Mahābhārata

M. N. Dutt: Bhishma said Thus sung with names that were not known to others, the Divine Narayana having the universe for his form appeared before the ascetic Narada.

M. N. Dutt: His form was some what purer than the moon and differed from the moon in some particulars. He somewhat resembled a burning fire in complexion. The powerful Lord was somewhat of the form of Vishti,

M. N. Dutt: He looked in some respects like the feathers of the parrot, and in some a collection of pure crystal. He resembled in some respects a hill of antimony and in some a mass of pure gold.

M. N. Dutt: His complexion somewhat resembled the coral when first formed, and was somewhat white. That complexion resembled in some respects the colour of gold and in some that of the lapis lazulus.

M. N. Dutt: It resembled in some respects the colour of the blue lapis lazulus and in some that of sapphire. It resembled in some respects of colour of the peacock's neck, and in some that of a string of pearls.

M. N. Dutt: Bearing these various sorts of hues on his body the eternal Deity appeared before Narada. He had a thousand eyes and was endued with great beauty. He had a hundred heads and a hundred feet.

M. N. Dutt: He had a thousand stomachs and a thousand arms. He seemed to be still inconceivable to the mind. With one of his mouths he uttered the syllable OM and then the Gayatri following OM.

M. N. Dutt: With mind under complete mastery, the great God, called by the names of Hari and Narayana, by his other mouths, many in nụmber, uttered many Mantras from the four Vedas which are known by the name of Aranyaka.

M. N. Dutt: The Lord of all the gods, the great God who is worshipped in sacrifices, held in his hands a sacrificial altar, a Kamandalu, a few white gems, a pair of shoes, a bundle of Kusha blades, a deer-skin, a tooth-stick, and a little burning fire.

M. N. Dutt: The Lord of all the gods, the great God who is worshipped in sacrifices, held in his hands a sacrificial altar, a Kamandalu, a few white gems, a pair of shoes, a bundle of Kusha blades, a deer-skin, a tooth-stick, and a little burning fire. With a cheerful heart, that foremost of twice-born one viz., Narada, controlling speech, bowed to the great God and worshipped Him.

M. N. Dutt: The first of all the gods, who is free from decay, said the following words to him whose head was still bent low in veneration.

M. N. Dutt: The Holy One said The great Rishis, Ekata, Dvita, and Trita, came to this country from desire of seeing me.

M. N. Dutt: Their wishes, however, were not fulfilled. Excepting those who are devoted to with wholly and solely, no else can see me. As regards you, you are verily the foremost of all persons devoted to me with all their souls.

M. N. Dutt: These are my bodies, the best ones that I assume. These were born, O twice-born one, in the house of Dharma. Do you worship them always, and do you perform those rites that are laid down in the ordinances in connexion with that worship.

M. N. Dutt: O Brahmana, do you ask of me the boons you wish! I am pleased with you to-day and I appear to you now in my universal form as freed from decay and deterioration!

M. N. Dutt: Narada said Since, O holy one, I have to-day succeeded in seeing you, I think that I have acquired forthwith the fruits of my penances, O God, of my self-restraint, and of all the vows and observances that I have practised.

M. N. Dutt: This, indeed, is the highest boon you have granted me for you have appeared before me to-day, O Eternal Lord! You, O holy one, have the universe for your eye! You are the Lion. Your form is identifiable with everything! Possessed of power you, O Lord, are vast and infinite.

M. N. Dutt: Bhishma said Having thus appeared before Narada the son of Parameshthi, the great God addressed that ascetic and said,-Go hence, O Narada, and do not delay!

M. N. Dutt: These worshippers of mine, having moonlike complexions, are divested of all senses and do not live upon any kind of food. They are, again, all Liberated! With minds wholly concentrated upon me, people should think of me. Such worshippers will never meet with any obstacles.

M. N. Dutt: These men have all acquired ascetic success and are highly blessed. In day of yore they became entirely devoted to me. They have becn freed from the qualities of Darkness and Ignorance. Forsooth, they are competent to enter me and become merged into my Self.

M. N. Dutt: He who cannot be seen with the eye, touched with the sense of touch, smelt with the sense of scent, and who is beyond the sense of taste, He whom the three qualities of goodness. Darkness, and Ignorance do not touch, who permeates all things and is the one Witness of the universe, and who is described as the Soul of the entire universe, He who is not destroyed upon the destruction of the bodies of all created things, who is unborn and unchangeable and eternal, who is freed from all qualities, who is indivisible and entire, He who is above the twenty-four topics of enquiry and is considered the Twenty-fifth, who is called by the name of Twenty-fifth, who is called by the name of Purusha, who is inactive, and who is said to be apprehended by Knowledge alone, He into whom the foremost of twice-born ones enter and become liberated, He is the eternal Supreme Soul and is known by the name of Vasudeva.

M. N. Dutt: See, O Narada, the greatness and power of that God! He is never affected by good or bad deeds.

M. N. Dutt: Satvata, Rajas, and Tamas, are said to be the three (original) qualities. These live and act in the bodies of all creatures.

M. N. Dutt: The Individual Soul, called Kshetrajna, enjoys and suffers the action of these three qualities. He, however, is above them and they cannot touch Him. Freed from these qualities, He is again their enjoyer and sufferer. Having created them Himself, He is above them all.

M. N. Dutt: O celestial Rishi, the Earth, which is the refuge of the universe, disappears into water. Water disappears into Fire and Fire into Wind. Wind disappears into Ether, and Ether into Mind. Mind is a great creature, and it disappears into Unmanifest Nature.

Corresponding verse not found in M. N. Dutt's version.

M. N. Dutt: Unmanifest Nature, 0 Brahmana, disappears into Inactive Purusha (Soul). There is nothing higher than Purusha (Soul) which is Eternal.

M. N. Dutt: There is nothing among mobile and immobile things in the universe which is immutable, except Vasudeva, the eternal Purusha.

M. N. Dutt: Endued with great power, Vasudeva is the Soul of all creatures. Earth, Wind, Ether, Water, and Fire forming fifth, are primal clephants of great power. Mingling together they form the body. Possessed of subtile prowess and invisible to all eyes, O Brahmana, the powerful Vasudeva then enter that combination of the five principal elements called body. Such entrance is called his birth, and taking birth He makes the body move about and act. Without a combination of the five principal elements, 110 body can ever be formed.

M. N. Dutt: Without, again, the entrance of Individual Soul into the body, the mind living within it cannot cause it move and act. He that enters the body is possessed of great power and is called Individual. He is known also by other names, viz., Shesha and Sankarshana.

M. N. Dutt: He who takes his his rise, from that Sankarshana, by his own acts, Sanatkumara, and in whom all creatures merge when the universal dissolution sets in, is the Mind of all creatures and is called by the name of Praddyumna.

M. N. Dutt: From Him originates. He who is the Creator, and who is both Cause and Effect. From this last, everything, viz., the mobile and immobile universe, originates. This one is called Aniruddha. He is otherwise called Ishana and He is manifest in all deeds.

M. N. Dutt: That illustrious one, viz., Vasudeva, who is called Kshetrajna, (Soul) and who is freed from qualities, should, O king of kings, be known as the powerful Sankarshana, when He takes birth as (Individual Soul).

M. N. Dutt: From Sankarshana originates Praddyumna who is called “Mind-begotten." From Praddymuna is He who is Aniruddha. He is Consciousness, He is Ishvara (Supreme Lord).

M. N. Dutt: It is from me that the entire mobile and immobile universe originates. It is from me, O Narada, that the indestructible and the destructible, the existent and the non-existent, originates.

M. N. Dutt: They who are devoted to me enter into me and become liberated. I am known as Purusha. Without acts, I am the Twenty-fifth.

M. N. Dutt: Getting over qualities, I am entire and indivisible. I am above all pairs of opposite and shorn of all attachments. This, O Narada, you will fail to understand. You see me as having a form. If I wish, I can dissolve this form in a moment. I am the Supreme Lord and the Preceptor of the universe.

M. N. Dutt: What you see of me, ONarada, is merely an illusion of mine. I now appear to be possessed of the attributes of all created things. You are not competent to know me. I have shown to you duly my fourfold form. I am, O Narada, the doer, I am Cause, and I am Effect.

M. N. Dutt: I am the sum-total of all living creatures. All living creatures have their refuge in me, Do not think that you have seen the Individual Soul.

M. N. Dutt: I pervade all things, O Brahmana, and am the inner Soul of all creatures. When the bodies of all creatures, however, are destroyed, I am not destroyed.

M. N. Dutt: Those highly blessed men who, having acquired ascetic success, become entirely devoted to me, become freed from the qualities of both Darkness and Ignorance and succeed, therefore, in entering me, O great ascetic.

M. N. Dutt: He called Hiranyagarbha, who is the beginning of the world, who has four faces, who cannot be understood with the help of the Nirukta, who is otherwise called Brahman, who is an eternal god, is engaged in loO king after many of my works.

M. N. Dutt: The god Rudra, born of my anger, originated from my forehead. See, the eleven Rudras are increasing on the right side of my person.

M. N. Dutt: The twelve Adityas are on the left side of my person. See the eight Vasus, those foremnost of gods, are in my front, and see, Nasatya and Dasra, those two celestial physicians, are in the rear. See also in my body all the Prajapatis and see the seven Rishis Also.

M. N. Dutt: See also the Vedas, all the Sacrifices numbering by hundreds, the Amrita (nectar), and all the (medicinal) herbs and plants, and Penances, and vows and observances of various sorts.

M. N. Dutt: See also in me the eight attributes of power, viz., those particularly called the Lordly powers, living all together in my body in their united and embodied form. See also Shree and Lakshmi, and Kirti, and the Earth with her hump.

M. N. Dutt: See the goddess Sarasvati, that mother of the Vedas, living in me! See, O Narada, Dhruva, that foremost of luminaries ranging in the sky.

M. N. Dutt: See also all the Oceans, those receptacles of water, and lakes, and rivers. See, also, O best of men, the four foremost ones amongst the Pitris in their embodied forms. See also, living in me, the three qualities (of Sattva, Rajas, and Tamas) which are formless.

M. N. Dutt: The acts done in honour of the departed mane are superior to those done in honour of the gods. I am the Pitri of the both the gods and the Pitris, and am existing from the beginning.

