also are the fruits desired by thee of those rites thou hast addrest
thyself in performing?"

"'Narada said, "Thou saidst unto me on a former occasion that rites and
observances in honour of the deities should be accomplished. Thou saidst
that the rites in honour of the deities constitute the highest sacrifice
and are equivalent to the worship of the eternal Supreme Soul. Instructed
by that teaching, I always sacrifice in honour of the eternal and
immutable Vishnu, through these rites that I perform in worshipping the
deities. It is from that Supreme Deity that Brahma, the Grandsire of all
the worlds, took his rise in days of yore. That Brahma, otherwise called
Prameshthi, filled with cheerfulness, caused my sire (Daksha) to start
into being. I was the son of Brahma, created before all others, by a fiat
of his will (although I had to take birth afterwards as the son of Daksha
through a curse of that Rishi). O righteous and illustrious one, I am
performing these rites in honour of the Pitris for the sake of Narayana,
and agreeable to those ordinances that have been laid down by himself.
The illustrious Narayana is the father, mother, and grandfather (of all
creatures). In all sacrifices performed in honour of the Pitris, it is
that Lord of the universe who is adored and worshipped. On one occasion,
the deities, who were sires, taught their children the Srutis. Having
lost their knowledge of the Srutis, the sires had to acquire it again
from those sons unto whom they had communicated it. In consequence of
this incident, the sons, who had thus to communicate the Mantras unto
their sires, acquired the status of sires (and the sire, for having
obtained the Mantras from their sons, acquired the status of sons).[1891]
Without doubt, what the deities did on that occasion is well known to you
two. Sons and sires (on that occasion) had thus to worship each other.
Having first spread some blades of Kusa grass, the deities and the Pitris
(who were their children) placed three Pindas thereon and in this way
worshipped each other. I wish to know, however, the reason why the Pitris
in days of yore acquired the name of Pindas."

"'Nara and Narayana said, "The Earth, in days of yore, with her belt of
seas, disappeared from the view. Govinda, assuming the form of a gigantic
boar, raised her up (with his mighty tusk). Having replaced the Earth in
her former position, that foremost of Purushas, his body smeared with
water and mud, set hims