113 -   The hymn on the Lord

Om, bow to Varäha, bow to the son of Brahmä, bow to Sanatkumära.

1. Bow to that Varäha Who raises up the earth with ease, and within whose hoofs mountain Meru tinkles.

2. May this Vishnu, the lord of all, the destroyer of demons Mura, Naraka and Rävana, who, in the form of the boar, raised by the tip of the tusks the earth full of mountains and rivers and encircled by the ocean, for removing the fear of his devotees, whom the sinless saints easily attain, remove all adversities.

3-4. Earth who was thus raised up in the former kalpa asked the great lord in all reverence.

Earth said:

5. O lord, in every aeon you and you alone raise me up. Otherwise, O Kešhava, my body cannot move, not even my hands.

6. When the lord was consoling her, came there Sanatkumära and, blessing her, he said.

Sanatkumära said:

7. O Earth, you who are Vishnu’s and prosper by him, tell me what wonder you have seen when you were held by him.

8. Please tell me also what you have heard from him.

9. Hearing these words of the son of Brahmä (Sanatkumara), Earth said:

Earth said:

10. “O great Brahmin, listen to the essence of the great secret he told me in response to my request.

11. He told me about what should be done by a devotee of Vishnu in order to release himself from the miseries of worldly existence.

12. He told me the great secret of the eternal and ever valid dharma”.

13. Hearing these words of Earth, the great sage Sanatkumara brought there the ascetics from his place Kokämukha.

14. He then spoke to Earth.

Sanatkumära said:

15. “O lovely goddess, tell me now what I sought of you, namely the essence of dharma and the path to salvation”.

16. Earth then bowed to that great sage and spoke to him in sweet words.

Earth said:

17. ‘‘O sages, may you all be ready to hear what I have learnt from Vishnu.” They said, “yes, O goddess, tell us”. (She then said praising Vishnu):

18. “When the world was without sun, moon, stars and fire, when the quarters were all still and nothing was known.

19. “When the wind did not blow, the fire did not blaze and the lightning did not flash, when the star did not shine and the zodiac did not appear, and nothing was there.

20. And when the Vedas were lost, you assumed the form of a fish, entered the underworld, recovered the Vedas and restored them to Brahma.

21. O lord, during the churning of the ocean, you became a tortoise and held the Mandara mountain.

22. Then, when I was sinking into the nether world, you took the form of the boar and lifted me up from the ocean with a single tusk.

23. When hiranyakašhipu became haughty because of a boon, he was destroyed by you in the form of man-lion.

24. O lord, once I was seen by you exhilarated by the extermination of the Kshatriyas, in your form as Parašhuräma.

25. Then by your prowess the demon Rävana was vanquished, and in the form of the dwarf, O lord, Bali was bound.

26. I am not in the least able to know your actions. How do you raise me up and why do you create beings in me?

27. And even after creation, nothing could be known. The wind does not blow, fire does not blaze.

28. The sun and moon are not there, no stars, no planets; no Mars, no Venus, no Jupiter,

29. No Saturn, no Mercury, no Indra, Kubera, Yama or Varuna or Devas.

30. No trinity, Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva. Being distressed,¹ Earth sought resort in Brahmä.

1. The portion from here up to the end of verse 40 is out of place here and seems to be an interpolation.

31. Having gone there, she said in a plaintive tone: “O grand-father, I am sinking with the mountains and forests in me, because of my unbearable burden. Be pleased to save me”.

 32. Hearing the words of Earth, the grandfather of the world, meditated for a while and told her.

33. “O earth, I am helpless to save you in this sad predicament of yours.

34. Rush to Vishnu, the originator of all, who stands with bow and arrow and who has magical powers.

35. All activity is due to him alone. He is capable of saving all, then Why say about you”.

96. Earth with folded hands approached him, who was lying in yogic repose on the serpent Ananta.

Earth said:

37. On account of my burden, I sought the help of Brahma, but he sent me away saying:

38. ‘O fair goddess, I am unable to save you, please go to Vishnu.

39. He will hold you if you happen to sink in the ocean’.

40. O lord of the worlds, I have now come to you with supplication. Be pleased to protect me.

41. You are Äditya, Chandra, Yama, Kubera, Indra, Varuna Agni and Väyu. You are the quarters main and subsidiary, and all that is permanent and transient.

42. You are (the avatäras) Matsya, Kürma, Varaha, Narasimha, Vämana, (Parašhu) räma, Krishna, Buddha and Kalki.

43. Your greatness in this manner is known by yogic powers, and you remain the same aeon after aeon.

44. The earth, air, ether, water and light, and sound, touch, colour, taste and smell, are all yourself.

45-46. The planets and stars, (units of time like) kalä, käshthä and muhürta, the entire milky way and the pole stars are all your effulgence.

47. The month, fortnight and day, the seasons, the half-year and the year are all yours.

48. The rivers, oceans, mountains and snakes are all yourself.

49. You are (the mountains) Meru, Mandara Vindhya, Malaya, Dardura, Himavän and Nishadha.

 50. You bear the disc and the bow. You are Säñkhya-yoga. You are the tradition of the world, you are the adorable Näräyana.

51. You are dimunitive as well as extensive, you are the sacrifice permanent. You are the greatest of all yajñas and of the sacrificial pillars.

 52. You are Sama among the Vedas, and Mahävrata in all its detail. You are thunder as well as rain and you are truth as well as untruth.

53. You generate ambrosia and sustain with it the whole world. You are satisfaction, supreme satisfaction and the most ancient Man.

54. You are all that is movable and stationary in the world and all action. You are the lord of all the seven worlds.

55. You are time, you are death. You are the origin and cause of all beings. You are the beginning, middle and end. You are intelligence, intellect and memory.

56. You are the Sun, aeon, ascetic penance. You are measureless, you are all that is to be known and the greatest of all sages.

57. You are Ananta among the snakes and Takshaka among serpents. You are the (winds) Udvaha and Pravaha, and Varuna and the sea.

58. You project the world in sport, you are the gods in the homes. You pervade everything, nourish everything. You are the mind.

59. You are energy of every kind and the brightest of all flashes. At all times you are the biggest of all trees.

60. O lord, you are attention, you are the dispeller of all evils. You are the source of all the four types of beings, egg-born, earth-born, sweat-born and womb-born.

61. You are the great Garuda and you bear everything. You are the sounds of all drums, and the pure sky. 

62. You are Jaya and Vijaya¹; all the domestic deities are your manifestations. You are all-pervasive.

1. These two are the doorkeepers of Vishnu.

63. You are Bhaga, Liñga, and the supreme soul. You are to be worshipped by all. I bow to you, O lord, again and again.

64. O lord Krishna it behoves you who have in you all the worlds and the entire time, to protect me when I am sinking down.”

65. He who recites this hymn of Vishnu is cured of all diseases and freed from all bondages.

66. The issueless man gets issue, the poor man gets wealth, the man without a life gets one and the girl without a husband gets one.

67. He who recites this in the morning and evening goes to the world There need be no doubt in this matter.

68. Even if this is mechanically recited (without knowing the meaning), one gets a place in heaven for a thousand years.