"That
foremost of all Beings, of whom the high-souled Sankara spoke to us on
that mountain, art Thou. Verily, thou art identical with Eternal Brahma.
Some time also Mahadeva burnt Himavat with his energy. Thou too hast
shown us a similar sight of wonder. Indeed, we have been put in
remembrance of that fact by what we have witnessed today." O mighty-armed
Janardana, I have thus, O puissant one, recited to thee the glory of that
god of gods, viz., him that is called Kapardin or Girisa!'"

"'Bhishma continued, "Thus addressed by those denizens of ascetic
retreats, Krishna, the delighter of Devaki paid due honours unto all
those Rishis. Filled with delight, those Rishis once more addressed
Krishna, saying, 'O slayer of Madhu, do Thou repeatedly show Thyself to
us at all times! O puissant one, Heaven itself cannot rejoice us so much
as a right of Thyself. Everything that was said by the illustrious Bhava
(regarding Thyself) is true. O crusher of foes, we have told Thee all
about that mystery. Thou art Thyself conversant with the truth of every
topic. Since, however, asked by us, it pleased Thee to ask us in return,
we have, for that reason, recited everything (about the discourse of
Bhava with Uma) to Thee for only pleasing Thee. There is nothing in the
three worlds that is unknown to Thee. Thou art fully conversant with the
birth and origin of all things, indeed, with everything that operates as
a cause (for the production of other objects). In consequence of the
lightness of our character, we are unable to bear (within ourselves the
knowledge of) any mystery (without disclosing it).[583] Indeed, in Thy
presence, O puissant one, we indulge in incoherences from the lightness
of our hearts. There is no wonderful thing that is unknown to Thee!
Whatever is on earth, and whatever is in heaven, all is known to Thee! We
take our leave of Thee, O Krishna, for returning to our respective abodes.
Mayst Thou increase in intelligence and prosperity! O sire, Thou wilt
soon get a son like unto Thee or even more distinguished than Thyself. He
will be endued with great energy and splendour. He will achieve great
feats, and become possessed of puissance as great as Thine!'"[584]

"'Bhishma continued, "After this, the great Rishis bowed unto that god of
gods, that scion of Yadu's race, that foremost of all Beings. They then
circumambulated Him and taking His leave, departed. As regards Narayana,
who is endued with prosperity and blazing effu