The Mahabharata of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa, Volume 3 eBook

This eBook from the Gutenberg Project consists of approximately 2,886 pages of information about The Mahabharata of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa, Volume 3.

The Mahabharata of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa, Volume 3 eBook

This eBook from the Gutenberg Project consists of approximately 2,886 pages of information about The Mahabharata of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa, Volume 3.

“Thus did the blessed Hari assume in days of old that grand form having the equine head.  This, of all his forms, endued with puissance, is celebrated as the most ancient.  That person who frequently listens or mentally recites this history of the assumption by Narayana of the form equipt with the equine head, will never forget his Vedic or other lore.  Having adored with the austerest penances the illustrious deity with the equine head, the Rishi Panchala (otherwise known as Galava) acquired the science of Krama by proceeding along the path pointed out by the deity (Rudra).[1897] I have thus recited to thee, O king the old story of Hayasiras, consistent with the Vedas about which thou hadst asked me.  Whatever forms, the Supreme Deity desires to assume with a view to ordaining the various affairs of the universe, he assumes those forms immediately within himself by exercise of his own inherent powers.  The Supreme Deity, endued with every prosperity, is the receptacle of the Vedas.  He is the receptacle of Penances also.  The puissant Hari is Yoga.  He is the embodiment of the Sankhya philosophy.  He is that Para Brahman of which we hear.  Truth has Narayana for its refuge.  Rita has Narayana for its soul.  The religion of Nivritti, in which there is no return, has Narayana for its high abode.  The other religion which has Pravritti for its basis, has equally Narayana for its soul.  The foremost of all the attributes that belong to the element of Earth is scent.  Scent has Narayana for its soul.  The attributes of Water, O king, are called the Tastes (of the various kinds).  These Tastes have Narayana for their soul.  The foremost attribute of Light is form.  Form also has Narayana for its soul.  Touch, which is the attribute of Wind, is also said to have Narayana for its soul.  Sound, which is an attribute of space, has like the others, Narayana for its soul.  Mind also, which is the attribute of the unmanifest (Prakriti), has Narayana for its soul.  Time which is computed by the motion of the celestial luminaries has similarly Narayana for its soul.  The presiding deities of Fame, of Beauty, and of Prosperity have the same Supreme Deity for their soul.  Both the Sankhya philosophy and Yoga have Narayana for their soul.  The Supreme Being is the cause of all this, as Purusha.  He is, again the cause of everything, as Pradhana (or Prakriti).  He is Swabhaba (the basis on which all things rest).  He is the doer or agent, and is the cause of that variety that is witnessed in the universe.  He is the diverse kinds of energy that act in the universe.  In these five ways he is that all-controlling invisible influence of which people speak.  Those employed in investigating the several topics of enquiry with the aid of such reasons as are of wide application, regard Hari to be identical with the five reasons adverted to above and as the final refuge of all things.  Indeed, the puissant Narayana, endued with the highest Yoga puissance, is the one topic (of enquiry). 

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The Mahabharata of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa, Volume 3 from Project Gutenberg. Public domain.