world. That, for the punishment of the rebellious, thou hast descended upon earth in my house, having been propitiated by my prayers, sanctifies our race. Thou art the heart of all creatures; thou abidest in all creatures; and all that has been, or will be, emanates from thee, O universal spirit! Thou, Achyuta, who comprehendest all the gods, art eternally worshipped with sacrifices: thou art sacrifice itself, and the offerer of sacrifices. The affection that inspires my heart and the heart of Devakí towards thee, as if thou wast our child, is indeed but error, and a great delusion. How shall the tongue of a mortal such as I am call the creator of all things, who is without beginning or end, son? Is it consistent that the lord of the world, from whom the world proceeds, should be born of me, except through illusion? How should he, in whom all fixed and moveable things are contained, be conceived in the womb and born of a mortal being? Have compassion therefore indeed, O supreme lord, and in thy descended portions protect the universe. Thou art no son of mine. This whole world, from Brahmá to a tree, thou art. Wherefore dost thou, who art one with the supreme, beguile us? Blinded by delusion, I thought thee my son; and for thee, who art beyond all fear, I dreaded the anger of Kansa, and therefore did I take thee in my terror to Gokula, where thou hast grown up; but I no longer claim thee as mine own. Thou, Vishńu, the sovereign lord of all, whose actions Rudra, the Maruts, the Aświns, Indra, and the gods, cannot equal, although they behold them; thou who hast come amongst us for the benefit of the world, art recognised, and delusion is no more."

Footnotes

550:1 They had their bodies smeared in the style called Bhaktichheda; that is, with the separating or distinguishing (chheda) marks of Vaishńava devotion (bhakti): certain streaks on the forehead, nose, cheeks, breast, and arms, which denote a follower of Vishńu. See As. Res. XVI. 33.

551:2 The story is similarly told in the Bhágavata, &c.

551:3 The bending or breaking of a bow is a favourite incident in Hindu heroic poetry, borrowed, no doubt, from the Rámáyańa, where, however, it has an object; here it is quite gratuitous.