entertain such doubts in your mind.

He whose story was sung by the jar-born seer Agastya, and faith in whom was the subject of the talk I gave to the sage, is my own chosen deity, the hero of Raghu’s race (Raghubira), who is ever reverenced by steadfast sages.