M. N. Dutt: Becoming the Equine-head I pass through the Western and the Northern ocean and drink sacrificial libations duly poured with Mantras and solid sacrificial food offered with respect and devotion.

M. N. Dutt: In ancient times I created Brahman who himself worshipped me in sacrifices. Pleased with him on that account I granted him many excellent boons.

M. N. Dutt: I said to him that in the beginning of the cycle he would be born to me as my son, and the sovereignty of all the worlds would he enjoy, and various names will be given to diverse objects on account of the Ahankara, i. e., egoism, coming into existence.

M. N. Dutt: I also told him that none would ever violate the limits and boundaries he would lay down, and, further that he would be the giver of boons to persons who would solicit him for the same.

M. N. Dutt: I further assured him that he would be an object of worship with all the gods and Asuras, all the Rishis and Pitris, and the various creatures forming the creation.

M. N. Dutt: I also gave him to understand that I would always appear for performing the business of the gods and for that I would allow myself to be commanded by him even as a son by his father.

M. N. Dutt: Granting these and other highly agreeable boons to Brahman of great energy on account of my being propitiated with him I adopted the course dictated by Renunciation.

M. N. Dutt: The highest Renunciation is the annihilation of all duties and acts. Hence, by adopting Renunciation one should act in complete happiness.

M. N. Dutt: Learned preceptors, with settled conclusions deducted from the truths of the Sankhya philosophy, have spoken of me as Kapila endued with the power of knowledge, living within the effulgence of the Sun, and concentrated in Yoga.

M. N. Dutt: In the Vedas I have been repeatedly hymned as the illustrious Hiranyagarbha. In the Yoga-Shastras, O Brahmana, I have been spoken of as one who find pleasure in Yoga.

M. N. Dutt: I am eternal. Assuming a form that is manifest, I live at present, in the sky. At the end of a thousand cycles, I shall once more withdraw the universe into myself.

M. N. Dutt: Having withdrawn all creatures, mobile and immobile, into myself, I shall exist all alone with Knowledge only as my companion.

M. N. Dutt: After the lapse of ages I shall again create the universe, with the help of that Knowledge. My fourth form creates the indestructible Shesha.

M. N. Dutt: That Shesha is called by the name of Sankarshana. Sankarshana creates Praddyumna. From Praddyumna I take birth myself as Aniruddha. I Aniruddha. I create (myself) repeatedly.

M. N. Dutt: From Aniruddha originates Brahman. The latter is born from Aniruddha's navel. From Brahman originate all mobile and immobile creatures.

M. N. Dutt: Know that Creation originates in this way repeatedly at the beginning of every cycle. Creation and destruction succeed each other like sunrise and sunset in this world.

M. N. Dutt: Then, again, as Time, gifted with great energy, forcibly brings back the Sun after his disappearance, similarly I shall, assuming the form of a boar and displaying my strength, bring back the Earth with her belt of seas to her own position for the behoof of all creatures when she becomes submerged in water. I shall then kill the son of Diti, named Hiranyagarbha, elated with pride of strength.

M. N. Dutt: Assuming the form then of a Manlion, I shall, for doing good to the gods, kill Hiranyakasipu, the son of Diti, who will be a great destroyer of sacrifices.

M. N. Dutt: Virochana will have a powerful son named Vali. The entire universe consisting of gods, Asuras, and Rakshasas will not be able to kill that great Asura. He will hurl Shakra from the sovereignty of the universe.

M. N. Dutt: When after defeating the Lord of Shachi, that Asura will possess the sovereignty of the three worlds, I shall take birth in Aditi's womb, by Kashyapa, as the twelfth Aditya.

M. N. Dutt: I shall restore it to Indra of immeasurable splendour, and replace the gods, O Narada, in their respective stations,

M. N. Dutt: As regards Vali, that foremost of Danavas, who is to be unslayable by all the gods, I shall cause him to live in the nether regions.

M. N. Dutt: In the Treta age I shall take birth as Rama in the race of Bhrigu, and root out the Kshatriyas who will become proud of their strength and riches.

M. N. Dutt: Towards the end of Treta and the beginning of Dvapara, I shall take birth as Rama the son of Dasharatha in Ikshvaku's race.

M. N. Dutt: At that time, the two Rishis, viz., the two sons of Prajapati, called by the names of Ekata and Dvita, will on account of the injury done by them to their brother Trita, have to take birth as monkeys, losing the beauty of the human forin.

M. N. Dutt: Those monkeys that shall take birth in the race of Ekata and Dvita, shall become endued with great power and mighty energy and will equal Shakra himself in power. All those monkeys, O twice-born one, will become my allies for performing the work of the gods.

M. N. Dutt: I shall then kill the dreadful king of the Rakshasas, that wretch of Pulastya's race, viz., the fierce Ravana, that thorn of all worlds, together with all his children and followers.

M. N. Dutt: At the junction the Dvapara and the Kali ages, I shall again appear in the world taking birth in city of Mathura for the purpose of killing Kansa.

M. N. Dutt: There, after killing numberless Danavas that will be as thorns in the side of the gods, I shali take up my residence in Kushasthali at the city of Dwaraka.

M. N. Dutt: While living in that city I shall kill the Asura Naraka the chief of the Earth,-him, that is, who will do an injury to Aditi, as also some other Danavas of the names of Muru and Pitha.

M. N. Dutt: Killing also another foremost of Danavas, viz., the kill of Pragjyotisha, I shall transplant that delightful city furnished with various kinds of wealth into Dwaraka.

M. N. Dutt: I shall then defeat the two gods adored of all the deities, viz., Maheshvara and Mahasena, who will become fond of the Danava Vana and do him various good offices and who will try their best for that worshipper of theirs.

M. N. Dutt: Defeating next the son of the Danava Vali, viz., Bana, who will be possessed a thousandarms, I shall next destroy all the inhabitants of the Danava city called Saubha.

M. N. Dutt: I shall next, O foremost of Brahmanas, bring about the death of Kalayavana, a Danava who will be endued with great power on account of his being equipt with the energy of Gargya.

M. N. Dutt: A proud Asura will appear as a king at Girivraja, of the name of Jarasandha, who will fall out with all the other kings of the world. His death will be brought about by me through some one else guided by my intelligence.

M. N. Dutt: I shall next kill Shisupala in the sacrifice of king Yudhishthira the son of Dharma, into which sacrifice all the kings of the world will bring tribute. In some of these works, only Arjuna, the son of Vasava, will become my assistant.

M. N. Dutt: I shall place Yudhishthira with all his brothers in his ancestral kingdom. People will call me and Arjuna as Narayana and Nara, when, endued with power, we two, putting forth our strength, shall kill a large number of Kshatriyas, for doing good to the world. Having lightened the load of the Earth according to our pleasure, I shall merge all the principal Satvatas, as also Dwaraka, my favourite city, into my own self, recollecting my all-einbracing Knowledge.

M. N. Dutt: Having four forms, I shall, in this way, perform many feats of great prowess, and attain at last to those regions of happiness created by me and honoured by all the Brahmanas.

M. N. Dutt: Appearing in the forms of a swan, a tortoise, a fish, O foremost of twice-born ones, I shall then appear as a boar, then as a manlion, then as a dwarf, then as Rama of Bhrigu's race, then as Rama the son of Dasharatha, then as Krishna the scion of the Satvata race, and lastly as Kalki.

M. N. Dutt: When the Vedas disappeared from the world, I brought them back. The Vedas, were re-created by me in the Krita age.

M. N. Dutt: They have once more disappeared or may only be partially heard here and there in the Puranas. Many of my best incarnations also in the world have become facts of the past.

M. N. Dutt: Having secured the good of the worlds in those forms in which I appeared, they have reentered into my own Nature. Brahman (the Creator) himself never saw me in this form of mine, which you, O Narada, have seen to-day on account of your entire devotion to me. I have now said to you, who are devoted to me wholly, everything, O Brahmana. . I have described to you my ancient appearances and future ones also, O best of inen, together with ail their mysteries.

M. N. Dutt: Bhishma said ‘The holy and illustrious god, of universal and immutable form, having said these words to Narada, disappeared there and then.

M. N. Dutt: Having won the high favour that he had solicited, Narada also, gifted with great energy, then proceeded in all haste to the retreat called Vadari, for seeing Nara and Narayana.

M. N. Dutt: This great Upanishad quite of a piece with the four Vedas, and the Sankhya-Yoga, and called by him by the name of the Pancharatra Scriptures and recited by Narayana himself with his own mouth, was repeated by Narada before a large audience in the residence of Brahman (his sire) in exactly the same way in which Narayana had recited it and in which he had heard it from his own lips."

M. N. Dutt: Yudhishthira said “Was not Brahman. the Creator of all things, acquainted with this wonderful discourse of the glory of Narayana gifted with intelligence that he heard it from the lips of Narada?

M. N. Dutt: Is the illustrious Grandfather of all the worlds any way different from or inferior to the great Narayana? How then it is that he was unacquainted with the power of Narayana of great energy?"

M. N. Dutt: Bhishma continued "Hundreds and thousands of great cycles, hundreds and thousands of Creations and Dissolutions, O king of kings, have been over and become events of the past.

M. N. Dutt: In the beginning of every Creation, Brahman, endued with great power and who creates all things, is remembered by Narayana). Brahman knows well, O king, that Narayana, that foremost of all gods is very much superior to him.

M. N. Dutt: He knows that Narayana is the Supreme Soul, that He is the Supreme Lord, that He is Creator of Brahman himself. Narada recited this very ancient narrative which is perfectly consistent with the Vedas, to that assembly of Rishis crowned with ascetic success that came to the abode of Brahman. The gods Surya, having heard that narrative from those Rishis crowned with ascetic success, repeated it to the sixty-six thousands of Rishis, O king, of purified souls, that follow in his train.

M. N. Dutt: And the Sun, the deity that imparts heat to all the worlds, repeated that narrative to those Beings also, of purified souls, that have been created (by Brahman) for always travelling in the van of the Sun.

M. N. Dutt: The great Rishis who follow in the Sun's train, O son, repeated that excellent narrative to the deities assembled on the breast of Meru.

M. N. Dutt: The best of ascetics, viz., the regener: Asita, then, having heard the narrative from the gods, repeated it to the Pitris, O king of kings.

M. N. Dutt: I heard it from my father Shantanu, O son, who recited it to me formerly. Myself having heard it from my father, I have repeated it to you, O Bharata.

