dances with delight after he has swallowed up all things, the gods and the rest, without distinction. Glory to thee, Janárddana, who art man, the agent in developing the results of that activity which proceeds from the quality of foulness. Glory to thee, who art brute animals, the universal spirit that tends to perversity, which proceeds from the quality of darkness, and is encumbered with the twenty-eight kinds of obstructions 3. Glory to thee, who art that chief spirit which is diversified in the vegetable world, and which, as the essence of sacrifice, is the instrument of accomplishing the perfection of the universe. Glory to thee, who art every thing, and whose primeval form is the objects of perception, and heaven, and animals, and men, and gods. Glory to thee, who art the cause of causes, the supreme spirit; who art distinct from us and all beings composed of intelligence and matter and the like, and with whose primeval nature there is nothing that can be compared. We bow to thee, O lord, who hast neither colour, nor extension, nor bulk, nor any predicable qualities; and whose essence, purest of the pure, is appreciable only by holy sages. We bow to thee, in the nature of Brahma, untreated, undecaying; who art in our bodies, and in all other bodies, and in all living creatures; and besides whom there is nothing else. We glorify that Vásudeva, the sovereign lord of all, who is without soil, the seed of all things, exempt from dissolution, unborn, eternal, being in essence the supreme condition of spirit, and in substance the whole of this universe."

Upon the conclusion of their prayers, the gods beheld the sovereign deity Hari, armed with the shell, the discus, and the mace, riding on Garud́a. Prostrating themselves before him, they addressed him, and said, "Have compassion upon us, O lord, and protect us, who have come to thee for succour from the Daityas. They have seized upon the three worlds, and appropriated the offerings which are our portion, taking care not to transgress the precepts of the Veda. Although we, as well as they, are parts of thee, of whom all beings consist, yet we behold the world impressed by the ignorance of unity, with the belief of its separate existence. Engaged in the duties of their respective orders,

and following the paths prescribed by holy writ, practising also religious penance, it is impossible for us to destroy them. Do thou, whose wisdom is immeasurable, instruct us in some device by which we may be able to exterminate the enemies of the gods."