our revered preceptor,
viz., Vyasa of unstained mind, as asked by thee. Listen to me once again.
There are diverse kinds of cults, O royal sage, that go by diverse names
such as Sankhya, Yoga, the Pancha-ratra, Vedas, and Pasupati. The
promulgator of Sankhya cult is said to be the great Rishi Kapila. The
primeval Hiranyagarbha, and none else, is the promulgator of the Yoga
system. The Rishi Apantaratamas is said to be the preceptor of the Vedas,
some call that Rishi by the name of Prachina-garbha. The cult known by
the name of Pasupata was promulgated by the Lord of Uma, that master of
all creatures, viz., the cheerful Siva, otherwise known by the name of
Sreekantha, the son of Brahma. The illustrious Narayana is himself the
promulgator of the cult, in its entirety, contained in the Pancharatra
scriptures. In all these cults, O foremost of kings, it is seen that the
puissant Narayana is the one sole object of exposition. According to the
scriptures of these cults and the measure of knowledge they contain,
Narayana is the one sole object of worship they inculcate. Those persons
whose visions, O king, are blinded by darkness, fail to understand that
Narayana is the Supreme Soul pervading the entire universe. Those persons
of wisdom who are the authors of the scriptures say that Narayana, who is
a Rishi, is the one object of reverent worship in the universe. I say
that there is no other being like Him. The Supreme Deity, called by the
name of Hari, resides in the hearts of those that have succeeded (with
the aid of the scriptures and of inference) in dispelling all doubts.
Madhava never resides in the hearts of those that are under the sway of
doubts and that would dispute away everything with the aid of false
dialectics. They that are conversant with the Pancharatra scriptures,
that are duly observant of the duties laid down therein, and that are
devoted to Narayana with their whole souls, succeed in entering into
Narayana. The Sankhya and the Yoga systems are eternal. All the Vedas,
again, O monarch, are eternal. The Rishis, in all these systems of cult,
have declared that this universe existing from ancient times is
Narayana's self. Thou shouldst know that whether acts, good or bad, are
laid down in the Vedas and occurrence in heaven and Earth, between the
sky and the waters, are all caused by and flow from that ancient Rishi
Narayana.'"

SECTION CCCLI

"Janamejaya said, 'O regenerate one, are there many Purushas