M. N. Dutt: Gods and ascetics, they who have heard this excellent old narrative which is a Purana, all worship the Supreme Soul.

M. N. Dutt: This discourse, belonging to the Rishis and thus handed down from one to another, should not, O king, be communicated by you to any one who is not a worshipper of Vasudeva.

M. N. Dutt: This narrative, O king, is really the cream of the hundreds of other discourses that you have heard from me.

M. N. Dutt: In days of yore, O king, the gods and the Asuras, in a body, churned the Ocean and raised the Ambrosia. Similarly the Brahmanas, in a body in days of yore, churned all the scriptures and raised this narrative, which resembles nectar.

M. N. Dutt: He who frequently reads this narrative, and he who frequently listens to it with rapt attention, in a secluded spot, and filled with devotion, succeeds, being possessed of lunar complexion, in living in the spacious insular continent known by the name of White Island. Forsooth, such a man succeeds in entering into Narayana of a thousand rays.

M. N. Dutt: By listening to this narrative from the beginning, a sick person becomes freed from his disease. The man who simply desires to read or listen to this discourse, gets the fruition of all his wishes. By reading or listening to it. The devoted worshipper acquires the high end reserved for devoted worshippers.

M. N. Dutt: You also, O king, should always adore and worship that foremost of all Beings. He is the father and the mother of all creatures, and He is an object of reverence to the entire universe.

M. N. Dutt: Let the illustrious and Eternal God of the Brahmanas, Viz., Janarddana of great intelligence, be pleased with you, O Yudhisthira of mighty arms.

M. N. Dutt: Vaishampayana said Having listened to this best of discourses, O Janamejaya, king Yudhisthira the just, and all his brothers became devoted to Narayana.

M. N. Dutt: And all of them, O Bharata, silently meditating upon Narayana (from that day), uttered these words for His glorification, viz., Victory to that holy and illustrious Being.

M. N. Dutt: He, again, who is our best of preceptors, viz., the Island-born Krishna, devoted to penances, sung, uttering the word Narayana, that great Mantra which is worthy of being silently.

M. N. Dutt: Passing through the sky to the Ocean of milk, which is always the abode of nectar, and adoring the great God there, be returned to his own hermitage.

M. N. Dutt: Bhishma continued I have now recounted to you the discourse that was recited by Narada. That narrative has come down from person to person from very ancient times. I heard it from my father who formerly recounted it to me.

M. N. Dutt: Suta said I have now told you all that Vaishampayana recounted to Janamejaya. Having listened to Vaishampayana's narration, king Janamejaya severe duly satisfied all his duties according to the scriptural ordinances.

M. N. Dutt: You have have all practised very penances and observed many high and excellent vows. Living in this sacred forest of Naimisha, you are foremost of all persons conversant with the Vedas.

M. N. Dutt: You foremost of twice-born ones, you all have come to this great sacrifice of Shaunaka. Do you all worship that Eternal and Supreme Lord of the universe in excellent sacrifices, properly pouring libations of clarified butter to the fire with the help of Mantras and dedicating the same to Narayana. As for myself, I heard this excellent discourse which has come down from generation to generation, from my father who recited it to me formerly.

M. N. Dutt: Saunaka said is that illustrious god, viz., the powerful Narayana, who is a master of the Vedas and their branches, at once the doer and the enjoyer of sacrifices?

M. N. Dutt: Endued with forgiveness, he has adopted, again, the Religion of Renunciation. Indeed, it is that holy and powerful one who has himself laid down the duties of Renunciation.

M. N. Dutt: Why then has he made many of the gods the takers of shares in sacrifices which, of course, are all due to the Religion of Action. Why has he again created some with an opposite disposition, for they follow the ordinances of the Religion of Renunciation.

M. N. Dutt: Do you, O Suta, remove this doubt of ours. This doubt seems to be eternal and is filled with great mystery. You have heard all discourses on Narayana, which are consistent with the (other) scriptures.

M. N. Dutt: O excellent Saunaka, I shall recount to you what Vaishampayana, the disciple of the intelligent Vyasa, said when questioned on these very topics by king Janamejaya.

M. N. Dutt: Having heard the discourse on the glory of Narayana who is the Soul of all embodied creatues, Janamejaya, gifted with great intelligence and wisdom, asked Vaishampayana about these very topics.

M. N. Dutt: The whole world of Being, with Brahman, the gods, the Asuras, and human beings are seen to be deeply attached to acts which yield prosperity.

M. N. Dutt: Liberation has, O twice-born one, been described by you to be the highest happiness and to consist of the cessation of existence. They who being shorn of both merit and demerit, become liberated, succeed, we hear, in entering the great God of a thousand rays.

M. N. Dutt: It seems to be, O Brahmana, that the eternal religion of Liberation is highly difficult of observance. Turning away from it, all the gods have become enjoyers of the libations of clarified butter poured with Mantras on sacrificial fires and other offerings presented to them by similar means.

M. N. Dutt: Then, again, Brahman, and Rudra, the powerful Sakra the killer of Vala, the Sun, the Lord of the stars, the Wind-god, the god of fire, the god of the Waters, Infinite Space, the Universe too and the rest of the dwellers of heaven,-these, it seems do not know the way of securing an annihilation of conscious existence that is encompassed by one's own efforts.

M. N. Dutt: Hence, perhaps, they have not followed the path which is certain, indestructible, and immutable. Hence, perhaps turning away from that path, they have adopted the Religion of Action which leads to conscious existence that is measured by time.

M. N. Dutt: This, indeed, is one great defeat of those who are wedded to acts, for all their rewards are for the time being. This doubt, O twiceborn one, exists in my heart like a dagger! Tear it out by recounting to me some discourses of old on this subject. Great is my curiosity to listen to you.

M. N. Dutt: Why, O twice-born one, have the gods been said to be takers of their respective shares of sacrificial offerings presented to them with the help of Mantras in sacrifices of various kinds? Why, again, are the dwellers of heaven worshipped in sacrifices?

M. N. Dutt: And, O best of twice-born ones to whom do they, who partake of offerings in sacrifices performed to their honour, themselves make offerings when they perform great sacrifices?

M. N. Dutt: The question you have put to me, O king, relates to a deed mystery. No man can quickly answer it who has not practised penances, and who is not acquainted with the Puranas.

M. N. Dutt: I shall, however, answer you by reciting to you what my preceptor the Island-born Krishna, otherwise called Vyasa, the great Rishi who has divided the Vedas, had said to us on a former occasion when questioned by us.

M. N. Dutt: Sumanta, and Jaimini, and Paila of firm vows, and myself as the fourth, and Shuka. as the fifth, were disciples of the illustrious Vyasa.

M. N. Dutt: We, five in all, endued with self-control and purity of observances, had completely mastered anger and controlled our senses. Our preceptor used to teach us the Vedas having the Mahabharata for their fifth.

M. N. Dutt: Once on a time, on the breast of that foremost of mountains, viz., the delightful Meru, inhabited by Siddhas and Charanas while we were engaged in reading the Vedas, this very doubt sprang in our minds, that has been given vent to by you to-day. We, therefore, asked our preceptor about it. It heared the answer that our preceptor made. I shall now recount that answer to you, O Bharata.

M. N. Dutt: Hearing the words that were addressed to him by his disciples, that remover of all sorts of darkness represented by ignorance, viz., the blessed Vyasa the son of Parashara, said these words:मया हि सुमहत् तप्तं तपः परमदारुणम्।

M. N. Dutt: I have practised the austerest of penances. You best of men, I am fully conversant with the Past, the Present, and the Future.

M. N. Dutt: On account of those penances of mine and of the control under which I kept my senses, while I lived on the shores of the ocean of milk, Narayana became pleased with me. As the result of the great God's gratification, this omniscience about the Past, the Present, and Future that was desired by me, sprang in my inind.

M. N. Dutt: Listen now to me as I describe to you, in due order, this great doubt that has perplexed your minds. I have, with the eye of knowledge, seen, all that took place in the beginning of the aeon.

M. N. Dutt: He whom both the Sankhyas and the Yogins call by the name of the Supreme Soul, comes to be regarded as the foremost Purusha on account of his own deeds. From Him originate Prakriti that is called the unmanifest or Pradhana by the learned.

M. N. Dutt: From the powerful Unmanifest sprang, for the creation of all the worlds, he that is called Aniruddha. That Aniruddha is known among all creatures by the name of the Great Soul.

M. N. Dutt: It is that Aniruddha who, becoming manifest, created the Grandfather Brahman. Aniruddha is known by another name, viz., consciousness, and is gifted with every sort of energy.

M. N. Dutt: Earth, Wind, Ether, Water, and Fire numbering the fifth—these are the five Great Creatures that have originated from Consciousness.

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M. N. Dutt: Having created the Great Creatures he then created their qualities. Combining the Great Creatures, he then created various embodied Beings. Hear me as I describe them to you.

M. N. Dutt: Marichi, Angiras, Atri, Pulastya, Pulaha, Kratu, the great Vashistha, and the Self-created Manu,-these should be known as the eight elements. Upon these depend all the worlds.

M. N. Dutt: Then the Grandfather of all the worlds, viz., Brahman, created, for the success of all creatures, the Vedas with all their branches as also the sacrifices with their limbs. From these eight elements have originated this vast universe.

M. N. Dutt: Then originated Rudra from the principle of anger. Taking birth, he created ten others like him. These eleven Rudras are called by name of Vikara-Purushas.

M. N. Dutt: The Rudras, the Prakritis, and the several celestial Rishis, having come into existence approached Brahman, with the object of upholding the universe and its work.

M. N. Dutt: Addressing the Grandfather, they said,-We have been created, O holy one, by you, O you of great power. Tell us, O Grandfather, which of us should be vested with what jurisdiction.

M. N. Dutt: What jurisdictions have been created by you for supervising what particular affairs? Which of us should, gifted with what sort of consciousness, shall take charge of which of these?

M. N. Dutt: Do you ordain also to each of us the measure of strength that we are to have for satisfying the duties duties of our our respective jurisdictions.-Thus addressed by them, the great god replied to them in the following way.

M. N. Dutt: Brahman said You have done well, ye gods, in speaking to me of this matter. Blessed be you all! I was thinking of this very subject that has drawn your attention.

