Chapter CCXLIV - The hymn to Achyuta

Suta said:—O Shaunaka, now hear me narrate the hymn to the decay-less one (Achyuta), which grants to its reciter all that he may wish to obtain, and which Brahma being asked by Narada first related to him.

Narada said:—Be pleased to describe to me, O lord, the undecaying, unchanging Vishnu, the grantor of all bliss, who should be hymnised, every day, at the time of divine worship. Commendable and well-born are they, and they have achieved the end of their existence, who constantly hymnise the undecaying Vishnu. Such men are competent to confer all sorts of happiness on their kindred.

Brahma said:—Hear me narrate, O holy sage, the hymn to Vasudeva, which grants emancipation to its reciters, and which, being sung at the time of worship by a votary, brings about the gratification of the deity. Om, obeisance to the god, Vasudeva, the absolver of all sin, obeisance to the purebodied one, the embodiment of pure knowledge, obeisance to the lord of all the gods, who wears the ringlets of hair on his breast known as the Shrivatsa. Obeisance to the wielder of sword and buckle, who wears a garland of lotus flowers around his neck. Obeisance to the mainstay of the universe, to the support of the heaven—to the dreadful Nrisinha (Man-lion), to the light that burns in the heart, free from doubt and hesitation (Vaikuntha). Obeisance to the lotus-navelled, thousand-headed one, who 10s on the serpent of eternity (Shesha) in the ocean of the milk of ambrosia (Kshiroda). Obeisance to the destroyer of the Kshatriya race, who wields a battle-axe in his hand. Obeisance, over and again, to the adorable and the true-willed one. Obeisance to the lord of the three regions, to the discus-wielding divinity, to the subtlest, original, blissful principle. Obeisance to the dwarfshaped god, who relieved Vali of the cares of a kingdom—-to the spirit of the sacrifice, manifest in the shape of the primordial boar. Om obeisance to Govinda. Obeisance to the highest joy, to the perfect knowledge, to one who is eternal knowledge and original idea and from whom all knowledge proceeds. Obeisance to the supreme, secondless reality, to the foremost subjectivity, to the creator, governor and final cause of the universe, to the fountain source of all knowledge, to the supreme idealist whose idea has taken shape in the form of the universe. Obeisance to the destroyer of Madhu (amativeness), to the killer of Ravana, and to the god who brought about the ruins of the demons Kansa, Keshi and Kaitabha. Obeisance to the lotus-eyed one, to the Garuda-ensigned divinity, to the destroyer of Kalanemi, to the one that rides on the pinions of the celestial Garuda. Obeisance to the son of Devaki, to the joy of the race of Vrishni, to the lord of Rukmini, to the son of Aditi. Obeisance to the Gokula-abiding one, to the darling of Gokula, to Krishna, the darling of the milk-maids. Victory to the wielder of the mount Govardhana, to the killer of Vana, to the destroyer of Chanur and Kaliya; victory to the eternal truth, the eternal witness of the universal phenomena, to the fulfiller of all ends, to the all-giving Madhava known only by the Vedantins. Victory to the unmanifest, occult, undecaying reality, that runs through all to perfect knowledge, to the undecaying self of supreme felicity. Victory to the self of eternal peace that is without support (does not depend on any thing), to the adorable Vishnu, the lord of the universe.

