Chapter 339

“Bhishma said, ‘Arrived at the spacious realm called White Island, theillustrious Rishi beheld those same white men possessed of lunarsplendour (of whom I have already spoken to thee). Worshipped by them,the Rishi worshipped them in return by bending his head and reverencingthem in his mind.[1816] Desirous of beholding Narayana, he began toreside there, attentively engaged in the silent recitation of mantras,sacred to him, and observant of vows of the most difficult kind, withconcentrated mind, the regenerate Rishi, with arms upraised, stood inYoga, and then sang the following hymn unto the Lord of the universe,Him, viz., who is at once the soul of attributes and divested of allattributes.

“Narada said, Salutations to thee, O God of gods, O thou that art freedfrom all acts! Thou art he who is divested of all attributes, who is theWitness of all the worlds, who is called Kshetrajna, who is the foremostof all Beings, who is Infinite, who is called Purusha, who is the greatPurusha, who is the foremost of all Purushas, who is the soul of thethree attributes, who is called the Foremost, who is Amrita (nectar), whois called Immortal, who is called Ananta (Sesha), who is Space,[1817] whois without beginning, who is both Manifest and Unmanifest as existent andnot-existent things, who is said to have his home in Truth,[1818] who isthe first of gods (Narayana), who is the giver of wealth (or of thefruits of acts), identified with Daksha and other Lords of the Creation,who is the Aswattha and other big trees, who is the four-headed Brahman,who is the Lord of all created Beings, who is the Lord of Speech,[1819]who is the Lord of the universe (or Indra), who is the all-pervadingSoul, who is the Sun, who is the breath called Prana, who is the Lord ofthe waters (viz., Varuna), who is identifiable with the Emperor or theKing, who is identifiable with the Regents of the several points of thecompass, who is the refuge of the universe when it is dissolved in thefinal destruction,[1820] who is Undisplayed (unrevealed), who is thegiver of the Vedas unto Brahman, who is identifiable with the sacrificesand Vedic studies achieved by Brahmanas with the aid of their bodies, whois identifiable with the four principal orders of the deities, who isevery one of those four orders, who is possessed of effulgence, who ispossessed of great effulgence, who is he unto whom the seven largestofferings in sacrifices are presented with the Gayatri and other sacredmantras, who is Yama, who is Chitragupta and the other attendants ofYama, who is called the wife of Yama, who is that order of the deitiescalled Tushita, who is that other order called Mahatushita, who is theuniversal grinder (Death), who is desire and all diseases that have beencreated for aiding the advent of Death, who is health and freedom fromdisease, who is subject to desire and passions, who is free from theinfluence of desire and passions, who is Infinite as exhibited in speciesand forms, who is he that is chastised, who is he that is the chastiser,who is all the lesser sacrifices (like Agnihotra and others), who is allthe larger sacrifices (like those called Brahma, etc.), who is all theRitwijas, who is the origin of all sacrifices (viz., the Vedas), who isfire, who is the very heart of all sacrifices (viz., the mantras andhymns uttered in them), who is he that is hymned in sacrifices, who takesthose shares of the sacrificial offerings that are presented to him, whois the embodiment of the five sacrifices, who is the maker of the fivesections or divisions of time (viz., day, night, month, season and year),who is incapable of being understood except by those scriptures that arecalled Pancharatra, who never shrinks from anything, who is unvanquished,who is only Mind (without a physical frame), who is known only by name,who is the Lord of Brahman himself, who has completed all the vows andobservances mentioned in the Vedas,[1821] who is the Hansa (bearer of thetriple stick), who is the Parama-hansa (divested of stick), who is theforemost of all sacrifices, who is Sankhya-yoga, who is the embodiment ofthe Sankhya philosophy, who dwells in all Jivas, who lives in everyheart, who resides in every sense, who floats on the ocean-water, wholives in the Vedas, who lies on the lotus (the image of the egg whencethe universe has