e 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 thi