Thou art the preceptor, the disciple, the initiation, and the mystic formula. Thou art the Nyasa (psychic location or projection), the rules, postures and Mudras of Yoga; thou art the implements of worship such as flowers, offerings, etc. Thou art the supreme receptivity, the mystic tortoise, the emblem of the pendency of the world; thou art the mystic lotus, the sacrificial platform and the dieties that preside over the mystic diagram (Mandalam) such as, the energies of virtue, knowledge, etc. Thou art Rama, the wielder of the plough-share, the destroyer of Samvara; thou art the Devas and the Brahmarshis, thou art the all-pervading god whose prowess is truth. Thou art the adityas, Vasus, Rudras, Ashvis, Maruts, Devas, Danavas, Nagas, Yakshas, Rakshasas, and Khagas. Thou art the Gandhatvas, Apsarasas, Siddhas, Pitris, and the immortals. Thou art the universal matter, the senses, the unmanifest one; thou art the mind, intellect, egoism, objects of sense-perception, and the self-conscious ego, the god that resides jn the hearts of all creatures. Thou art the sacrifice, the implements of sacrifice, the sacrificial Mantras, the oblations, the priest, the sacrificer, the chanter of the Vedic Mantras, the burnt offering, the priest that casts the sacrifical animal in fire. Thou art the firmament with its suns and starry constellations, the nether regions, the univérsal expanse of ether, the region of Maha; in short whatever is found to exist among men, beast and Devas, all creation whether mobile or immobile are but the manifestations of thy eternal Self, O Rord. Who can behold thy eternal and universal image, O Lord, which can not be perceived by the senses, which is invisible to the immortals, and which only the Yogins behold ip their psychic trance? Who can comprehend thy real, unmanifest, birthless, deathless, changeless, undecaying, all-pervading, perfect, secondless Self, which is infinite reality, perfect purity, pure knowledge, though devoid of qualities and full of supreme felicity? The shape which thou assumest in any particular incarnation, any of them the Devas, in their limited capacity, meditate upon as a substitute for thy real Self. O thou infinite subjectivity, how shall I be able to worship thy real Self, which the mind comprehendeth not and the senses do not perceive. I have been able to worship with offerings of flowers etc., only a few of thy attributes, O lord, manifest in the shape of Sankarsena, etc. Re graciously pleased to pardon me for the defects in my performances of Japas and Homas, as well as for any omission on my part in connection with thy divine worship. I have not been able to worship thee, O lord, as laid down in the Shastras, with due devotion, so be pleased to pardon my inefficiency. Day and night, morning and evening, whether moving or at rest, my devotion is firmly attached to thy feet, O lord. I do not care for my body, I am quite indifferent to the performances of religious rites, my sole delight is in thee, O lord of the universe. What has he not done for the attainment of heaven, or for self-emancipation, who has placed a firm faith in Vishnu, the grantor of all desires? Who is there in the universe, who can worship or hymnise thee to the fullest extent? Be pleased to accept this humble and deficient worship which I have made of thee, to-day.

Thus I have narrated to you, O sage, the hymn to the discus-wielding deity; sing his glories in a devout spirit, if you wish to attain the supreme bliss. He, who recites this hymn at the close of a worship of the universal preceptor, is able to work out bis salvation in no time, and becomes freed from the bonds of re-births. Even in the Kali Yuga he, who recites this hymn, thrice, every day, in a pure spirit, obtains all that he wishes to obtain. By reading this hymn to Vishnu, a sonless man obtains a son, a sick person gets rid of disease, an indigent man obtains wealth, a captive obtains his liberty, a seeker after erudition obtains erudition, a seeker after fame obtains renown, even the remembrances of his past births recur to a man who recites this hymn. He, who sings the glories of the absolute subjectivity, is truly wise, is really pure and truthful in his speech. He is omniscient and acquires the merit of performing all the religious rites. Those, who are not propelled to do any thing for the service of Hari (God), or are not fondly moved towards him, are beyond the pale of all religion. No purificatory rite can purify the mind or speech of the miscreant, who has. not an unswerving faith in the all-pervading lord (Vishnu). By duly worshiping the god Hari, the grantor of all comforts, a person obtains whatever he wishes to obtain in this life. I make obeisance to the immortal, birthless, all-pervading god, who resides in the hearts of all creatures, and whom the Asuras, Siddhas, and erudite persons can not comprehend in. their minds, whom only the holy sages know, and who is the sole witness of the universal phenomena. I make offerings of the flowers of sentiments, of pure, pleasurable faith and love to the eternal, universal lord, the embodiment of self, devoid of all qualities, the absolute purity: may that all-witnessing Self, the perfect knowledge, reside in my heart.

Thus I have narrated to you the hymn to the endless, originless supreme Vishnu. Let a man, whose mind is shorn of all desires, constantly meditate upon his divine self, in as much as he is the god. Where is the Yogin who by contemplating the pure, original, secondless subjectivity, effulgent as the sun, is not merged in his eternal essence? The self-controlled person, who recites this hymn in a devotional spirit, becomes absolved of all sin, and enters the infinite region presided over by Murari. He, who prays for friendship of the god, as well as for liberation of self, and virtue, and object of desire, is freed from all the shackles of life, and attains Vishnu, the adorable refuge of all. He, who abjuring all company takes recourse to Vasudeva, the absolute purity, the lord, the governor and destroyer of the universe, is freed from the shackles of life, and becomes an emancipated self.