sprung), who is the Lord of the universe, and whosetroops go everywhere for protecting his worshippers. Thou takest birth asall creatures. Thou art the origin of the universe (of all creatures).Thy mouth is fire. Thou art that fire which courses through the waters ofthe ocean, issuing out all the while from an Equine head. Thou art thesanctified butter that is poured into the sacrificial fire. Thou art thecar-driver (fire or heat that impels the body and causes it to live andgrow). Thou art Vashat. Thou art the syllable Om. Thou art Penances. Thouart Mind. Thou art Chandramas. Thou sanctifiest the sacrificial butter.Thou art the Sun. Thou art the Dikgajas (Elephants) that are sanctionedin the four cardinal points of the compass. Thou illuminest the cardinalpoints of the compass. Thou illuminest the subsidiary points also. Thouart the Equine head. Thou art the first three mantras of the Rig Veda.Thou art the protector of the several orders of men (viz., Brahmanas,Kshatriyas, Vaisyas, and Sudras). Thou art the five fires (beginning withGarhapatya). Thou art He who has thrice ignited the sacrificial firecalled Nachi.[1822] Thou art the refuge of the six limbs (viz., theVedas).[1823] Thou art the foremost of those Brahmanas that are employedin singing the Samans in sacrifices and other religious rites. Thou artPragjyotish, and thou art he who sings the first Saman.[1824] Thou artthe observer of those vows that depend upon the Vedas and that areobserved by singers of Samanas. Thou art the embodiment of the Upanishad,called by the name of Atharvasiras. Thou art he who is the topic of thefive foremost of scriptures (viz., those that appertain to the worship ofSurya, of Sakti, of Ganesa, of Siva, and of Vishnu). Thou art called thepreceptor that subsists only on the froth of water. Thou art aValikhilya.[1825] Thou art the embodiment of him who has not fallen awayfrom Yoga. Thou art the embodiment of correctness of judgment ofreasoning. Thou art the beginning of the Yugas, thou art the middle ofthe Yugas and thou art their end. Thou art Akhandala (Indra). Thou artthe two Rishis Prachina-garbha and Kausika. Thou art Purusthuta, thou artPuruhuta, thou art the artificer of the universe. Thou hast the universefor thy form. Thy motions are infinite. Thy bodies are infinite; thou artwithout end and without beginning, and without middle. Thy middle isunmanifest. Thy end is unmanifest. Thou hast vows for thy abode. Thouresidest in the ocean. Thou hast thy home in Fame, in Penances, inSelf-restraint, in Prosperity, in Knowledge, in grand Achievements, andin Everything belonging to the universe. Thou art Vasudeva. Thou art thegrantor of every wish. Thou art Hanuman that bore Rama on his shoulders.Thou art the great Horse-sacrifice. Thou takest thy share of offeringsmade in great sacrifices.[1826] Thou art the grantor of boons, ofhappiness, of wealth. Thou art devoted to Hari., Thou art Restraint ofthe senses. Thou art vows and observances. Thou art mortifications, thouart severe mortifications, thou art very severe mortifications.[1827]Thou art he who observes vows and religious and other pious rites. Thouart freed from all errors. Thou art a Brahmacharin. Thou tookest birth inthe womb of Prisni. Thou art he from whom have flowered all Vedic ritesand acts. Thou art unborn. Thou pervadest all things. Thy eyes are on allthings. Thou must not be apprehended by the senses. Thou art not subjectto deterioration. Thou art possessed of great puissance. Thy body isinconceivably vast. Thou art holy, thou art beyond the ken of logic orargument. Thou art unknowable. Thou art the foremost of Causes. Thou artthe Creator of all creatures and thou art their destroyer. Thou art thepossessor of vast powers of illusion. Thou art called Chittrasikhandin.Thou art the giver of boons. Thou art the taker of thy share of thesacrificial offerings. Thou hast obtained the merit of all sacrifices.Thou art he who has been freed from all doubts, Thou art omnipresent.Thou art of the form of a Brahmana. Thou art fond of Brahmanas. Thou hastthe universe for thy form. Thy form is very vast. Thou art the greatestfriend. Thou art kind to all thy worshippers. Thou art the great deity ofthe Brahmanas. I am thy devoted disciple. I am desirous of beholdingthee. Salutations to thee that art of the form of Emancipation.'”