SECTION CCCXLII
Janamejaya said, "O holy one, it behoveth thee to tell me the
significance of those diverse names uttering which the great Rishi Vyasa
with his disciples hymned the praises of the illustrious slayer of Madhu.
I am desirous of hearing those names of Hari, that Supreme Lord of all
creatures. Indeed, by listening to those names, I shall be sanctified and
cleansed even like the bright autumnal moon.
Vaisampayana said, Listen, O king, to what the significances are of the
diverse names, due to attributes and acts, of Hari as the puissant Hari
himself of cheerful soul explained them to Phalguna. That slayer of
hostile heroes, viz., Phalguna, had at one time asked Kesava, enquiring
after the imports of the some of the names by which the high-souled
Keshva is adored.
"Arjuna said, "O holy one, O Supreme ordainer of the Past and the Future.
O Creator of all Beings, O immutable one, O Refuge of all the worlds, O
Lord of the universe, O dispeller of the fears of all persons, I desire
to hear from thee in detail, O Kesava, the significance of all those
names of thine, O God, which have been mentioned by the great Rishis in
the Vedas and the Puranas in consequences of diverse acts of thine. None
else than thee, O Lord, is competent to explain the significations of
those names.'"
"The holy one said, 'In the Rigveda, in the Yajurveda, in the Atharvans
and the Samans, in the Puranas and the Upanishads, as also in the
treatises on Astrology, O Arjuna, in the Sankhya scriptures, in the Yoga
scriptures, and in the treatises also on the Science of Life, many are
the names that have been mentioned by the great Rishis. Some of those
names are derivable from my attributes and some of them relate to my
acts. Do thou hear, with concentrated attention, O sinless one, what the
import is of each off those names (in particular) that have reference to
my acts. I shall recite them to you. It is said that in days of yore you
were half my body. Salutations unto Him of great glory, Him, viz., that
is the Supreme Soul of all embodied creatures.[1850] Salutations unto
Narayana, unto Him that is identifiable with the universe, unto Him that
transcends the three (primal) attributes (of Sattwa, Rajas and Minas),
unto Him that is, again, the Soul of those attributes. From His grace
'lath arisen Brahman and from His wrath hath arisen Rudra. He is the
source whence have sprung all mobile and immobile creatures. O foremost
of all persons endued with Sattwa, the attribute of Sattwa consists of
the eight and ten qualities.[1851] That attribute is Supreme Nature
having for her soul the Sky and Earth and succeeding by her creative
forces in upholding the universe. That Nature is identical with the fruit
of all acts (in the form of the diverse regions of felicity to which
creatures attain through their acts). She is also the pure Chit. She is
immortal, and invincible, and is called the Soul of the universe. From
her flows all the modifications of both Creation and Destruction. (She is
identical with my Prakriti or Nature). Divested of sex, She or He is the
penances that people undergo. He is both the sacrifice that is performed
and the sacrificer that performs the sacrifice. He is the ancient and the
infinite Purusha. He is otherwise called Aniruddha and is the source of
the Creation and the Destruction of the universe. When Brahma's night
wore off, through the grace of that Being of immeasurable energy, a lotus
made its appearance first, O thou of eyes like lotus petals. Within that
lotus was born Brahma, springing from Aniruddha's grace. Towards the
evening of Brahma's day, Aniruddha became filled with wrath, and as a
consequence of this, there sprang from his forehead a son called Rudra
vested with the power of destroying everything (when the hour for
destruction comes). These two, viz., Brahma and Rudra, are the foremost
of all the deities, having sprung respectively from the Propitiousness
and the Wrath (of Aniruddha). Acting according to Aniruddha's direction,
these two deities create and destroy. Although capable of granting boons
unto all creatures, they are, however, in the matter of the concerns to
which they attend (viz., Creation and Destruction), merely instruments in
the hands of Aniruddha. (It is Aniruddha that does everything, making
Brahma and Rudra the visible agents in respect of the universe). Rudra is
otherwise called Kaparddin. He has matted locks on his head, and
sometimes displays a head that is bald. He loves to dwell in the midst of
crematoriums which constitute his home. He is an observer of the
austerest vows. He is Yogin of mighty puissance and energy. He is the
destroyer of Daksha's sacrifice and the tearer of Bhaga's eyes. O son of
Pandu, Rudra should be known to have always Narayana for his Soul. If
that deity of deities, viz., Maheswara, be worshipped, then O Partha, is
the puissant Narayana also worshipped. I am the Soul, O son of Pandu, of
all the worlds, of all the universe. Rudra, again, is my Soul. It is for
this that I always adore him. If I do not adore the auspicious and
boon-giving Isana nobody would then adore my own self. The ordinances I
set are followed by all the worlds. Those ordinances should always be
adored, and it is, therefore, that I adore them. He who knows Rudra knows
myself, and he who knows myself knows Rudra. He who follows Rudra follows
me, Rudra is Narayana. Both are one; and one is displayed in two
different forms. Rudra and Narayana, forming one person, pervade all
displayed things and cause them to act. No one else than Rudra is
competent to grant me a boon. O son of Pandu. Having settled this in my
mind, I adored in days of yore the ancient and puissant Rudra, for
obtaining the boon of a son. In adoring Rudra thus I adored my own self.
