Chapter 193 - The Greatness of Śrīpati Tīrtha

[Sanskrit text for this chapter is available]

Śrī Mārkaṇḍeya said:

1-6. When this was spoken (by Nārāyaṇa), all the Apsarās bowed down to Nārāyaṇa repeatedly with a desire to have his vision and said:

Vasanta, Kāma and Apsarās said:

O holy Sir, this advice tendered by Your Holiness with a desire for our welfare has been understood and your greatness is comprehended.

You were kind enough to say with a delighted mind, “This wide-eyed beauty has been shown; I shall show you the universe too.” Now, O Lord of the universe, we have surrendered to you in all respects. Hence reveal yourself in the same manner as Ūrvaśī has been shown.

If you have no anger towards us despite our guilt, do reveal your own self directly. O Lord of the worlds, we offer obeisance to you!

Nārāyaṇa said:

O ladies of Suras, see here in my person all the worlds, Vasanta, Madana and yourselves, as also whatever besides you wish to see.

Śrī Mārkaṇḍeya said:

7-15. After saying this, the holy Lord Nārāyaṇa laughed loudly and the entire universe came into being there, viz. Brahmā, the lord of the subjects (the patriarch), Śakra, all Rudras, the Pīnaka-bearing Lord, Ādityas, Vasus, Sādhyās, Viśvedevas, the great sages, Nāsatya, Dasra, Wind-god, the Fire-gods everywhere, Yakṣas, Gandharvas, Siddhas, Piśācas, Serpents, Kinnaras, all the celestial damsels, the lores, the Vedas with their ancillaries, expressions (utterances) (of scriptural texts), human beings, beasts, worms, birds, trees, reptiles, subtle beings, all other beings called Jīva (living organism), all the oceans, mountains, rivers, forests, all the islands and continents, all the lakes, the entire earth full of cities and villages. All these were seen by the celestial ladies in the body of the great Soul.

Within the Cosmic-formed Lord those ladies of beautiful limbs saw the entire firmament filled with stars, planets and constellations.

No limit or end was seen above, below, or at the sides of that being. Hence they eulogized the Lord, the infinite and beginningless Being.

All the excellent ladies became terrified along with Madana and Madhu became dismayed and praised the lord devoutly.

Vasanta, Kāma and the Apsarās said:

16-25. O Lord, we do not perceive your beginning, end or middle. Your enormous physical form is Avyakta (unexpounded, not comprehended). We bow down to you, O Nārāyaṇa, O ultimate resort of the worlds, O infinite one, O immanent Soul.

O supreme Soul, not inferior to anyone else! You are identical with Śabda (sound) and other sense objects.

The Mahābhūtas (great elements): earth, firmament, wind, water and fire constitute your form.

All these originate from you, O imperishable one. O Lord, O (great) Soul, difference too constitutes your form.

O Hari, you alone are the seer of colour or form, the knower of the greatest; (you alone are) the hearer of sound. You are omnipresent and the creator of all, the enjoyer of fragrance, and a separate individual soul.

There is no one among all the Suras, there is no one in the human world, there is no one among beasts and other classes of beings who does not form a part of yours, O Lord of Devas.

O gentle one, Brahmā, ocean, the Moon, Śakra and others are your excellent forms. Among those possessing courage your form is the sea. Among the refulgent forms, you are the Sun as well as Fire.

Among those with forbearance as their asset (i.e. virtue) the most excellent form is Kṣiti (Earth). Among the quickest and the most powerful ones (your form) is the rapid-moving wind. The human form is the royal guise. O Lord of all, among the deluded ones you are the tree.

O imperishable one, you are Dānava among all those who are unjust. Among those with great discrimination you are Sanatsujāta. You abide in water in the form of taste. Fragrance is your form. You are Hutāśana (fire) in the form of the visible.

You are of the form of touch in the wind. Sound etc. of thine is the form in the firmament. O Lord, in mind you are of the form of thought.

In intellect, you are of the form of knowledge and understanding. You are the only one everywhere, O Lord of all, immanent in all.

In the middle of the lotus in your navel I see Lord Brahmā and in your eyebrows I see Hara. The Aśvins are in your ears. All the Guardians of the world are stationed in your arms. Your nose is Anila (wind or breath) and the Sun and the Moon are in your eyes. Your tongue is Sarasvatī, O Lord.

26-35. O Hṛṣīkeśa, we see the earth as your feet and all the worlds in your belly. We constitute your calves and the multitudes of Piśācas, Yakṣas, Uragas and Siddhas are in the toes of your feet.

The Lord of all subjects (Patriarchs) is established in your manliness. All the Kratus are established in the pair of your lips. O Lord, all of us are in your teeth and curved fangs. The Devas have become your teeth.

All the groups of the Devas are your hair. O Lord, Vidyādharas are the lines in the soles of your feet. All the Vedas along with the Aṅgas (ancillaries), O Lord, are stationed in the joints of your arms.

The form of the Boar holds up the Earth; the form of the Man-lion is always highly terrible. Your lofty equestrian head we find in Trivikrama. It is incomprehensible.

These oceans are in your body. These mountains constitute the place of your girdle (waist). So also these rivers with Gaṅgā as the chief one, and also all the continents and the regions of forests etc.

O Lord, these sages stationed in your body eulogize your exalted greatness. These performers of Yajñas worship you, the Lord of all the worlds, the infinite one.

Whatever is gentle here in the world originates from you alone. O Samastamūrti (one whose form is constituted of everything), there is nothing more hideous than you. O Keśava, there is nothing colder or hotter than you. You alone surpass all the other forms.