M. N. Dutt: How should the three words be maintained and kept agoing? How should your strength and mine be taken advantage of for the accomplishment of that object.

M. N. Dutt: Let all of us, leaving this place, go that unmanifest and foremost of Beings who is the witness of the world, for seeking his protection. He will tell us what is for our behoof.

M. N. Dutt: After this, those gods and Rishis, with Brahman, went to the northern shores of the ocean of milk, desirous of doing good to the three worlds.

M. N. Dutt: Arrived there, they began to practise those austere penances that are said by Brahman in the Vedas. Those austerest of penances are known by the name of Mahaniyama.

M. N. Dutt: They stood there with mind fixed, immovable as stakes of wood, and with eyes upturned and arms raised upward.

M. N. Dutt: For a thousand divine years they were engaged in those severe penances. At the conclusion of that time they heard these sweet words in harmony with the Vedas and their branches.

M. N. Dutt: The Blessed and Holy One said You gods and Rishis having asceticism for wealth with Brahman in your company, honouring you all with welcome, I say to you these words.

M. N. Dutt: I know what is in your hearts! Verily, your thoughts are for the behoof of the three worlds. I shall multiply your energy and strength, investing the same with disposition for work.

M. N. Dutt: You gods, well have you practised these penances from desire of worshipping me. You foremost of Beings, enjoy now the excellent fruits of those austerities which you have practised.

M. N. Dutt: This Brahman is the Lord of all the words. Gifted with power, he is the Grandfather of all creatures. You also are foremost of gods. Do you all, with concentrated minds, celebrate sacrifices for my glory.

M. N. Dutt: In those sacrifices which you will perform, do ye always give me a part of the sacrificial offerings. I shall then, ye lords of creation, assign to each of you your respective spheres and ordain what will be for your behoof.

M. N. Dutt: Vaishampayana said, Hearing these words of that God of gods, all those gods and great Rishis and Brahman became filled with such delight that the hair on their bodies stood erect.

M. N. Dutt: They immediately made arrangements for a sacrifice in honour of Vishnu according to the Vedic ordinances. In that sacrifice, Brahman himself assigned a portion of the offerings to Vishnu.

M. N. Dutt: Similarly the gods and the celestial Rishis also, dedicated similar portions each to the great God. The portions, thus offered with great respect to Vishnu, were about both the quantity and the quality of the articles used, according to the ordinances laid down for the Krita age.

M. N. Dutt: The gods and the Rishis and Brahman, in that sacrifice, worshipped the great God as one having the complexion of the Sun, as the foremost of Beings, situate beyond the reach of Ignorance, vast, pervading all things, the Supreme Lord of all, the giver of boons, and endued with power.

M. N. Dutt: Thus worshipped by them the boon-giving and great God, invisible and bodiless, addressed those assembled celestials from heaven and said to them

M. N. Dutt: I have received the offerings dedicated by you in this sacrifice. I am pleased with all of you. I shall confer rewards on you that will, however, be fraught with ends from where there will be return.

M. N. Dutt: This shall be your distinctive characteristic, ye gods, from this day, on account of my favours and kindness for you. Celebrating sacrifices in every cycle, with large presents, you will become enjoyers of fruits born of Action.

M. N. Dutt: You gods, those men also that will celebrate sacrifices, according to the Vedic ordinances, will give to all of you, shares of their sacrificial offerings.

M. N. Dutt: In the Veda-sutras I make him the receiver of a share like that which he has himself offered one in this sacrifice.

M. N. Dutt: Created to superintend the affairs of your respective jurisdictions, do you uphold the worlds according to your strength as dependent on the shares you receive in those sacrifices.

M. N. Dutt: Indeed, receiving strength from those rites and observances that will be in vogue in the several worlds, originating from the fruits of action, do ye continue to uphold the affairs of those worlds.

M. N. Dutt: Strengthened by the sacrifices that will be celebrated by men, ye will strengthen me. These are the thoughts that I cherish for you

M. N. Dutt: It is for this that I have created the Vedas and sacrifices and plants and herbs. Duly served with these by human beings on Earth, the gods will be pleased.

M. N. Dutt: You foremost of gods, till the end of this aeon, I have ordained your creation, making your constitutions depend upon the result of the religion of Action. You foremost of Beings, do you then, about your respective jurisdictions, engage yourselves in seeking the welfare of the three worlds.

M. N. Dutt: Marichi, Angiras, Atri, Pulastya, Pulaha, Kratu, and Vasistha,-these seven Rishis have been created by the fiat of the will.

M. N. Dutt: These will become the foremost of all persons versed in the Vedas. In fact, they will become the preceptors of the Vedas. They will follow the Religion of Action, for they have been intended to devote themselves to the act of procreating children.

M. N. Dutt: This is the eternal path of creatures engaged in acts and observances. The powerful Lord who is charged with the creation of all the worlds is called Aniruddha.

M. N. Dutt: Sana, Sanatsujata, Sanaka, Sanandana, Sanatkumara, Kapila, and Sanatana,—these seven Rishis are known as the spiritual sons of Brahman. Their knowledge comes to them of itself. These seven follow the Religion of Renunciation.

M. N. Dutt: They are the foremost of all persons conversant with Yoga. They have a profound knowledge of the Sankhya philosophy. They are teachers of the scriptures on duty and it is they who introduce the duties of the Religion of Renunciation and cause them flow in the worlds.

M. N. Dutt: From Nature has sprung Consciousness and the three great qualities. Transcending Nature is called Soul.

M. N. Dutt: That Soul is myself. The path of those who follow acts is fraught with return. One cannot, by that path, reach the place whence there is no return. Different creatures have been created with different objects. Some are intended for the Path of Action and some for that of Renunciation. One enjoys the the reward, according to the path that he follows. This Brahman is the lord of all the worlds. Endued with power, it is he who creates the universe.

M. N. Dutt: He is your mother and father, and he is your grandfather. At my behest, he will grant boons to all creatures.

M. N. Dutt: His son Rudra, who has originated from his brow at his behest, will, gifted with power, uphold all created beings.

M. N. Dutt: Go you to your respective jurisdictions, and seek, according to the ordinances, the welfare of the world! Let all the scriptural acts flow in all the worlds. Let there be no delay in this.

M. N. Dutt: You foremost of gods, do ye ordain the acts of all creatures and the ends that they are come by. Do ye also set the limits of the lives of all creatures.

M. N. Dutt: This present cycle that is going on is the foremost of all epochs and should be known by the name of Krita. In this cycle living creatures should not be celebrated. It should be as I ordain and let it not be otherwise.

M. N. Dutt: In this age, ye celestials, virtue will flourish in full. After this age will come the cycle called Treta. The Vedas, in that cycle, will lose one quarter. Only three of them will exist.

M. N. Dutt: In the sacrifices that will be celebrated in that age, animals, after dedication with the help of sacred Mantras, will be killed. As regards virtue, again, it will lose one quarter; only three quarters thereof will remain.

M. N. Dutt: On the termination of the Treta, will come the mixed Yoga known by the name of Dvapara. In that cycle, virtue will lose two quarters and only two quarters thereof will remain.

M. N. Dutt: Upon the termination of Dvapara, the cycle that will set in will be called Tish, and it will come with Kali walking in the van. Virtue will lose full three quarters. Only a quarter thereof will exist in all places.

M. N. Dutt: When the great God said these words, the gods and the celestial Rishis addressed him and said,-If only a fourth part of virtue is to exist in that age in every place, tell us, O Holy One, where shall we then go and what shall we do?

M. N. Dutt: You foremost of gods, ye should, in that age, go to such places where the Vedas and Sacrifices and Penances and Truth and selfcontrol, accompanied by duties fraught with mercy for all creatures, will still continue. Sin will never be able to affect you at all.

M. N. Dutt: Vyasa said Thus commanded by the great God, the gods with all the Rishis bowed their heads to him and then proceeded to the places they desired.

M. N. Dutt: After the celestiats had left that place, only Brahman remained there, desirous of seeing the great Deity then living in the form of Aniruddha.

M. N. Dutt: The foremost of gods then appeared before Brahman having assumed a form that had a huge equine head. Carrying a pitcher and the triple stick, he appeared before Brahman, reciting the Vedas with all their branches.

M. N. Dutt: Seeing the great Deity of immeasurable energy in that form with an equine head, the powerful Brahman, the Creator of all the worlds, moved by the desire of doing good to his Creation, adored that boon-giving Lord with his head down and stood before him with hands joined in respect. The great Deity embraced Brahman and then told him these words.

M. N. Dutt: The Holy One said Do you, O Brahman, duly think of the courses of acts which creatures should follow. You are the great ordainer of all created Beings, You are the Master and the Lord of the universe. Placing this burthen on you I shall soon be free from anxiety.

M. N. Dutt: At such time, however, when it will be difficult for you to accomplish the work of the gods, I shall then appear in incarnate forms perceiving the gravity of the emergencies.

M. N. Dutt: With these words, that grand form with the equine head vanished then and there. Having received his behest, Brahman too proceeded speedily to his own region.

M. N. Dutt: It is for this, O Blessed One, that the eternal lotus-navelled deity became the acceptor of the first share offered in sacrifices and hence it is that He is called the eternal upholder of all Sacrifices.

M. N. Dutt: He himself adopted the Religion of Renunciation, the end after which those creatures seek who are desirous of eternal fruits. He laid down at the same time the Religion of Action for others, with the view of giving variety to the universe.

M. N. Dutt: He is the beginning, He is the middle, and He is the end of all created Beings. He is their Creator and He is the actor and He is the act. Having withdrawn the universe into Himself at the end of the cycle, He enters into sleep, and awakening at the beginning of another cycle, He once more creates the universe.

M. N. Dutt: Do you all bow to that Illustrious One who is gifted with a high soul and who is above the : three qualities, who is Unborn, abode or refuge of all the dwellers of heaven.

M. N. Dutt: Do you bow to Him who is the Supreme Lord of all creatures, who is the Lord of the Rudras, who is the Lord of the Adityas, and of the Vasus as well.

M. N. Dutt: Do you bow to Him who is the Lord of the Ashvins, and the Lord of the Maruts, who is the Lord of all Sacrifices laid down in the Vedas, and the Lord of the Vedangas.

