therefore have I been called Narayana (the water-homed).  O best of regenerate ones, I am Narayana, the Source of all things, the Eternal, the Unchangeable.  I am the Creator of all things, and the Destroyer also of all.  I am Vishnu, I am Brahma and I am Sakra, the chief of the gods.  I am king Vaisravana, and I am Yama, the lord of the deceased spirits.  I am Siva, I am Soma, and I am Kasyapa the lord of the created things.  And, O best of regenerate ones, I am he called Dhatri, and he also that is called Vidhatri, and I am Sacrifice embodied.  Fire is my mouth, the earth my feet, and the Sun and the Moon are my eyes; the Heaven is the crown of my head, the firmament and the cardinal points are my ears; the waters are born of my sweat.  Space with the cardinal points are my body, and the Air is my mind.  I have performed many hundreds of sacrifices with gifts in profusion.  I am always present in the sacrifices of the gods; and they that are cognisant of the Vedas and officiate therein, make their offerings to me.  On earth the Kshatriya chiefs that rule over men, in performing their sacrifices from desire of obtaining heaven, and the Vaisyas also in performing theirs from desire of winning those happy regions, all worship me at such times and by those ceremonials.  It is I who, assuming the form of Sesha support (on my head) this earth bounded by the four seas and decked by Meru and Mandara.  And O regenerate one, it is I who, assuming the form of a boar, had raised in days of yore this earth sunk in water.  And, O best of Brahmanas, it is I who, becoming the fire that issues out of the Equine mouth, drink up the waters (of the ocean) and create them again.  In consequence of my energy from my mouth, my arms, my thighs, and my feet gradually sprang Brahmanas and Kshatriyas and Vaisyas and Sudras.  It is from me that the Rik, the Sama, the Yajus, and the Atharvan Vedas spring, and it is in me that they all enter when the time cometh.  Brahmanas devoted to asceticism, they that value Peace as the highest attribute, they that have their souls under complete control, they that are desirous of knowledge, they that are freed from lust and wrath and envy, they that are unwedded to things of the earth, they that have their sins completely washed away, they that are possessed of gentleness and virtue, and are divested of pride, they that have a full knowledge of the Soul, all worship me with profound meditation.  I am the flame known as Samvartaka, I am the Wind called by that name, I am the Sun wearing that appellation, and I am the fire that hath that designation.  And, O best of Brahmanas, those things that are seen in the firmament as stars, know them to be the pores of my skin.  The ocean—­those mines of gems and the four cardinal points, know, O Brahmana, are my robes, my bed, and my home.  By me have they been distributed for serving the purposes of the gods.  And, O best of men, know also that lust,