dsire, saying,--"Who is that one, O Lord, that was worshipped by
thy illustrious self with such humility and praised in such high words?
We desire to hear,"--Thus addressed, the illustrious Grandsire replied
unto all the Gods, the regenerate Rishis, and the Gandharvas, in sweet
words saying,--"He who is called TAT, He who is Supreme, He who is
existent at present and who will be for all time, He who is the highest
Self, He who is the Soul of beings, and who is the great Lord, I was
talking even with His ever-cheerful self, ye bulls among gods. The Lord
of the Universe was solicited by me, for the good of the Universe, to
take his birth among mankind in the family of Vasudeva. I said unto
him,--For the slaughter of the Asuras take thy birth in the world of
men!--Those Daityas and Rakshasas, of fierce form and great strength,
that were slain in battle, have been born among men. Indeed, the
illustrious and mighty Lord, taking birth in the human womb, will live on
the Earth, accompanied by Nara. Those ancient and best of Rishis, viz.,
Nara and Narayana, are incapable of defeat in battle by even all the
celestials united together. Of immeasurable effulgence, those Rishis
viz., Nara and Narayana, when born together in the world of men, will not
be known (as such) by fools. He, from whose Self, I, Brahman, the Lord of
the whole Universe, have sprung that Vasudeva, that Supreme God of all
the worlds, is worthy of your adoration. Endued with great energy, and
bearing the conch, the discus, and the mace, he should never be
disregarded as a man, ye best of deities. He is the Supreme Mystery, the
Supreme refuge, the Supreme Brahma, and the Supreme glory. He is without
decay, Unmanifest, and Eternal. He it is who hath been sung as Purusha,
though none can comprehend him. The divine Artificer hath sung of him as
the Supreme Energy, the Supreme Felicity, and the Supreme Truth.
Therefore, the Lord Vasudeva of immeasurable prowess should never be
disregarded as a man by all the Asuras and the gods with Indra at their
head. That person of foolish understanding is called a wretch, who, from
disregard, speaketh of Hrishikesa as only a man. People speak of him as
one labouring under darkness who disregardeth Vasudeva, that Yogin of
illustrious soul, for his entering into a human form. People speak of him
as one labouring under darkness who knoweth not that Divine personage,
that Soul of the mobile and the immobile creation, that one bearing th