M. N. Dutt: Bow Him who always lives in the Ocean, and who is called Hari, and whose hair is like the blades of the Munja grass. Bow to Him who is Peace and Tranquillity, and who gives the Religion of Liberation to all creatures.

M. N. Dutt: Bow to Him who is the Lord of Penances, of all kinds of energy, and of Fame, who is ever the Lord of Speech and the Lord of all the Rivers also.

M. N. Dutt: Bow to Him who is called Kaparddin, who is the Geat Boar, who is the Unicorn, and who is endued with great intelligence; who is the Sun, who assumed the well-known form with the equine head; and who is always shown in a fourfold form.

M. N. Dutt: Bow to Him who is unravelled, who is capable of being apprehended by knowledge only, who is both indestructible and destructible. The supreme Deity, who is iminutable, permeates all things.

M. N. Dutt: He is the Supreme Lord who can be known with the help of the eye of Knowledge alone. It was thus that, helped by the eye of Knowledge, I saw, in days of yore, that foremost of gods.

M. N. Dutt: Asked by you, I have told you everything in full, ye disciples, and do you act according to my words and dutifully serve the Supreme Lord called Hari. Do you sing His praises in Vedic words and adore and worship Him also according to due rites.

M. N. Dutt: Vaishampayana said It was thus that the compiler of the Vedas, gifted with great intelligence, discoursed to us, accosted by us on that occasion. His son, the highly pious Shuka, and all his disciples listened to him while he delivered that discourse.

M. N. Dutt: Our preceptor, with ourselves, O king, then worshipped the great Deity with Richs extracted from the four Vedas.

M. N. Dutt: I have thus told you everything about what you had asked me. It was thus, O king, that our Island-born preceptor discoursed to us.

M. N. Dutt: He, who, having uttered the words-'I bow to the holy Lord',-frequently listens, with rapt attention, to this discourse or reads or recites it to others, becomes gifted with intelligence and health, and possessed of beauty and strength If ill, he becomes freed from that illness; if fettered, freed from his bonds. The man who has desires gets (by this) the fruition of all his desires, and easily acquires a long life also.

M. N. Dutt: A Brahmana, by doing this, becomes conversant with all the Vedas, and a Kshatriya becomes crowned with success. A Vaishya, by doing it, makes great profits, and a Shudra enjoys great happiness.

M. N. Dutt: A sonless man obtains a son. A maiden gets a desirable husband. A woman who has conceived, gives birth to a son.

M. N. Dutt: A barren woman conceives and gets many sons and grandsons. He who recites this discourse on the way succeeds in passing happily and without any obstacles along his way. In fact, one acquires whatever objects he cherishes, if one reads or recites this narrative.

M. N. Dutt: Hearing these words of the great Rishi, fraught with certainty of conclusion, and containing a recital of the attributes of that great one who is the foremost of all beings, hearing this narrative of the great assembly of Rishis and other dwellers of heaven,-men who are devoted to the Supreme Deity derive great happiness.

M. N. Dutt: O Holy One, you should tell me the meanings of those various names uttering which the great Rishi Vyasa with his disciples sang the praises of the illustrious killer of Madhu. I wish to hear those names of Hari, that Supreme Lord of all creatures. Indeed, by hearing of those names, I shall be sanctified and cleansed like the bright autumnal moon.

M. N. Dutt: Vaishampayana said, Listen, O king, to what the meanings are of the various names, due to attributes and acts, of Hari as the powerful Hari himself of cheerful soul explained them to Phalguna.

M. N. Dutt: That killer of hostile heroes, viz., Phalguna, had at one time asked Keshava, enquiring after the meanings of the some of the names by which the great Keshava is worshipped.

M. N. Dutt: O Holy One, O supreme ordainer of the Past and the Future, O Creator of all Beings, O Immutable one, O Refuge of all the worlds, O Lord of the universe, O Remover of the fears of all persons.

M. N. Dutt: I wish to hear from you in detail, O Keshava, the meanings of all those names of yours, O God, which have been mentioned by the great Rishis in the Vedas and the Puranas on account of various acts of yours! None else than you, O Lord, is capable to explain the mcanings of those names.

M. N. Dutt: The Holy One said, In the Rigveda, in the Yajurveda, in the Atharvans and the Samans, in the Puranas and the Upanishads, as also in the works on Astrology, O Arjuna, in the Sankhya treatises, in the Yoga Scriptures, and in the treatises also on the Science of Life, many are the names that have been mentioned by the great Rishis. Some of those names refer to my attributes and some of them refer to my deeds. Do you hear, with rapt attention, O Sinless One, what the meaning is of each of those names referring to my acts.

M. N. Dutt: As I recite them to you. It is said that in days of yore you formed half my body. Salutations to Him of great glory. Him, viz., that is the Supreme Soul of all embodied creatures.

M. N. Dutt: Salutations to Narayana, to Him that is at one with the universe, to .Him who is above the three qualities, to Him, that is again, the Soul of those qualities. From His grace has originated Brahman, and from His anger has arisen Rudra.

M. N. Dutt: He is the source whence have originated all mobile and immobile creatures. O foremost of all persons gifted with Sattva (Goodness), the attribute of Sattva consists of eighteen qualities. That attribute is Supreme Nature having for her soul the Sky and Earth and succeeding by her creative forces in keeping up the universe.

M. N. Dutt: That Nature is at one with the fruit of all acts. She is also the pure Chit. She is immortal, and invincible, and is called the Soul of the universe. From her proceed all the changes of both Creation and Destruction,

M. N. Dutt: Divested of sex, She or He is the penances that people practise. He is both the sacrifice that is performed and the sacrificer who celebrates the sacrifice. He is the ancient and the infinite Purusha. He is otherwise called Aniruddha and is the source of the Creation and the Destruction of the universe.

M. N. Dutt: When Brahmana's night was passed, through the grace of that Being of great energy, a lotus made its appearance first, you having eyes like lotus petals.

M. N. Dutt: Within that lotus was born Brahman, originating from Aniruddha's grace. Towards the evening of Brahman's day, Aniruddha became filled with anger, and as a consequence of this, there originated from his forehead a son called Rudra gifted with the power of destroying everything. These two, viz., Brahman and Rudra, are the foremost of all the gods, having originated respectively from the Cheerfulness and the Anger (of Aniruddha).

M. N. Dutt: Acting according to Aniruddha's directions, these two gods Create and Destroy. Although capable of granting boons to all creatures, they are, however, in their own work, (viz., Creation and Destruction), merely instruments in the hands of Aniruddha.

M. N. Dutt: Rudra is otherwise called Kaparddin. He has matted locks on his head, some times shows a bald head. He loves to live in the midst of crematoriums which form his home. He practises the austerest vows. He is a Yogin of mighty power and energy.

M. N. Dutt: He is the destroyer of Daksha's sacrifice and the tearer of Bhaga's eyes. O son of Pandu, Rudra should be known to have always Narayana for his Soul.

M. N. Dutt: If that god of gods, viz., Mahesvara, be adored, then, O Partha, is the powerful Narayana also adored.

M. N. Dutt: I am the Soul, O son of Pandu, of all the worlds, of all the universe. Rudra again, is my Soul. It is for this that I always worship him.

M. N. Dutt: If I do not worship the auspicious and boon-giving Ishana, nobody would then worship my own self.

M. N. Dutt: The ordinances I set are followed by all the worlds. Those ordinances should always be worshipped, and it is, therefore, that I worship them.

M. N. Dutt: He who knows Rudra knows myself, and he who knows myself, knows Rudra. He who follows Rudra follows me. Rudra is Narayana. Both are one; and one is shown in two different forms.

M. N. Dutt: Rudra and Narayana, forming one person, pervade all displayed things and cause them to act. No one else than Rudra is capable to grant me a boon, O son of Pandu.

M. N. Dutt: Having settled this in my mind, I worshipped in days of yore the ancient and powerful Rudra, for getting the boon of a son. In worshipping Rudra thus, I worshipped my own self.

M. N. Dutt: Vishnu never bows his head to any god except his own self. It is therefore that I worship Rudra.

M. N. Dutt: All the gods, including Brahman and Indra and the gods and the great Rishis, worship Narayana, that foremost of gods, otherwise called by the name of Hari.

M. N. Dutt: Vishnu is the foremost of all Beings past, present, or future, and as such should always be worshipped with respect.

M. N. Dutt: Do you bow your head to Vishnu. Do you bow your head to Him who gives protection to all. Do you bow,, O son of Kunti, to that great boon-giving god, that foremost of gods, who eats the offerings made to him in sacrifices.

M. N. Dutt: I have heard that there are four kinds of worshippers. Among them all, they that are devoted to me wholly and do not worship any other god, are the foremost. I am the end they seek, and though engaged in deeds, they never seek the fruits thereof.

M. N. Dutt: The three remaining classes of my worshippers are those who seek the fruits of their acts. They acquire regions of great happiness, but then they have to drop down therefrom upon the exhaustion of their merits. Those amongst my worshippers, therefore, who are fully awakened obtain what is foremost.

M. N. Dutt: Those who are awakened and whose conduct shows such enlightenment, may be engaged in worshipping Brahman or Mahadeva or the other gods who live in heaven, but they succeed at least in getting to myself.

M. N. Dutt: I have thus told you, O Partha, what the destinations are between my worshippers. Yourself, O son of Kunti, and myself are known as Nara and Narayana. Both of us have taken human bodies only for the purpose of lightening the load of the Earth.

M. N. Dutt: I know the different sorts of Yoga that rest on the Soul. I know who I am and whence I am, O Bharata. I know the Religion of Renunciation, and all that contributes to the prosperity of creatures.

M. N. Dutt: Eternal as I am, I am the one sole Refuge of all men. The waters have been called by the name of Nara, for they originated from Him called Nara. And since the waters, in former times, were my refuge, I am, therefore, called by the name of Narayana.

M. N. Dutt: Taking the form of the Sun I cover the universe, with my rays. And because I am the home of all creatures, therefore, am I called by the name of Vasudeva.

M. N. Dutt: I am the end of all creatures and their father, O Bharata. I pervade the entire sky and the Earth. O Partha. and my splendour transcends every other splendour.

M. N. Dutt: I am He, O Bharata, whom all creatures wish to attain to at the end. And because I overwhelm all the universe, I am called by the name of Vishnu.

M. N. Dutt: Desirous of acquiring success through control of their senses, people seek to obtain to me who am heaven and Earth and the sky between the two. For this am I called Damodara.

