Chapter 76 - The Hymn Causing Prosperity

[Sanskrit text for this chapter is available]

Mahādeva said:

1-6a. O beautiful lady, listen. I shall tell you the hymn and the rise due to that. There is no doubt that on hearing it a sinner—killer of a brāhmaṇa, is freed. The Creator told it to Nārada. I am (now) telling it to you. The self-born god of unlimited lustre had told it to him after holding his charming arm. (At the time of) obsequies one should cause (Viṣṇu) to be remembered. (He is:) the revered Nārāyaṇa, with Śrī. The god Viṣṇu has the disc as his weapon. He holds the Śārṅga (bow). He is Hṛṣīkeśa. He is the ancient Puruṣottama. He is Ajita (i.e. unconquered). He holds a sword. He is Jiṣṇu (i.e. one desiring to conquer). He is Kṛṣṇa; he is eternal. He is the Boar having one horn. You (O god) are of the nature of the past, the future and the present. Rāghava is the immutable Brahman; is the truth and is there in the beginning and at the end. He is the great Dharma of the people. He is Viśvaksena. He has four arms.

6b-19. He is the general of the army. You (O god), are the protection. You are Viṣṇu, the lord of the world. You are the source. You are immutable. You are Upendra; you are Madhusūdana. You are Pṛṣnigarbha. You are Dhṛtarcis. You are Padmanābha. You destroy (your enemies) in a battle. Indra and great sages call you to be the refuge of those who seek your shelter. The great sages (also describe you) as the soul of the Vedas, the greatest of Ṛk and Sāman. You are the sacrifice. You are the Vaṣaṭkāra (exclamation). You are Oṃkāra. You torment your enemies. You are Śatadhanvan (literally, having a hundred bows). You are Vasu. You are the predecessor of Vasus. You are the lord of beings. You are the first creator of the three worlds. You are the self(-born) master. You are the eighth of the Rudras and the fifth of the Sādhyas. Aśvins are your ears. The Sun and the Moon are your eyes. O you who torment (your) enemies, you are seen at the end, in the beginning, and in the middle. They do not know the beginning or the end of him (i.e. of you). (They do not know) who you are. You are seen in all worlds, so also among cows and brāhmaṇas. (You are seen) in all directions, in the sky, on the mountains and in the cages. You have a thousand eyes. You possess Śrī, you have a hundred heads, you have a thousand feet. You support the beings and the earth with the mountains. You are in the (interior of) earth, in water, a great serpent with all beings. You remain supporting the three worlds, the gods, the gandharvas and the demons. O Rāma, I am your heart. Goddess Sarasvatī is your tongue. Gods are the small hair on your limbs. You have created them with your divine power. The night is said to be the closing of your eyes; and the day to be the opening of your eyes. Your body would be (i.e. is) perfection. The entire world is not without you. There is that stability in your body. You are the earth. Fire is your anger. Śeṣa, the glorious Lakṣmaṇa, is your favour. With your ancient strides you have crossed over the three worlds. You made Indra the king (of gods). You bound (down) the great demon Bali. Having withdrawn all the worlds unto you, you the Death, have just put them in yourself.

20-28. You turn the visible and the invisible into one fierce ocean, and in no other way. You took up an excellent, great, divine body. You killed Hiraṇyakaśipu who created fear among all beings. Being of the form of one having the face of a horse you resorted to the bottom of the nether world. The great oblation was brought together, so also repeatedly the secret (obscure). That which is heard to be the greatest one, which is greater than the great, is said to be the highest soul. You alone are said to be the highest hymn, and the highest lustre. You are the pure oblation offered to the gods and to the manes. You are the attainment of heaven and salvation. They describe you who are beyond Prakṛti as the maintenance, the creation, and the destruction (of the world). You are sung by the Vedas to be the sacrifice, the sacrifices, the sacrificial priest reciting the prayers of Ṛgveda at a sacrifice, and the officiating priest, and to be the enjoyer of the fruits of sacrifices. Sītā is Lakṣmī You are Viṣṇu, god Kṛṣṇa and the lord of the created beings. To kill Rāvaṇa you entered a human body. O you, best among those who uphold righteousness (dharma), this should be (i.e. was) done by you. O Rāma, you killed Rāvaṇa, and delighted the deities. O god, your power is infallible. Your valour is never fruitless. Rāma, seeing you is fruitful. Your praise is never fruitless.

29-42. O god, those men who on the earth are attached to you, the ancient, best ‘man’, will be successful and devout. Those men who will narrate this holy hymn of praise—the old account—are never defeated. How would the best men, devoted to Puruṣottama, be defeated here? O god, (except you) there is none in the world who is a distinguished giver of boons. Even he who is a great sinner should recite thrice (a day) this hymn of praise of the magnanimous Rāghava, which is the best of hymns. At the time of the sandhyā (prayer), and especially at the time of a śrāddha, this hymn should be carefully and with a devout heart, recited by the best brāhmaṇas. This is a great secret; it should never and at no place be told (to anyone). By reciting it he would obtain salvation, and he would certainly be Viṣṇu. The best brāhmaṇas should recite this hymn first at the end of the worship of the piṇḍas. (A man doing so) would obtain the eternal (fruit of the) śrāddha. It is very pure, and gives salvation to men. He who, after having written it, would preserve it with profound meditation, has his life, wealth, and power increased day by day. The ancestors of an intelligent man who after writing it, would sometime give it to a brāhmaṇa, are free and go to the highest position of Viṣṇu. A man who mutters or recites this hymn obtains the fruit which is obtained by the recital of the four Vedas. O great goddess, the holding of a conch, disc etc. at the time of a śrāddha by brāhmaṇas proficient in the Vedas, would surely be inexhaustible. He should put round his neck a garland sacred to Viṣṇu and should have the marks of a conch, a disc etc. (on his body). Then, muttering and reciting this hymn, he should duly and devoutly perform the śrāddha. Then it becomes perfect, not otherwise. Therefore, a devout man should carefully recite it. A man obtains everything by reciting it, and gets happiness.