"'Yudhishthira said, "O grandsire, O thou of great wisdom, I desire to
hear in detail, O chief of the Bharatas, of that lotus-eyed and
indestructible one, who is the Creator of everything but who has been
created by none, who is called Vishnu (in consequence of his pervading
everything), who is the origin of all creatures and unto whom all
creatures return, who is known by the names of Narayana and Hrishikesa
and Govinda and Kesava, and who is incapable of being vanquished by any
one."
"'Bhishma said, "I have heard of this subject from Jamadagni's son Rama,
while he discoursed on it, from the celestial Rishi Narada, and from
Krishna-Dwaipayana. Asita-Devala, O son, Valmiki of austere penances, and
Markandeya, speak of Govinda as the Most Wonderful and the Supreme.
Kesava, O chief of Bharata's race, is the divine and puissant Lord of
all. He is called Purusha, and pervades everything, having made himself
many. Listen now, O Yudhishthira of mighty arms, to those attributes
which great Brahmanas say are to be met with in the high-souled wielder
of Saranga. I shall also, O prince of men, recite to thee those acts
which persons conversant with old histories ascribe to Govinda. He is
said to be the Soul of all creatures, the high-souled one, and the
foremost of all beings. He created (by his will) the five-fold elements,
viz., Wind, Light, Water, Space, and Earth. That puissant Lord of all
things, that high-souled one, that foremost of all beings, having created
the earth, laid himself down on the surface of the waters. While thus
floating upon the waters, that foremost of all beings, that refuge of
every kind of energy and splendour, created Consciousness, the first-born
of beings in the universe. We have heard that He created Consciousness
along with the Mind,--Consciousness which is the refuge of all created
things. That Consciousness upholds all creatures and both the past and
the future. After that great Being, O mighty-armed one, viz.,
Consciousness, had sprung, an exceedingly beautiful lotus, possessed of
effulgence like the Sun's, grew out of the navel of the Supreme Being
(floating on the waters). Then, O son, the illustrious and divine
Brahman, the Grandsire of all creatures, sprang into existence from that
lotus, irradiating all the points of the horizon with his effulgence.
After the high-souled Grandsire had, O mighty-armed one, thus sprung from
the primeval lotus, a great Asura of the name of Madhu, having no
beginning, started into birth, springing from the attribute of Darkness
(Tamas). The foremost of all Beings, (viz., the Supreme Divinity), for
benefiting Brahman, slew that fierce Asura of fierce deeds, engaged even
then in the fierce act (of slaying the Grand-sire). From this slaughter,
O son, (of the Asura named Madhu), all the gods and the Danavas and men
came to call that foremost of all righteous persons by the name of
Madhusudana (slayer of Madhu).[704] After this, Brahman created, by a
fiat of his will, seven sons with Daksha completing the tale. They were
Marichi, Atri, Angiras, Pulastya, Pulaha, Kratu, (and the already
mentioned Daksha). The eldest born, viz., Marichi, begat, by a fiat of
his will, a son named Kasyapa, full of energy and the foremost of all
persons conversant with Brahma. From his toe, Brahman had, even before
the birth of Marichi, created a son. That son, O chief of Bharata's race,
was Daksha, the progenitor of creatures.[705] Unto Daksha were first born
three and ten daughters, O Bharata, the eldest of whom was called Diti.
Marichi's son Kasyapa, O sire, who was conversant with all duties and
their distinctions, who was of righteous deeds and great fame, became the
husband of those thirteen daughters. The highly-blessed Daksha (besides
the three and ten already spoken of) next begat ten other daughters. The
progenitor of creatures, viz., the righteous Daksha, bestowed these upon
Dharma. Dharma became father of the Vasus, the Rudras of immeasurable
energy, the Viswedevas, the Sadhyas, and the Maruts, O Bharata. Daksha
next begat seven and twenty other younger daughters. The highly-blessed
Soma became the husband of them all. The other wives of Kasyapa gave
birth to Gandharvas, horses, birds, kine, Kimpurushas, fishes, and trees
and plants. Aditi gave birth to the Adityas, the foremost ones among the
gods, and possessed of great strength. Amongst them Vishnu took birth in
the form of a dwarf. Otherwise called Govinda, he became the foremost of
them all. Through his prowess, the prosperity of the gods increased. The
Danavas were vanquished. The offspring of Diti were the Asuras. Danu gave
birth to the Danavas having Viprachitti for their foremost. Diti gave
birth to all the Asuras of great strength.
"'"The slayer of Madhu also created the Day and the Night, and the Season
in their order, and the Morn and the Even. After reflection, he also
created the clouds, and all the (other) immobile and mobile objects.
Possessed of abundant energy, he also created the Viswas and the earth
with all things upon her. Then the highly blessed and puissant Krishna, O
Yudhishthira, once again created from his mouth a century of foremost
Brahmanas. From his two arms, he created a century of Kshatriyas, and
from his thighs a century of Vaisyas. Then, O bull of Bharata's race,
Kesava created from his two feet a century of Sudras. Possessed of great
ascetic merit, the slayer of Madhu, having thus created the four orders
of men, made Dhatri (Brahman) the lord and ruler of all created beings.
Of immeasurable effulgence, Brahman became also the expositor of the
knowledge of the Vedas. And Kesava made him, called Virupaksha, the ruler
of the spirits and ghosts and of those female beings called the Matrikas
(mothers). And he made Yama the ruler of the Pitris and of all sinful
men.[706] The Supreme Soul of all creatures also made Kuvera the lord of
all treasures. He then created Varuna the lord of waters and governor of
all aquatic animals. The puissant Vishnu made Vasava the chief of all the
deities. In those times, men lived as long as they chose to live, and
were without any fear of Yama. Sexual congress, O chief of the Bharatas,
was then not necessary for perpetuating the species. In those days
offspring were begotten by fiat of the will. In the age that followed,
viz., Treta, children were begotten by touch alone. The people of that
age even, O monarch, were above the necessity of sexual congress. It was
in the next age, viz., Dwapara, that the practice of sexual congress
originated, O king, to prevail among men. In the Kali age, O monarch, men
have come to marry and live in pairs.
"'"I have now told thee of the supreme Lord of all creatures. He is also
called the Ruler of all and everything. I shall now, O son of Kunti,
speak to thee about the sinful creatures of the earth. Listen to me.[707]
Those men, O king, are born in the southern region and are called
Andrakas, Guhas, Pulindas, Savaras, Chuchukas, Madrakas.[708] Those that
are born in the northern region, I shall also mention. They are Yamas,
Kamvojas, Gandharas, Kiratas and Barbaras. All of them, O sire, are
sinful, and move on this Earth, characterised by practices similar to
those of Chandalas and ravens and vultures. In the Krita age, O sire,
they were nowhere on earth. It is from the Treta that they have had their
origin and began to multiply, O chief of Bharata's race. When the
terrible period came, joining Treta and the Dwapara, the Kshatriyas,
approaching one another, engaged themselves in battle.[709]
"'"Thus, O chief of Kuru's race, this universe was started into birth by
the high-souled Krishna. That observer of all the worlds, viz., the
celestial Rishi Narada, has said that Krishna is the Supreme God.[710]
Even Narada, O king, admits the supremacy of Krishna and his eternity, O
mighty-armed chief of Bharata's race.[711] Thus, O mighty-armed one, is
Kesava of unvanquishable prowess. That lotus-eyed one, is not a mere man.
He is inconceivable."'"