ee to accomplish the purposes
of the deities I shall then appear in incarnate forms according to my
self-knowledge.' Having said these words, that grand form with the equine
head disappeared then and there. Having received his command, Brahman too
proceeded quickly to his own region. It is for this, O blessed one, that
the eternal Deity, with the lotus in his navel, became the acceptor of
the first share offered in sacrifices and hence it is that He came to be
called as the eternal upholder of all Sacrifices. He himself adopted the
religion of Nivritti, the end after which those creatures strive that are
desirous of indestructible fruits. He ordained at the same time the
religion of Pravritti for others, with the view to giving variety to the
universe. He is the beginning, He is the middle, and He is the end of all
created Beings. He is their Creator and He is their one object of
meditation. He is the actor and He is the act. Having withdrawn the
universe into Himself at the end of the Yuga, He goes to sleep, and
awakening at the commencement of another Yuga, He once more creates the
universe, Do you all bow unto that illustrious one who is possessed of
high soul and who transcends the three attributes, who is unborn, whose
form is the universe, and who is the abode or refuge of all the denizens
of heaven. Do you bow unto Him who is the Supreme Lord of all creatures,
who is the Lord of the Adityas, and of the Vasus as well. Do you bow unto
Him who is the Lord of the Aswins, and the Lord of the Maruts, who is the
lord of all the Sacrifices ordained in the Vedas, and the Lord of the
Vedangas. Bow unto Him who always resides in the Ocean, and who is called
Hari, and whose hair is like the blades of the Munja grass. Bow unto Him
who is Peace and Tranquillity, and who imparts the religion of Moksha
unto all creatures. Bow unto Him who is the Lord of Penances, of all
kinds of energy, and of Fame, who is ever the Lord of Speech and the Lord
of all the Rivers also. Bow unto Him who is called Kaparddin (Rudra), who
is the Great Boar, who is Unicorn, and who is possessed of great
intelligence, who is the Sun, who assumed the well-known form with the
equine head; and who is always displayed in a four-fold form. Bow unto
Him who is unrevealed, who is capable of being apprehended by knowledge
only, who is both indestructible and destructible. The supreme Deity, who
is immutable, pervadeth all things. He is the Supreme Lord who can be