he deities. The North is the lord of
all the points of the compass; Soma of great energy is the lord of all
learned Brahmanas. Kuvera is the lord of all precious gems, and Purandara
of all the deities. Such is the highest creation among all entities.
Prajapati is the lord of all creatures. Of all entities whatever, I, who
am full of Brahman, am the foremost. There is no entity that is higher
than myself or Vishnu. The great Vishnu, who is full of Brahman, is the
king of kings over all. Know him to be the ruler, the creator, the
uncreated Hari. He is the ruler of men and Kinnaras and Yakshas and
Gandharvas, and Snakes and Rakshasas, and deities and Danavas and Nagas.
Among those that are followed by persons full of desire is the great
goddess Maheswari of beautiful eyes. She is otherwise called by the name
of Parvati. Know that the goddess Uma is the foremost and the most
auspicious of women. Among women that are a source of pleasure, the
foremost are the Apsaras who are possessed of great splendour.[127] Kings
are desirous of acquiring piety, and Brahmanas are causeways of piety.
Therefore, the king should always strive to protect the twice-born ones.
Those kings in whose dominions good men languish are regarded as bereft
of the virtues of their order. Hereafter they have to go into wrong
paths. Those kings in whose dominions good men are protected, rejoice in
this world and enjoy happiness hereafter. Verily, those high-souled ones
attain to the highest seat. Understand this, ye foremost of regenerate
ones. I shall after this state the everlasting indications of duties.
Abstention from injury is the highest duty. Injury is an indication of
unrighteousness. Splendour is the indication of the deities. Men have
acts for their indications. Ether (or space) has sound for its
characteristic. Wind has touch for its characteristic. The characteristic
of lighted bodies is colour, and water has taste for its characteristic.
Earth, which holds all entities, has smell for its characteristic. Speech
has words for its characteristic, refined into vowels and consonants.
Mind has thought for its characteristic. Thought has, again, been said to
be the characteristic of the understanding. The things thought of by the
mind are ascertained with accuracy by the understanding. There is no
doubt in this, viz., that the understanding, by perseverance, perceives
all things. The characteristic of mind is meditation. The characteristic
of the good