M. N. Dutt: The word Prishni includes food, the Vedas, water, and nectar. These four are always in my stomach. Hence am I called Prishnigarbha.

M. N. Dutt: The Rishis have said that once on a time when the Rishi Trita was thrown into a well by Ekata and Dvita, the distressed Trita invoked me, saying,-O Prishnigarbha, do you save the fallen Trita.

M. N. Dutt: That foremost of Rishis, viz., Trita, the spiritual son of Brahma, having called on me thus, was saved from the pit.

M. N. Dutt: The rays that come out of the Sun who gives heat to the world, from the blazing fire, and from the Moon, form my hair. Hence do foremost of learned Brahmanas call me by the name of Keshava.

M. N. Dutt: The great Utathya having impregnated his wife disappeared from her side through an illusion of the gods. The younger brother Brihaspati then appeared before that great one's wife.

M. N. Dutt: To that foremost of Rishis who had gone there for holding sexual intercourse, the child in the womb of Utathya's wife, O son of Kunti, whose body had already been formed to the five principal elements, said,-O giver of boons, I have already entered into this womb. You should not attack my mother!-Hearing these words of the unborn child, Brihaspati became filled with anger and imprecated a curse on him, saying,-Since you obstruct me thus when I have come there from desire of the pleasures of sexual union, therefore shall you, through my curse, be visited by blindness.

M. N. Dutt: Through this curse of the foremost of Rishis, the child of Utathya was born blind and remained so for a long time. It was, therefore, that that Rishi, in days of yore, passed by the name of Dirghatamas.

M. N. Dutt: He, however, acquired the four Vedas with their eternal limbs and subsidiary parts. After that-he frequently invoked me by this secret name of mine. Indeed, according to the ordinance as laid down he repeatedly called me by the name of Keshava.

M. N. Dutt: Through the merit he acquired by uttering this name repeatedly, he became cured of his blindness and then passed by the name of Gotama.

M. N. Dutt: This name of mine, therefore, O Arjuna, is productive of boons to them who utter it among all the gods and the great Rishis.

M. N. Dutt: The god of fire and Soma, blending together, become transfused into one and the same substance. It is, therefore, that the entire universe of mobile and immobile creatures is said to be pervaded by those two gods.

M. N. Dutt: In the Puranas, Agni and Soma are spoken of at possessing natures that had one and the same result. The gods also are said to have Agni for their mouth. It is on account of these two beings gifted with natures leading to the same result that they are said to be deserving of each other and upholders of the universe."

M. N. Dutt: How did Agni and Soma, in days of yore, attain to uniformity with regard to their original nature? Thus doubt has arisen in my mind. Do you remove it, O slayer of Madhu.

M. N. Dutt: I shall recite to you, O son of Pandu, an ancient story of events arising from my own energy. Do you listen to it with concentrated mind.

M. N. Dutt: When four thousand divine cycles elapse, the dissolution of the universe sets in. The Manifest disappear into the Unmanifest. All creatures, mobile and immobile, meet with destruction. Fire, Earth, Wind, all disappear. Darkness covers the universe which becomes one endless expanse of water.

M. N. Dutt: When that infinite expanse of water only exists like Brahma without a second, it is neither day nor night. Neither aught nor naught exists; neither manifest nor unmanifest.

M. N. Dutt: When such is the state of the universe, the foremost of Beings, viz., the Eternal and Immutable Hari originates from Ignorance, that combination of the qualities belonging to Narayana, that is indestructible and immortal, that is without senses, that is inconceivable and unborn, that is Truth's self fraught with mercy, that is endued with the form of existence which the rays of the gem called Chintamani have, that causes various kinds of inclinations to flow in diverse directions, that is divested of the principles of hostility and decay, and morality and decay, that is formless and all-pervading, and that is endued with the principle of universal Creation and of Eternity without beginning, middle, or end. There is authority for this assertion.

M. N. Dutt: The Shruti declares,-Day was not. Night was not. Aught was not. Naught was not. In the beginning there was only Ignorance. She was of the form of the universe, and she is the night of Narayana of universal form. This is the meaning of the word of Tamas.

M. N. Dutt: From that Purusha thus born of Tamas and having Brahma for his parent, came into existence the Being called Brahman. Brahman, wishing to create creatures caused Agni and Soma to originate from his own own eyes. Afterwards when creatures were to be created, the ceated persons came out in their due order as Brahmanas and Kshatriyas. He who came into being as Soma was none else than Brahma; and they that were born as Brahmanas were all Soma in sooth. He who came into Being as Agni was none else than Kshatriya. The Brahmanas became gifted with greater energy than the Kshatriyas. If you enquire about the reason thereof, the answer is that this superiority of the Brahmanas to the Kshatriyas is an attribute which is manifest to the whole world. It occurred as follows. The Brahmanas represent the eldest creation amonst men. None were created before who were superior to the Brahmanas. He who offers food into the mouth of a Brahmana is considered as pouring libations into a burning fire. I say that having arranged things thus, the creation of creatures was accomplished by Brahman. Having established all created beings in their respective positions, he keeps us the three worlds. There is a similar declaration in the Mantras of the Shrutis.

M. N. Dutt: You, O Agni, are the Hota in sacrifices, and the benefactor of the universe. You are the benefactor of the gods, of men and of all the worlds.

M. N. Dutt: There is other authority also for this You are, O Agni, the Hotri of the universe and of sacrifices. You are the instrument through which the gods and men do good to the universe.

M. N. Dutt: Agni is truly the Hotri and the performer of sacrifices. Agni is again the Brahma of the sacrifice. No libations can be poured into the sacrificial fire without uttering Mantras; there can be no penances without a person to perform them; the worship of the gods and men and the Rishis is done by the libations poured with Mantras. Hence, O Agni, you have been considered as the Hotri in sacrifices. You are, again, all the other Mantras that have been declared with regard to the Homa rites of men. The duty of the Brahmanas is to officiate for others in the sacrifices they perform. The two other castes viz., Kshatriyas and Vaishyas, that are included within the twice-born class, have not the same duty, laid down for them. Hence, Brahmanas are like Agni, who uphold sacrifices. The sacrifices strengthen the gods. Thus, strengthened the gods fructify the Earth. But the result that may be gained by the foremost of sacrifices may as well be done through the mouth of the Brahmanas.

M. N. Dutt: That learned man who offers food into the mouth of a Brahmana is said to pour libations into the sacred fire for pleasing the gods.

M. N. Dutt: In this way the Brahmanas have come to be considered as Agni. They who are endued with learning worship Agni. Agni is, again, Vishnu. Entering all creatures, he upholds their vital airs.

M. N. Dutt: Regarding it there is a Verse sung by Sanatkumara. Brahman, in creating the universe, first created the Brahmanas. The Brahmanas become immortal by studying the Vedas, and go to heaven by virtue of such study. The intelligence, speech, acts and observances, faith, and the penances of the Brahmanas keep up both the Earth and the heaven like slings of strings upholding bovine nectar.

M. N. Dutt: There is no duty higher than Truth. There is no one more worthy of respect than the mother. There is none more efficient than the Brahmana for conferring happiness both in this world and the next.

M. N. Dutt: The inhabitants of those kingdoms where Brahinanas have certain means of inaintenance become very wretched. There the no oxen do not carry the people or draw the plough, nor do cars of any kind bear them. There milk kept in jars is never churned for producing butter. On the other hand, the dwellers become shorn of every prosperity, and follow the ways of robbers.

