by the Gandharvas, saints,* sages, and serpents. Apprehending, therefore, their real character, he thus eulogized the eternal deity, who consists of true knowledge:: "Salutation to thee, who art uniform and manifold, all-pervading, supreme spirit, of inconceivable glory, and who art simple existence!§ Salutation to thee, O inscrutable, who art truth, and the essence of oblations! Salutation to thee, O lord, whose nature is unknown, who art beyond primeval matter, who existest in five forms, as one with the elements, with the faculties.** with matter, with the living soul, with supreme spirit! Show favour (to me), O soul of the universe, essence of all things, perishable or eternal, whether addressed by the designation of Brahmá, Vishnu, Siva, or the like. I adore thee, O god,# whose nature is indescribable, whose purposes are inscrutable, whose name, even, is unknown; §§ for the at * Muni. + Siddha. : तुष्टाव सर्वविज्ञानमयमच्युतमीश्वरम् । सन्मात्ररूपिणेऽचिन्त्यमहिम्ने परमात्मने । Havis. See Vol. I., p. 2, note 1, where this passage is referred to and enlarged on. ** Indriya. ++ Atman and paramatman. The first is the same as jivátman. See Vol. IV., p. 253, note ++ Parameswara. ss अनाख्येयाभिधान । Abhidhana here takes the place of the more ordinary naman, the term rendered "appellation", just below. See Vol. IV., p. 346, supplement to p. 267, note *. tributes of appellation or kind* are not applicable to to thee, who art THAT,1 the supreme Brahma, eternal, unchangeable, uncreated.† But, as the accomplishment of our objects cannot be attained except through some specific form, thou art termed, by us, Krishna, Achyuta, Ananta, or Vishnu. § Thou, unborn (divinity), art all the objects of these impersonations; thou art the gods, and all other beings; thou art the whole world; thou art all. Soul of the universe, thou art exempt from change; and there is nothing except thee in all this existence. Thou art Brahmá, Pasupati, Aryaman,|| Dhátri, and Vidhátŕi; ¶ thou art Indra,** air, fire, the regent of the waters, the god of wealth, and judge of the dead; §§ and thou, although but one, presidest over the world, with various energies addressed to various purposes. Thou, identical with the solar ray, createst the universe; all elementary substance is = 1 Tad, 'that'; all that is, or that can be conceived. * It should seem, from a collation of passages, that játi, the expression here used, is synonymous with rúpa. Do naman and játi signify 'genus' and 'species'? See Vol. II., p. 328, text and note; and p. 337, supplementary note to p. 59, 1. 8. + Aja. कल्पनामृते । $ ततः कृष्णाच्युतानन्तविष्णु संज्ञाभिरीड्यसे । Corrected from "Áryaman". Dhátŕi and Vidhátŕi are said to be Brahmá as protector and creator. See Colebrooke's Miscellaneous Essays, Vol. I., p. 191. In lieu of Dhátŕi, some MSS. yield Vishnu. ** To represent tridasapati, 'lord of the gods.' + Toyesa; Varuúa, to-wit. #Dhana-pati; namely, Kubera. §§ The original yields Antaka, who is one with Yama. See Vol. II., p. 216, note 1. composed of thy qualities; and thy supreme form is denoted by the imperishable term SAT (existence). To him who is one with true knowledge; who is, and is not, perceptible, * I bow. Glory be to him, the lord Vasudeva, to Sankarshana, to Pradyumna, and to Aniruddha!"1 Akrúra's piety is, here, prophetic: the son and grandson of Krishna (see Vol. IV., p. 112,) are not yet born. But this is the Vaishnava style of addressing Krishna, or Vishnu, as identical with four Vyúhas, arrangements' or 'dispositions',--Krishna, Balarama, Pradyumna, and Aniruddha. † See the Asiatic Researches, Vol. XVI., p. 35.‡ In this, as in several other places, the Vishnu Purána differs from some of the other narratives of Krishna, by the length and character of the prayers addressed to Vishnu. The Hari Vamsa, for instance, here has no prayer or panegyric at all; the Bhagavata inserts one. *Sat and asat, 'real' and 'unreal'. Ratnagarbha, one of the commentators on the Vishnu-puráňa, refers, to a similar purport, to the Mahabharata. The passage intended is, apparently, in the Santi-parvan,―sl. 12888, et seq. Or Professor Wilson's collected Works, Vol. I., p. 45. CHAPTER XIX. Akrúra conveys Krishna and Ráma near to Mathurá, and leaves them: they enter the town. Insolence of Kamsa's washerman: Krishna kills him. Civility of a flower-seller: Krishna gives him his benediction. THUS, the Yádava (Akrúra), standing in the river, praised Krishna, and worshipped him with imaginary* incense and flowers. Disregarding (all) other objects, he fixed his (whole) mind upon the deity; and, having continued, for a long time, in spiritual contemplation, † he (at last,) desisted from his abstraction, conceiving he had effected the purposes of soul. Coming up from the water of the Yamuná, he went to the car; and there he beheld Ráma and Krishna, seated as before. As his looks denoted surprise, Krishna said to him: "Surely, Akrúra, you have seen some marvel in the stream of the Yamuná; for your eyes are staring, as if with astonishment." Akrúra replied: "The marvel that I have seen in the stream of the Yamuna I behold before me, even here, in a bodily shape; for he whom I have encountered in the water, Krishna, is, also, your wondrous self, of whose illustrious person the whole world is the miraculous development. § But * Mano-maya. † Brahma-bhúta. : कृतकृत्यमिवात्मानं मन्यमानो महामतिः । This is in the same stanza with what immediately follows, and should have been connected with it, in the translation. V. $ जगदेतन्महाश्चर्यं रूपं यस्य महात्मनः । तेनाश्चर्यवरेणाहं भवता कृष्ण संगतः ॥ 2 enough of this. Let us proceed to Mathurá. I am afraid Kamsa will be angry at our delay: such is the wretched consequence of eating the bread of another." Thus speaking, he urged on the quick† horses; and they arrived, after sunset, at Mathurá. When they came in sight of the city, Akrúra said to Krishna and Ráma: "You must now journey on foot, whilst I proceed alone in the car. And you must not go to the house of Vasudeva; for the elder has been banished, by Kamsa, on your account." Akrúra, having thus spoken, left them, and entered the city; whilst Ráma and Krishna continued to walk along the royal road. Regarded, with pleasure, by men and women, they went along sportively, looking like two young elephants. As they roamed about, they saw a washerman § colouring clothes; and, with smiling countenances, they went and threw down some of his fine linen. The washerman was the servant of Kamsa, made insolent by his master's favour; and he provoked the two lads with loud and T तत्किमेतेन मथुरां व्रजामो मधुसूदन । faûfa danfarau ycfqustusi fagna || + Váta-ramhas. : पद्भ्यां यातं महावीर्यौ रथेनैको विशाम्यहम् । § Rajaka. From the context the word seems to denote a dyer. || अयाचेतां सुरूपाणि वासांसि रुचिराननौ । The lads did not "throw down some of his fine linen", but asked him for it. aff at is the reading preferred by the commentator Ratnagarbha; f, that accepted by Sridhara: and neither of them mentions that of the other. १ कंसस्य रजकः सोऽथ प्रसादारूढविस्मयः । Instead of प्रसादा, some MSS have प्रमादा● . |