Mysore art
Devi Saraswati was playing Bhoopalam on the veena, when suddenly, the divine instrument struck a discordant [भिन्नस्वर] note , leaving the Devi in astonishment [विस्मय] as to what could have happened. She turned and looked at Brahma and noticed his face had turned pale [पाण्डुमुख]. Brahma rose from his lotus seat and He rose from the lotus and keenly [उत्सक] looked at earth[पृथिवी]. What he saw left him perplexed[व्याकुल] to see that everything that he had created had turned upside down [अधोमुख]. The birds that he had created were all flying backwards, sunrays did not reach earth trees were all uprooted[निर्व्रस्क] and roots were protruding out into the sky. The view left Brahma horrified.[भयसंहृष्टरोमन्]
There was a clear difference between what he had created and what actually appeared, with a trembling [कम्पन] fear he turned to look at human beings and he saw some beings had two heads of which one head was that of a male and the other of a female, and some walked about with no head at all; some humans had stunted growth in legs; while some were hopping on single legs. All together this was a disaster [विप्लव].
To make matters worse all these living beings that was created, trees, fishes, reptiles, humans, birds, animals were weeping. [रुदन्]. Brahma felt as if they were finding fault with their creator, he felt as if they were blaming [अपवादक] him for the mistakes [दोष] in the creation.[रचना]
Brahma did not know what went wrong. He was very nervous. He slowly looked towards Saraswati, he had a fear in his heart. Many questions rose in his heart, How would she appear? How would she look like? when he saw her looking at his pale face, he spoke - “Why and how have my creations[रचना] turned so distorted? [निर्भुग्न]. I had conceived and planned their shape, size, color and character, and had created them accordingly. I can’t believe what I see now! everything is so different from what I created” Brahma in his anxiety[चिन्ता] spoke so loudly [उच्छैर्वद ] that his words echoed from all corners of the universe.
Suddenly he once again saw the streak of light coming towards him. It was the same leaf which had a small elephant head baby on it. He saw the baby with four hands [चतुर्भुज] now he could see more clearly, He saw the four hands held, पाश [rope] कुम्भ[a pot/kalash],परशु[an axe], and सृणि[goad]. The baby that laid on the leaf had a bright face like that of a moon [वदनेन्दु] and his brilliance spread all around the place making it very bright. At that moment he realized Saraswati was playing ॐ [omkara] on her veena. ॐ, the supreme sound as it played, the sound vibrated [प्रतिध्वनि] like an echo all over the universe. The mesmerized feeling left Brahma to spontaneously strummed a sukta [सूक्त - hymn of salutation] to the elephant-headed [गजशीर्ष ] baby figure.
The elephant-headed figure blessed Brahma, who now acquired a lustrous aura[प्रकाश तेजस्] around him. Brahma’s [प्रणमते ,bend /bow down] to the elephant figure. and said: “Oh Benevolent one[मैत्री] , may I know who you are. Please forgive me for I am not able to recognize you. Kindly shower your blessings on me!”
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