Be pleased, O Lord of all. O Lord identical with all beings, O eternal Ātman, O great Īśvara, O Īśa, pardon our offence because our minds are deluded by your Māyā.

Or, what offence has been committed by us, O Lord of Devas, because our hearts (as well as yours) have originated from your Māyā? O destroyer of the distress of those who bow down, our mind, suspicious of your Māyā, has become confused.

We have not committed any offence against you. If at all, any offence has been committed by us traversing the wrong path, let that be pardoned. O Lord, the offence is thine because as a creator you created our indiscretion too.

36-47. Obeisance, obeisance to you, O Govinda, O Nārāyaṇa, O Janārdana! May all our sins perish by the recitation of your names.

Obeisance, O infinite one, obeisance to you, O Soul of the universe, O conceiver of the universe! May all our sins perish by the recitation of your names.

O most excellent one, O Yajñapuruṣa, O protector of the subjects, O Vāmana! May all our sins perish by the recitation of your names.

Obeisance to you, to the Lotus-navelled one, to the patriarch! O Hara, may all our sins perish by the recitation of your names.

O Adhokṣaja (Viṣṇu), we offer obeisance to you, the boat for crossing the ocean of worldly existence. May all our sins perish by the recitation of your names. Obeisance to the supreme Lord of Śrī, to Vāsudeva the creator, who voluntarily combines himself with the Guṇas, to the cause of creation, sustenance and dissolution (of the world)!

O immanent Soul of the universe, withdraw this eternal form of yours. O Īśvara, our eyes are incapable of looking at this ever increasing form (of yours). O imperishable one, this dazzling lustre of yours is on a par with that of thousands of fires at the time of ultimate annihilation. With its enormous extent, the quarters, the earth and the firmament have been enveloped.

We do not know where we are stationed. O Lord, you alone are seen. We see the entire world dumped here, heaped into a lump.

Can we extol adequately your form? O Hari, what is the extent of this form? What is your greatness, O Lord? How can we describe it when it does not fall within the ken of the tongue?

A clear description of your exquisite features and your extent, cannot be effectively carried out, O Lord, even by ten thousand propounders and ten thousand times ten thousand intellects. Well, the form has been displayed. Great favour has been shown. O Lord of the worlds, withdraw this at your will (when it pleases you).

Śrī Mārkaṇḍeya said:

48-56. On being eulogized thus by those celestial damsels, Lord Janārdana, the conceiver of all living beings entered all those beings through his own partial aspects in the full view of those ladies now endowed with divine knowledge.

On seeing Lord Adhokṣaja getting merged into those beings, all those celestial damsels were surprised much.

The Lord of all entered the mountains, trees, oceans, earth, water, fire, wind and firmament. The Ātman of all entered the Kāla and Diks (quarters) by himself as well as otherwise.

He revealed the universe stationed in the form of himself by his own greatness. With regard to the Devas, Dānavas, Rākṣasas, Yakṣas, Vidyādharas, Uragas, human beings, animals, insects etc., beasts, the beings in the space above, on the earth, in heaven and those having water as their abode or the Ātman of the universe entered all these by assuming their forms. He merged thus along with Nara.

O suppressor of enemies, all those ladies of the Devas became surprised much with what had been seen by them before. On account of awe and fright, their faces became pallid, O excellent king, and they bowed down.

Lord Nārāyaṇa spoke to those celestial ladies:

Nārāyaṇa said:

57-63. May the fair lady Ūrvaśī be taken to the place where the Lord of Devas lives. For the sake of the welfare of ye all, the knowledge that this being is within all living beings has been imparted by me who have merged myself again into all those living beings. Hence do go now, you all. The entire group of Bhūtas (living entities) is a part of mine. I am a part of Vāsudeva, the Yogin, whose existence is within the Ātman. There is nothing other than this which is cited as Ananta (Infinite). Know ye all that he is unborn, Lord of all living beings and the greatest region, I myself, you the ladies, Devas, human beings, beasts—all these are the creations of Vāsudeva, the infinite one. After realizing this, O ladies of Devas, Asuras and human beings along with the flocks and herds of cattle should be seen impartially as equals.

Śrī Mārkaṇḍeya said:

On being told thus by that Lord, all those Sura-damsels bowed down to them both. O king, accompanied by Madana and Vasanta, they took Ūrvaśī with them and went back to the king of Devas. To the king of Devas they recounted everything in the manner it had happened.

Śrī Mārkaṇḍeya said:

64-71. Similarly, O great king, you too, comprehending Keśava within all the Bhūtas achieve equanimity and impartiality which alone is conducive to salvation.

Realizing this in particular, i.e. that Vāsudeva the great Īśvara is immanent in all the Bhūtas, how can you not eschew covetousness and other defects?

When all the Bhūtas have come out from Govinda, O king, and when they are not different, the emotions of enmity etc. too are likewise, O dear son. They should not be entertained.

Thus, O king, see the entire universe as having Vāsudeva for its Ātman. This form alone has been exhibited by Kṛṣṇa. The form that is Parameśvara has been recounted to you. It is the greatest form of Viṣṇu devoid of all states such as birth etc.

O king, what I mention succinctly may be listened to. By knowing this, a person attains the greatest salvation. Everything is on a par with Viṣṇu. Bhāva (existence) and Abhāva (non-existence) are identical with him.

This Īśa is both Sat (manifest) and Asat (unmanifest); Mahādeva is the highest state.

Viṣṇu alone is the refuge and raft unto men immersed in the ocean of worldly existence, who are assailed by the squall of Dvandvas (like pleasure- pain), who are burdened with the succour of sons, daughters and wives, who get drowned in the dangerous waters of sensual pleasures without a boat.