glory to that imperishable form which, soul of all, is another manifestation 7 of thy might, the asylum of all qualities, existing in all creatures. I salute her, the supreme goddess, who is beyond the senses; whom the mind, the tongue, cannot define; who is to be distinguished alone by the wisdom of the truly wise. Om! salutation to Vásudeva: to him who is the eternal lord; he from whom nothing is distinct; he who is distinct from all. Glory be to the great spirit again and again: to him who is without name or shape; who sole is to be known by adoration; whom, in the forms manifested in his descents upon earth, the dwellers in heaven adore; for they behold not his inscrutable nature. I glorify the supreme deity Vishńu, the universal witness, who seated internally, beholds the good and ill of all. Glory to that Vishńu from whom this world is not distinct. May he, ever to be meditated upon as the beginning of the universe, have compassion upon me: may he, the supporter of all, in whom every thing is warped and woven 8, undecaying, imperishable, have compassion upon me. Glory, again and again, to that being to whom all returns, from whom all proceeds; who is all, and in whom all things are: to him whom I also am; for he is every where; and through whom all things are from me. I am all things: all things are in me, who am everlasting. I am undecayable, ever enduring, the receptacle of the spirit of the supreme. Brahma is my name; the supreme soul, that is before all things, that is after the end of all.

Footnotes

139:1 These are the four Upáyas, 'means of success,' specified in the Amera-kosha.

140:2 Celebrated Daityas. Viprachitti is one of the chief Dánavas, or sons of Danu, and appointed king over them by Brahmá. Ráhu was the son of Sinhiká, more known as the dragon's head, or ascending node, being a chief agent in eclipses. Bali was sovereign of the three worlds in the time of the dwarf incarnation, and afterwards monarch of Pátála.

140:3 With Nága páśas, 'snake-nooses;' tortuous and twining round the limbs like serpents.

141:4 Acts of devotion--sacrifices, oblations, observance of rules of purification, almsgiving, and the like--opposed to ascetic and contemplative worship, which dispenses with the ritual.

141:5 Havya and Kavya, oblations of ghee or oiled butter; the former presented to the gods, the latter to the Pitris.

141:6 Mahat, the first product of nature, intellect.

142:7 The preceding passage was addressed to the Purusha, or spiritual nature, of the supreme being: this is addressed to his material essence, his other energy, that is, to Pradhána,

142:8 Or rather, woven as the warp and woof; ###--### meaning 'woven by the long threads,' and ### 'by the cross threads.'

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Hinduism

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