Vishnu never bows his head unto any deity except his own self. It is for
this reason that I adore Rudra, (Rudra being, as I have already told
thee, my own self). All the deities, including Brahma and Indra and the
deities and the great Rishis, adore Narayana, that foremost of deities,
otherwise called by the name of Hari. Vishnu is the foremost of all
Beings past, present, or future, and as such should always be adored and
worshipped with reverence. Do thou bow thy head unto Vishnu. Do thou bow
thy head unto Him who gives protection to all. Do thou bow, O son of
Kunti, unto that great boon-giving deity, that foremost of deities, who
eats the offerings made unto him in sacrifices. I have heard that there
are four kinds of worshippers, viz., those who are eager for a religious
life, those who are enquirers, those who strive to comprehend what they
learn and those who are wise. Among them all, they that are devoted to
realising the self and do not adore any other deity, are the foremost. I
am the end they seek, and though engaged in acts, they never seek the
fruits thereof. The three remaining classes of my worshippers are those
that are desirous of the fruits of their acts. They attain to regions of
great felicity, but then they have to fall down therefrom upon the
exhaustion of their merits. Those amongst my worshippers, therefore, that
are fully awakened (and, as such, that know that all happiness is
terminable except what is attainable by persons that become identified
with me) obtain what is foremost (and invaluable).[1852] Those that are
awakened and whose conduct displays such enlightenment, may be engaged in
adoring Brahman or Mahadeva or the other deities that occur in heaven but
they succeed at least in attaining to myself. I have thus told thee, O
Partha, what the distinctions are between my worshippers. Thyself, O son
of Kunti, and myself are known as Nara and Narayana. Both of us have
assumed human bodies only for the purpose of lightening the burden of the
Earth. I am fully cognisant of self-knowledge. I know who I am and whence
I am, O Bharata. I know the religion of Nivritti, and all that
contributes to the prosperity of creatures. Eternal as I am, I am the one
sole Refuge of all men. The waters have been called by the name of Nara,
for they sprang from Him called Nara. And since the waters in former
times, were my refuge, I am, therefore, called by the name of Narayana.
Assuming the form of the Sun I cover the universe with my rays. And
because I am the home of all creatures, therefore, am I called by the
name of Vasudeva. I am the end of all creatures and their sire, O
Bharata. I pervade the entire firmament on high and the Earth, O Partha,
and my splendour transcends every other splendour. I am He, O Bharata,
whom all creatures wish to attain to at the time of death. And because I
pervade all the universe, I have come to be called by the name of Vishnu.
Desirous of attaining to success through restraint of their senses,
people seek to attain to me who am heaven and Earth and the firmament
between the two. For this am I called by the name of Damodara. The word
Prisni includes food, the Vedas, water, and nectar. These four are always
in my stomach. Hence am I called by the name of Prisnigarbha. The Rishis
have said that once on a time when the Rishi Trita was thrown into a well
by Ekata and Dwiti, the distressed Trita invoked me, saying,--O
Prisnigarbha, do thou rescue the fallen Trita! That foremost of Rishis,
viz., Trita, the spiritual son of Brahma, having called on me thus, was
rescued from the pit. The rays that emanate from the Sun who gives heat
to the world, from the blazing fire, and from the Moon, constitute my
hair. Hence do foremost of learned Brahmanas call me by the name of
Kesava. The high-souled Utathya having impregnated his wife disappeared
from her side through an illusion of the gods. The younger brother
Vrihaspati then appeared before that high-souled one's wife. Unto that
foremost of Rishis that had repaired thither from desire of congress, the
child in the womb of Utathya's wife, O son of Kunti, whose body had
already been formed of the five primal elements, said,--O giver of boons,
I have already entered into this womb. It behoveth thee not to assail my
mother. Hearing these words of the unborn child, Vrihaspati, became
filled with wrath and denounced a curse on him, saying,--Since thou
obstructest me in this way when I have come hither from desire of the
pleasures of congress, therefore shalt thou, by my curse, be visited by
blindness, without doubt! Through this curse of that foremost of Rishis.
the child of Utathya was born blind, and blind he remained for a long
time. It was for this reason that, that the Rishi, in days of yore, came
to be known by the name of Dirghatamas. He, however, acquired the four
Vedas with their eternal limbs and subsidiary parts. After that he
frequently invoked me by this secret name of mine. Indeed, according to
the ordinance as laid down, he repeatedly called upon me by the name of
Kesava. Through the merit he acquired by uttering this name repeatedly,
he became cured of his blindness and then came to be called by the name
of Gotama. This name of mine, therefore, O Arjuna is productive of boons
unto them that utter it among all the deities and the high-souled Rishis.
The deity of Fire (Appetite) and Shoma (food) combining together, become
transfused into one and the same substance. It is for this reason that
the entire universe of mobile and immobile creatures is said to be
pervaded by those two deities.[1853] In the Puranas, Agni and Soma are
spoken of as complementary to one another. The deities also are said to
have Agni for their mouth. It is in consequence of these two beings
endued with natures leading to the unification that they are said to be
deserving of each other and upholders of the universe.'"
