Parāçara said:—Having issued out of the house of Kansa, Akrurā being
desirous of seeing Krishna, proceeded towards the house of Nanda in a
swift-coursing car. He thought within himself. "There is none more
fortunate than I, for I shall behold the countenance of a portion of the
holder of discus. To-day my life has borne fruit, my night is followed
by the dawn of day, for I shall behold the countenance of Vishnu
resembling full-blown lotuses. Blessed are my eyes and blessed are my
words, for on beholding Vishnu a conversation shall take place between
him and me. I shall behold the countenance of Vishnu having lotus eyes,
which, when seen only in imagination, removes all sins. I shall behold
to-day the mouth of Vishnu—the glory of glories, whence proceeded the
Vedas and all their divisions. I shall behold the lord of the universe
by whom the world is sustained, who is worshipped as the best Purusha
and as the male of sacrifice in sacrificial rites. I shall behold
Keseva, who is without beginning or end, by worshipping whom with a
hundred sacrifices, Indra obtained the sovereignty over the celestials.
That Hari, whose nature is unknown to Brahmā, Indra, Rudra, the Aswins,
the Vasus, the Adityas and Maruts, will this day touch my body. He, who
is the soul of all omniscient, is identical with everything,
omnipresent, permanent, undecaying, all-pervading, shall converse with
me. He, the unborn, who has preserved the world in diverse forms of a
fish, a tortoise, a boar, a horse, a lion, will this day talk with me.
The lord of the universe, who assumes shapes at will, has taken upon him
the condition of humanity to satisfy some object of his heart. The
endless, who holds the earth upon his crest and who has descended upon
earth for its protection, will this day call me by my name. Glory to
that being, whose deceptive adoption of father, son, brother, friend,
mother, and relative, the world is unable to comprehend. Salutation unto
him, who is identical with true knowledge, who is inscrutable and
through whom, when seated in his heart the ascetic gets over the worldly
ignorance and illusion, I bow to him, who, by the performers of holy
rites, is denominated Yajnapurusha (the male of a sacrifice), Vāsudeva,
by the devotees and Vishnu by the adepts in Vedānta philosophy. May he,
who comprises in himself, cause and effect and the world itself, be
pleased with me, through his truth, for I always confide in that unborn
and eternal Hari, by meditating on whom man becomes the repository of
all auspicious things".
Parāçara said:—Thus meditating upon Vishnu, Akrura, having his mind
animated by devout faith, reached Gokula a little before sun-set; and
there he beheld Krishna amongst the cattle, dark as the leaf of the
full-blown lotus; his eyes of the same colour and his breast adorned
with Srivatsa mark; long-armed, broad-chested; having a high nose, a
graceful countenance with smiles; treading firmly on the ground with
feet whose nails were tinted red; dressed in yellow raiments and
be-decked with a garland of forest flowers; having a creeper just
collected in his hands, and a chaplet of white lotus-flowers on his
head. Akrura also saw there Balabhadra, white as a jasmine, a swan or
the moon dressed in a blue dress; having large and mighty arms and a
countenance as radiant as a blue lotus, like the Kailāsa mountain
adorned with a wreath of clouds.
When Akrura, beheld these two young men, his countenance expanded with
joy and the down of his body stood erect with delight. And he
thought—"This is the supreme happiness and repository; this the double
manifestation of the divine Vāsudeva; blessed are my eyes for I have
seen the protector of the universe and my bodily form shall yield fruit,
when by the favour of the deity it shall come in contact with his
person. Shall that assumer of infinite forms place his hand on my back
by the touch of whose fingers alone all sins are dispelled and
imperishable, felicity is secured. And by this hand holding the fierce
irresistible discus blazing with all the flames of fire, lightning, and
the sun, were slain the Daitya chiefs, and the collyrium from the eyes
of their females was washed. Into this hand Bali poured water and
obtained enjoyments in the region under the earth and immortality and
dominion over the celestials for a whole Manwantara without danger from
any enemy. Although I am not sinful, perhaps he will despise me for my
connection with the vicious Kansa. If so, cursed is my birth who is
counted amongst the wicked. What is there unknown to him who resides in
the hearts of all men, who is ever existent, freed from imperfection,
the aggregate of the quality of purity and at one with true knowledge?
With a heart animated with devout faith I approach the lord of lords,
the descended portion of that excellent Purusha, Vishnu, who his without
beginning, middle or end".