M. N. Dutt: In the Vedas, the Puranas, the histories, and other authoritative writings, it is said that the Brahmanas, who are the souls of all creatures, who are the creators of all things, and who are at one with all existent objects, originated from the mouth of Narayana. Indeed, it is said that the Brahmanas first issued of that great boongiving gods mouth when he had controlled his speech as a penance. The Brahmanas are distinguished above the gods and Asuras, since they created by myself in my indescribable form as Brahma as I have created the gods and the Asuras and the great Rishis and placed them in their respective situations and have to punish them occasionally. On account of his amorous assault on Ahalya, Indra was cursed by Gautama, her husband, through which Indra got a green beard on his face. Through that curse of Kaushika, Indra lost also, his own testicles which loss was afterwards compensated by the substitution of the testicles of a ram. When in the sacrifice of king Sarjjati, the great Rishi Chyavana wanted to make the twin Ashvins sharers of the were sacrificial offerings, Indra objected. Upon Chyavanas insisting, Indra tried to hurl his thunderbolt at him. The Rishi paralysed Indras arms. Enraged at the destruction of his sacrifice by Rudra, the great Rishi Daksha once more began to practise severe austerities, and attaining to high power caused something like a third eye to appear on the forehead of Rudra. When Rudra became ready for the destruction of the triple city belonging to the Asuras, the preceptor of the Asuras, viz., Ushanas, provoked beyond patience, tore a matted lock from his own head and hurled it at Rudra. From that matted lock of Ushanas originated many serpents. Those serpents began to bite Rudra, at which his throat became blue. During a period, long gone by, at the time of the selfborn Manu, it is said that Narayana had seized Rudra by the throat and hence did Rudras throat become blue. On the occasion of churning the Ocean for ambrosia, Brihaspati of Angiras's family sat on the shores of the Ocean for performing the rite of Puruscharana. When he took up a little water for the purpose of the initial rinsing, the water seemed to him to be very muddy. At this Brihaspati became angry and cursed the Ocean, saying,-Since you continue to be so dirty without caring for the fact of my having come to touch you, since you have not become clear and transparent, therefore from this day you shall be tainted with fishes and sharks and tortoises and other aquatic animals! From that time, the waters of the ocean have become filled with various sorts of sea-animals and monsters. Vishvarupa, the son of Tashtri, formerly, became the priest of the gods. He was, on his mothers side, connected with the Asuras, for his mother was the daughter of an Asura. While publicly offering to the gods their shares of sacrificial offerings, he privately offered shares thereof to the Asuras. The Asuras, headed by their king Hiranyakashipu, then went to their sister, the mother of Vishvarupa, and begged a boon from her, saying,-Your son Vishvarupa by Tashtri, otherwise called Trishiras, is now the priest of the gods. While he gives to the gods their shares of sacrificial offerings publicly, he gives us our shares of the same privately. On account of this, the gods are being advanced and we are being weakened. You should, therefore, curse. influence him that he may take up our cause! Thus addressed by them, the mother of Vishvarupa went to her son who was then living in the Nandana forest (of Indra) and said to him,-How is it, son, that you are engaged in advancing the interests of your enemies and weakening that of your maternal uncles? You should not act in this way. Thus begged by his mother, Vishvarupa thought that he should not disobey her words, and as the result of that thought he went over to the side of Hiranyakashipu, after having paid proper respects to his mother. Upon the arrival of Trishiras, king Hiranyakashipu dismissed his old Priest, viz., Vashishtha the son of Brahman, and appointed Trishiras to that office. Enraged at this, Vashishtha cursed Hiranyakashipu, saying,-Since you dismiss me and appoint another person, as your Priest, this Sacrifice of yours shall not be completed, and some being, the like of whom has not existed before, will kill you! On account of this Hiranyakashipu was killed by Vishnu in the form of a man-lion. Vishvarupa, having taken up the side of his maternal relations, began to practise severe austerities for advancing them. Moved by the desire of making him swerve from his vows, Indra sent, to handsome Apsaras. Seeing those celestialnymphs of transcendent beauty, the heart of Vishvarupa became moved. Within a very short time he became greatly attached to them, the celestial nymphs said to him one day,-We shall not tarry here any longer. In fact, we shall return to that place whence we came! The son of Tashtri replied,-Where will you go? Stay with me. I shall do you good! Hearing him say so, the Apsaras rejoined, We are celestial nymphs called Apsaras. We chose in days of old the illustrious and boongiving Indra of great power!-Vishvarupa then said to them, This very day I shall so ordain that all the gods with Indra at their head shall cease to be!-Saying this, Trishiras began to recite mentally certain sacred Mantras of great efficacy. By virtue of those Mantras he began to increase in energy. With one of his mouths he began to drink all the Soma that Brahmanas devoted Sacrifices poured on their sacred fires with due rites. With a second mouth he began to eat all the food. With his him many third mouth he began to drink up the energy of all the gods headed by Indra. Seeing him swelling with energy in every part of his body that was strengthened by the Soma he was drinking, all the gods then, with Indra in their company, went to the Grandfather Brahman. Arrived at his presence, they addressed him and said, — All the Soma that is duly offered in the sacrifices celebrated everywhere is being drunk by Vishvarupa. We no longer get our shares. The Asuras are being advanced, while we are being weakened! You should, therefore, ordain what is for our behoof! After the gods ceased, the Grandfather replied, — The great Rishi Dadhichi of Bhrigu's race is now engaged in practising severe austerities. Go, ye gods, to him and solicit a boon from him. Do ye so arrange that he may renounce his body! With is bones let a new weapon be made called the Thunder-bolt!-Thus instructed by the Grandfather, the gods proceeded to that place where the holy Rishi Dadhichi was practising austerities. The gods, headed by Indra, addressed the sage, saying.-O Holy One, your austerities, we trust, are being well performed and uninterrupted !-The sage Dadhichi said,-Welcome to all of you! Tell me what I should do for you! I shall certainly do what you will say!-They then told him,You should renounce your body for benefiting all the worlds!—Thus prayed, the sage Dadhichi, who was a great Yogin and who considered happiness and misery equally, without being at all dispirited, concentrated his Soul by his Yoga power and renounced his body. When his Soul left its temporary tenement of clay, Dhatri, taking his bones, created a dreadful weapon called the Thunderbolt. With the Thunder-bolt thus created of the bones of a Brahmana, which was impenetrable by other weapons and irresistible and permeated by the energy of Vishnu, Indra struck Vishvarupa the son of Tashtri. Having killed the son of Tashtri thus, Indra cut off the head from the body. From the lifeless body, however, of Vishvarupa, when it was pressed, the energy that was still living in it gave birth to a powerful Asura named Vritra. Vritra became the enemy of Indra, but Indra killed him also with the Thunder-bolt. On account of the sin being thus doubled of Brahmanicide, Indra became stricken with a great fear and as the consequence thereof he had to relinquish the sovereignty of heaven. He entered a cool lotus-stalk that grew in the Manasa lake. On account of the Yoga power of lightness, he became very minute and entered the fibres of that lotus-stalk. When the king of the three worlds, the husband of Shachi, had thus disappeared from sight through fear of the sin of Brahmanicide, the universe became kingless The qualities of Darkness and Ignorance attacked the gods. The Mantras uttered by the great Rishis lost all efficacy. Rakshasas appeared on all sides. The Vedas were about to disappear. The denizens of all the worlds, having no king, lost their strength and began to fall an easy prey to Rakshasas and other evil Beings. Then the gods and the Rishis, in a body, made Nahusha, the son of Ayush, the king of the three worlds and duly crowned him as such. Nahusha had on his forehead full fivehundred luminaries of great effulgence, which had the virtue of defeating every creature of energy. Thus equipt Nahusha continued to govern heaven. The three worlds were restored to their normal state. The inhabitants of the universe more became happy and cheerful. Nahusha then said,-Everything that Indra used to enjoy is before me. Only, his wife Shachi is not by!-Having said this, Nahusha proceeded to where Shachi and, addressing her said,-blessed lady, I have become the king of the gods! Do you accept me!-Shachi replied, saying,-You are by nature, of a pious conduct. You belong, again, to the race of Soma. You should not attack another person's wife!-Nahusha, thus addressed by her, said,-I now occupy the position of Indra, I deserve to enjoy the dominions and all the precious possession of Indra. There is no sin in wishing to enjoy you. You were Indra's and, therefore, should be mine!-Shachi then said to him, I am observing a vow that has not yet been finished. After performing the final ablutions I shall come to you within a few days! Taking this promise from Indra's wife, Nahusha left her. Meanwhile Shachi, stricken with pain and grief, anxious to find her lord and assailed by her fear of Nahusha, went to Brihaspati. At the first sight Brihaspati took her to be stricken once was with anxiety. He immediately took to Yogameditation and learnt that she was intent upon doing what was necessary for restoring her husband to his true position. Brihaspati then addressed her, saying,-Equipt with penances and the merit that will be yours on account of this vow that you are observing, do you invoke the boon-giving goddess Upashruti! Invoked by you, she will appear and show you where your husband is living!—While observing that very austere vow, she invoked with the help of proper Mantras the boon-giving goddess Upashruti. Invoked by Shachi, the goddess appeared before her and said, I am here at your command! Invoked by you, I have come! What wish of yours shall I satisfy.-Bowing to her with the head down, Shachi-blessed lady, you should show me where my husband is! You are Truth! You are Rita! Thus addressed, the goddess Upashruti took her to the lake Manasa. Arrived there, she pointed out to Shachi her lord Indra living within the fibres of a lotus-stalk. Seeing his wife pale and emaciated, Indra became highly anxious. And the king of heaven said to himself,-Alas, great is the sorrow that has befallen me! I have fallen off from the position that is mine! This my wife, stricken with grief on my account, finds out my lost self and comes to me here! Having thought thus, Indra addressed his dear wife and said, In what condition are you now?-She answered him,-Nahusha asks me to become his wife. I have obtained leave from him, having fixed the time when I am to go to him! Indra then said to her,-Go and say to Nahusha that he should come to you on a car never used before, viz., one to which some Rishis should be yoked, and arriving at yours in that state he should marry you! Indra has many beautiful and charming vehicles. All these have borne you. Nahusha, however, should come on such a vehicle that Indra himself had never used! Thus advised by her husband, Shachi left that place with a joyous heart. Indra also once more entered the fibres of that lotus stalk. Seeing the queen of Indra return to heaven, Nahusha addressed her saying,-

M. N. Dutt: The time you had fixed is over!-Shachi said to him, as directed by Indra. YO king a number of great Rishis to the car he rode, Nahusha started from his place for coming to where Shachi was living.

M. N. Dutt: The foremost of Rishis, viz., Agastya born within a jar, of the semen of Maitra-varuna, saw those foremost of Rishis insulted by Nahusha in that way. Nahusha struck Him with his foot. Agastya said to him,-Wretch, as you are doing a highly improper act, do you fall down on the Earth! Be changed into a snake and do you continue to live in that form as long as the Earth and her hills continue!-As soon as these words were uttered by the great Rishi, Nahusha dropped down from that vehicle.

M. N. Dutt: The three worlds once more became kingless. The gods and the Rishis then in a body proceeded to where Vishnu was and appealed to him for encompassing the restoration of Indra. Approaching him they said,-O holy one, you should rescue Indra who is overwhelmed by the sin of Brahmanicide!-The boon-giving Vishnu replied to them, saying,-Let Shakra perform a Horse-sacrifice in honour of Vishnu. He will then be restored to his pristine position!-The gods and Rishis began to search for Indra, but when they could not find him they went to Shachi and said to her,-0 blessed lady, go to Indra and bring him here! Requested by them Shachi once more went to the lake Manasa, rising from the lake, Indra came to Brihaspati. The celestial priest Brihaspati then inade arrangements for a great Horse-sacrifice, substituting a black antelope for a good horse every way fit to be offered up in sacrifice. Causing Indra, the lord of the Maruts, to ride upon that very house Brihaspati led him to his own place.

M. N. Dutt: The lord of heaven was then worshipped with hymns by all the gods and the Rishis. He continued to rule in heaven, purged off of the sin of Brahmanicide which was divided into four parts and ordained to live in woman, fire, trees, and kine. It was thus that Indra, strengthened by the energy of a Brahmana, succeeded in killing his enemy it was thus that Indra once more regained his position.

M. N. Dutt: In days of yore, while the great Rishi Bharadvaja was saying his prayers by the side of the divine Ganga, one of the three feet of Vishnu, when he assumed his three-footed form, reached that place. Seeing that strange spectacle Bharadvaja attacked Vishnu with a handful of water, upon which Vishnu's bosom received a (mystic mark). Cursed by that foremost of Rishis, viz., Bhrigu, Agni was obliged to become a devourer of all things.

