Chapter 44

“Vaisampayana said, ‘Having got back the kingdom, king Yudhishthira ofgreat wisdom and purity, after the ceremony of installation had beenover, joining his hands together, addressed the lotus-eyed Krishna ofDasarha’s race, saying, ‘Through thy grace, O Krishna, through thy policyand might and intelligence and prowess, O tiger among the Yadus, I havegot back this ancestral kingdom of mine. O thou of eyes like lotusleaves, I repeatedly bow to thee, O chastiser of foes! Thou hast beencalled the One only Being. Thou hast been said to be the refuge of allworshippers. The regenerate ones adore thee under innumerable names.[127]Salutations to thee, O Creator of the Universe! Thou art the soul of theUniverse and the Universe hath sprung from thee. Thou art Vishnu, thouart Jishnu, thou art Hari, thou art Krishna, thou art Vaikuntha, and thouart the foremost of all beings. Thou hast, as said in the Puranas, takenthy birth seven times in the womb of Aditi. It was thou that tookestbirth in the womb of Prishni.[128] The learned say that thou art thethree Yugas.[129] All thy achievements are sacred. Thou art the lord ofour senses. Thou art the great Lord worshipped in sacrifices. Thou artcalled the great swan. Thou art three-eyed Sambhu. Thou art One, thoughknown as Vibhu and Damodara. Thou art the great Boar, thou art Fire, thouart the Sun, thou hast the bull for the device on thy banner, and thouhast Garuda also as thy device. Thou art the grinder of hostile hosts,thou art the Being that pervadest every form in the universe and thou artof irresistible prowess. Thou art the foremost of all things, thou artfierce, thou art the generalissimo in battle, thou art the Truth, thouart the giver of food, and thou art Guha (the celestial generalissimo);Thyself unfading, thou causest thy foes to fade and waste. Thou art theBrahmana of pure blood, and thou art those that have sprung fromintermixture. Thou art great. Thou walkest on high, thou art themountains, and thou art called Vrishadarbha and Vrishakapi. Thou art theOcean, thou art without attributes, thou hast three humps, thou hastthree abodes, and thou takest human forms on earth, descending fromheaven. Thou art Emperor, thou art Virat, and thou art Swarat.[130] Thouart the Chief of the celestials, and thou art the cause whence theUniverse has sprung. Thou art Almighty, thou art existence in every form,thou art without form, thou art Krishna, and thou art fire. Thou art theCreator, thou art the sire of the celestial physicians, thou art (thesage) Kapila, and thou art the Dwarf.[131] Thou art Sacrifice embodied,thou art Dhruva,[132] thou art Garuda, and thou art called Yajnasena.Thou art Sikhandin, thou art Nahusha, and thou art Vabhru. Thou art theconstellation Punarvasu extended in the firmament, Thou art exceedinglytawny in hue, thou art the sacrifice known by the name of Uktha, thou artSushena, thou art the drum (that sends forth its sound on every side).The track of thy car-wheels is light. Thou art the lotus of Prosperity,thou art the cloud called Pushkara, and thou art decked with floralwreaths. Thou art affluent, thou art puissant, thou art the most subtle,and it is thou whom the Vedas describe. Thou art the great receptacle ofwaters, thou art Brahman, thou art the sacred refuge, and thou knowestthe abodes of all. Thou art called Hiranyagarbha, thou art the sacredmantras swadha  and swaha, thou art Kesava. Thou art the cause whence allthis hath sprung, and thou art its dissolution. In the beginning it isthou that createst the universe. This universe is under thy control, OCreator of the universe! Salutations to thee, O wielder of Sarnga, discusand sword!’ Thus hymned by king Yudhishthira the just in the midst of thecourt, the lotus-eyed Krishna became pleased. That foremost one of theYadavas then began to gladden the eldest son of Pandu with many agreeablespeeches.”