f the present age it passed from him to
Brahma, from him to Vivasvan the Sun-god, from him to the patriarch
Manu, etc., that it does not allow the sacrifice of animals, and that
for salvation the co-operative grace of Narayana is necessary. Most of
this doctrine is already in the Bhagavad-gita; what is not found in
the latter is the account of the mysterious White Island, the theory
of _vyuhas_ or emanations, which represents Vasudeva as issuing from
Narayana and so forth, and the details of Narayana's incarnations. It
is therefore a distinct textbook of the Satvata or Pancharatra church,
not much later than the Bhagavad-gita. According to it, the Supreme
Being is Narayana, the Almighty God who reveals himself as highest
teacher and saintly sage, whose legendary performance of a five-days'
sacrifice (above, p. 76) has gained for his doctrine the title of
Pancharatra. Next in order of divinity is Krishna Vasudeva, whose
tribal name of Satvata has furnished the other name of this church;
then follow in due order Samkarshana, Pradyumna, and Aniruddha, all of
his family; and with Vasudeva is closely associated the epic hero
Arjuna, a prototype for this mortal pair being discovered in the
legendary Nara and Narayana.

[Footnote 23: It is obvious that this island lies in a latitude
somewhere between that of Lilliput and Brobdingnag, and that the
professors who have endeavoured to locate it on the map of Asia have
wasted their time.]

Comparing then the Bhagavad-gita with the Narayaniya, we see that in
all essentials they agree, but in two points they differ. Both preach
a doctrine of activity in pious works, _pravritti_, in conscious
opposition to the inactivity of the Aupanishadas and Samkhyas; but
the Narayaniya does not dwell much on this topic, and limits activity
to strictly religious duties, while the Bhagavad-gita develops the
idea so as to include everything, thus sketching out a bold system for
the sanctification of all sides of life, which enables it to open the
door of salvation directly to all classes of mankind. Secondly, the
Bhagavad-gita says nothing about the theory of emanations or _vyuhas_
in connection with Vasudeva; probably its author knew the legends of
Samkarshana, Pradyumna, and Aniruddha, but he apparently did not know
or at least did not accept the view that these persons were related as
successive emanations from Vasudeva. We must therefore look round for
sidelights which may clear up the obscurit