M. N. Dutt: Once on a time, Aditi, the mother of gods, cooked some food for her sons. She thought that, eating that food and strengthened by it, the gods would succeed in killing the Asuras. After the food had been cooked, Vudha, having finished the observance of an austere vow, came before Aditi and said her,Give me alms! Though thus solicited Aditi gave him none, thinking that no one should eat of the food she had cooked before her sons, the gods, had first taken it. Enraged at the conduct of Aditi who thus refused to give him alms, Vudha who was Brahma's self through the austere vow he had finished, cursed her, saying that as Aditi had refused him alms she would have a pain in her womb when Vivasvat, in his second birth in the womb of Aditi, would be born in the form of an egg. Aditi reminded Vivasvat at that time of the curse of Vudha, and it is, therefore, the Vivasvat, the god who is worshipped in Shraddhas, coming out of the womb of Aditi, passed by the name of Martanda.

M. N. Dutt: The Prajapati Daksha begat sixty daughters. Amongst them, thirteen were bestowed by him upon Kashyapa; ten upon Dharma; ten upon Manu; and twenty-seven upon Soma. Although all the the twenty-seven who called Nakshatras and conferred upon Soma were cqual in beauty and accomplishments, yet Soma became more attached to one, viz., Rohini, than the rest. Filled with jealousy, the rest of his wives, leaving him, went to their husband, saying,-O holy one, although all of us are equal in beauty, yet our husband Soma is wholly attached to our sister Rohini!-Enraged at this representation of his daughters, the celestial Rishi Daksha cursed Soma, saying, that thenceforth the disease phthisis should attach his son-in-law and live in him. Through this curse of Daksha, phthisis attacked the powerful Soma and entered into his person. Attacked by phthisis thus Soma came to Daksha. The latter addressed him, saying,-1 have cursed you because of your unequal conduct towards your wives. The Rishi then said unto Soma,—You are being reduced by the disease phthisis that has attacked you. There is a sacred water called Hiranyasarah in the Western ocean. Going to that sacred water, do you bathe there!-Advised by the Rishi, Soma went there. Arrived at Hiranyasarah, Soma bathed in that sacred water. Performing his oblation, he purged himself off of the sin. And because that sacred water saw illumined (abhasita) by Soma, therefore was it from that day called by the name of Prabhasa. On account, however, of the curse imprecated upon him in day of yore by Daksha, Soma, to this day, begins to decrease from the night of the full moon till his total disappearance on the night of the new moon whence he once more begins to increase till the night of full moon. The brightness also of the lunar disc from that time got a stain, for the body of Soma, since then, has come to show certain black spots. In fact, the splendid disc of the moon has, from that day, come to show the mark of a hare.

M. N. Dutt: Once on a time, a Rishi name Sthulashiras was practising very severe austerities on the northern breasts of the mountains of Meru. While engaged in those austerities a pure breeze, full of all sorts of delicious perfumes, began to blow there and fan his body. Scorched as his body was by the very severe austerities he was practising, and living as he did upon air alone to the excusion of every sort of food, he became highly pleased at that delicious breeze which blew around him. While he was thus pleased with the delicious breeze that fanned him, the trees around him, showed their flowers for making a display and extorting his praise. Displeased at this conduct of the trees which has the outcome of jealousy, the Rishi cursed them, saying,-Henceforth, you shall not be able to put fourth your flowers at all times.

M. N. Dutt: In days of yore, for doing good to the world, Narayana was born as the great Rishi Vadavamukha. While practising severe austerities on the breast of Meru, he called the Ocean to his presence. The Ocean, however, disobeyed his command. Engaged at this, the Rishi, with the heat of his body, solidified the waters of the Ocean and made them as saltish in taste as the hurnan sweat. The Rishi further said, your waters will henceforth be not drinkable. Only when the Equine-head, roving within you, will drink your waters, they will be as sweet as honey!-It is for this curse that the waters of the Ocean to this day are saltish and are drunk by no one else than the Equine-head.

M. N. Dutt: The daughter, named Uma, of the Himavat mountains, was sought by Rudra in marriage. (Ater Himavat) had promised the hand of Uma to Mahadeva the great Rishi Bhrigu, approaching Himvat, said to him-Give this daughter of yours to in marriage!-Himavat replied to him-Rudra is the bridegroom already selected by me for my daughter!-Enraged at this reply, Bhrigu said-Since you refuse my suit for the hand of your daughter and insult me thus, you will no longer contain jewels and gems!—To this day, on account of the Rishi's words, the mountains of Himavat have not any jewels and gems. Such is the glory of the Brahmanas.

M. N. Dutt: It is through the favour of the Brahmanas that the Kshatriyas are able to possess the eternal and undecaying Earth as their wife and me enjoy her. The power of the Brahmanas, again, is made up of Agni and Soma. The universe is kept up by that power and, therefore, is upheld by Agni and Soma united together.

M. N. Dutt: It is said that the Sun and the Moon are the eyes of Narayana. The rays of the Sun form the eyes. Each of them, viz., the Sun and the Moon, give strength and heat to the universe respectively.

M. N. Dutt: And because of the Sun and the Moon thus warming and strengthening the universe, they are considered as the Harsha (joy) of the universe. It is on account of these acts of Agni and Soma that keeps up the universe that I pass by the name of Hrishikesha, O son of Pandu! Indeed, I am the boon-giving Ishana the Creator of the universe.

M. N. Dutt: Through potency of the Mantras with which libations of clarified butter are poured on the sacred fire, I take and appropriate the share of offerings made in sacrifices. My complexion also is of that in sacrifices. My complexion also is of that foremost of gems called Harit. It is for these reasons that I pass by the name of Hari.

M. N. Dutt: I am the substantial residence of all creatures and am considered by persons wellversed in the scriptures to be at one with Truth or Necta. I am, therefore, called by learned Brahmanas by the name of Ritadhama.

M. N. Dutt: When in days of old the Earth became submerged in the waters and was not seen, I the discovered her and raised her from the Ocean. Therefore the gods worshipped me by the name of Govinda.

M. N. Dutt: Shipivishta is a name. The word Shipi means a person who has no hair on his body. He who pervades all things in the form of Shipi passes by the name of Shipivishta.

M. N. Dutt: The Rishi Yashka, with quiet soul, in many a sacrifice invoked me by the name Shipvishta. It is therefore that I came to bear this secret name.

M. N. Dutt: Having adored me by the me by the name of Shipivishta, the highly intelligent Yashka, succeeded in restoring the Niruktas which were lost on the Earth and sunk into the nether regions.

M. N. Dutt: I was never born. I never take birth. Nor shall I ever be born. I am the Soul of all creatures. Hence I pass by the name of Aja (unborn).

M. N. Dutt: I have never uttered anything mean or obscene. The divine Sarasvati who is Truth, who is the daughter of Brahman and is named Rita, represents my speech and always lives in my tongue.

M. N. Dutt: The existent and the non-existent have been merged by me in my Soul. The Rishis living in Pushkara which is considered as the residence of Brahmana called me by the name of Truth. even

M. N. Dutt: I have never swerved from the quality of Goodness, and know that the quality of Goodness has emanated from me. In this birth also of mine, O Dhananjaya, my ancient quality of Goodness has not left me so that in this life, establishing myself on Goodness, I began to perform acts without ever wishing for their fruits. Purged off of all sins as I am by virtue of the quality of Goodness which is my nature, I can be seen by the help of that knowledge only which flows from adoption of the quality of Goodness. I am reckoned also among those who follow that quality. For these reasons am I known by the name of Satvata.

M. N. Dutt: I till the Earth, taking the form of a large plough-share of black iron. And because my complexion is dark, therefore, am I called Vaikuntha.

M. N. Dutt: I have united the Earth with Water, Ether with Mind, and Wind with Fire. Therefore am I called Vaikuntha.

M. N. Dutt: The cessation of separate conscious existence by identification with Supreme Brahma is the highest stage for a living agent to acquire. And since I have never swered from that condition, I am, therefore, called by the name of Achyuta.

M. N. Dutt: The Earth and the sky are known to extend on all sides. And because I uphold them both, therefore, am I called by the name of Adhokshaja.

M. N. Dutt: Persons well-versed in the Vedas and engaged in interpreting the words used in those scriptures worship me in sacrifices by calling upon me by the same name.

M. N. Dutt: In days of yore, the great Rishis, while practising severe austerities, said,-No one else in the universe, save the powerful Narayana, is capable of being called by the name of Adhokshaja.

M. N. Dutt: Clarified butter which keeps up the lives of all creatures in the universe forms my effulgence. It is, therefore, that Brahmanas well-versed in the Vedas and possessed of concentrated souls call me by the name of Ghritarchis.

M. N. Dutt: There are three well-known ingredients of the body. They have their origin in action, and are called Bile, Phlegm, and Wind. The body is called a union of these three. All living creatures are kept up by these three, and when these three become weakened, living creatures also become weakened. It is, therefore, that all persons well-versed in the scriptures of the science of Life call me by the name of Tridhatu.

M. N. Dutt: The holy Dharma is known among all creatures by the name of Vrisha, O Bharata! Hence it is that I am called the excellent Vrisha in the Vedic lexicon called Nighantuka.

M. N. Dutt: The word ‘Kapi' signifies the foremost of boars, and Dharma is otherwise known by the name of Vrisha. It is, therefore, that that lord of all creature, viz., Kashyapa, the common father of the gods and the Asuras, called me by the name Vrishakapi.

M. N. Dutt: The gods and the Asuras have never been able to know my beginning, my middle, or my end. It is, therefore, that I am sung as Anadi, Amadhya, Ananta. I am the Supreme Lord, gifted with power, and I am the eternal witness of the universe.

M. N. Dutt: I always hear words that are pure and holy, O Dhananjaya, and never catch anything that is sinful. Hence am I called by the name of Shuchishravas.

M. N. Dutt: Putting on, in days of yore, the form of a boar with a single tusk, O increaser of the joys of others, I raised the sub-merged Earth from the bottom of the ocean. Therefore am I called by the name of Ekashringa.

M. N. Dutt: While I put on the form of a powerful boar for this purpose, I had three humps on my back. Indeed on account of this peculiarity of my form at that time that I have come to be called by the name of Trikakud (threehumped).

M. N. Dutt: Those who are well-versed in the science of Kapila call the Supreme Soul by the name Virincha. That Virincha is otherwise called the great Prajapati (or Brahman). Verily, I am at one with Him called Virincha on account of my imparting animation to all living creatures, for I am the Creator of the universe.

M. N. Dutt: The preceptors of Sankhya philosophy, who have settled conclusions, call me the eternal Kapila living in the midst of the solar disc with but Knowledge for my companion.

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