Water—water without any form. Earth there was not;
Sky there was not, they say; Earth there was not, they say.
Water—water without any form, wind there was not;
Water—water without any form, waves there were not.
Waves there were none; and then, a bubble arose out of water;
A bubble arose then out of water, and a head out of it.
A head out of it; and then the torso;
To the head were joined three hundred and sixty nerves.
Head first; and then the body, legs and arms were formed.
Hara came into being, Guru came into being;
Sound and music, and then words were created.
Music and word; and then, Hara and Guru came into being.
Eight-colored Jyotirlinga* and the earth were created.
When Jyotirlinga was created, prayers were heard.
Guru makes words then, and Hara watches;
As Hara watches, he hears music.
He hears music, and he listens to the Word.
As speech begins, sacred hymns come into being;
With sacred hymns, fifty-two sounds are created.
Fifty-two sounds become fifty-two letters on their own.
O, Guru! Fifty-two letters are created;
With fifty-two letters speech and chanting begin.
With speech and chants, knowledge and wisdom are seen.
Translated from the Kannada by C.N. Ramachandran and Padma Sharma