"'Yudhishthira said, "Thou always worshippest, O king, Brahmanas of
praiseworthy vows. Whatever, however is that fruit seeing which thou
worshippest them, O king? O thou of high vows, beholding what prosperity
attaching to the worship of the Brahmanas dost thou worship them? Tell me
all this, O thou of mighty arms!"
"'Bhishma said, "Here is Kesava endued with great intelligence. He will
tell thee everything. Of high vows and endued with prosperity, even he
will tell you what the prosperity is that attaches to the worship of
Brahmanas. My strength, ears, speech, mind, eyes, and that clear
understanding of mine (are all clouded today). I think, the time is not
distant when I shall have to cast off my body. The sun seems to me to go
very slowly.[611] Those high duties, O king, that are mentioned in the
Puranas as observed by Brahmanas and Kshatriyas and Vaisyas and Sudras,
have all been recited by me. Do thou, O son of Pritha, learn from Krishna
what little remains to be learnt on that head. I know Krishna truly. I
know who he is and what his ancient might is. O chief of the Kauravas,
Kesava is of immeasurable soul. Whenever doubts arise, it is he who
upholds Righteousness then.[612] It is Krishna who created the earth, and
sky, and the heavens. Indeed, the earth has sprung from Krishna's body.
Of terrible prowess and existing from the beginning of time, it is
Krishna who became the mighty Boar and raised the submerged Earth. It is
He who created all the points of the compass, together with all the
mountains. Below Him are the welkin, heaven, the four cardinal points,
and the four subsidiary points. It is from him that the entire creation
has flowed. It is He who has created this ancient universe. In His navel
appeared a Lotus. Within that Lotus sprang Brahma himself of immeasurable
energy. It was Brahma, O son of Pritha, who rent that darkness which
existed surpassing the very ocean (in depth and extent). In the Treta
age, O Partha, Krishna existed (on the earth), in the form of
Righteousness. In the Treta age, he existed in the form of Knowledge. In
the Dwapara age, he existed in the form of might. In the Kali age he came
to the earth in the form of unrighteousness. It is He who in days of yore
slew the Daityas. It is He who is the Ancient God. It is He who ruled the
Asuras in the form of their Emperor (Valin). It is He who is the Creator
of all beings. It is He who is also the future of all created Beings. It
is He who is also the protector of this universe fraught with the seed of
destruction. When the cause of Righteousness languishes, this Krishna
takes birth in the race of either the gods or among men. Staying on
Righteousness, this Krishna of cleansed soul (on such occasion) protects
both the higher and the lower worlds. Sparing those that deserve to be
spared, Krishna sets himself to the slaughter of the Asura, O Partha! It
is he who is all acts proper and improper and it is he who is the cause.
It is Krishna who is the act done, the act to be done, and the act that
is being done. Know that that illustrious one is Rahu and Soma and Sakra.
It is he that is Viswakarma. It is he that is of universal form. He is
the destroyer and he is the Creator of the universe. He is the wielder of
the Sula (lance); He is of human form; and He is of terrible form. All
creatures sing his praises, for he is known by his acts. Hundreds of
Gandharvas and Apsaras and deities always accompany him. The very
Rakshasas hymn his praise. He is the Enhancer of Wealth; He is the one
victorious Being in the universe. In Sacrifices, eloquent men hymn His
praises. The singers of Samans praise Him by reciting the Rathantaras.
The Brahmanas praise Him with Vedic Mantras. It is unto Him that the
sacrificial priests pour their libations. The deities with Indra at their
head hymned His praise when He lifted up the Gobardhana mountains for
protecting the cow-herds of Brindavana against the incessant showers that
Indra poured in rage. He is, O Bharata, the one Blessing unto all
creatures. He, O Bharata, having entered the old Brahma cave, beheld from
that place the original cover of the world in the beginning of Time.[613]
Agitating all the Danavas and the Asuras, this Krishna of foremost feats
rescued the earth. It is unto Him that people dedicate diverse kinds of
food. It is unto Him that the warriors dedicate all kinds of their
vehicles at the time of war. He is eternal, and it is under that
illustrious one that the welkin, earth, heaven, all things exist and
stay. He it is who has caused the vital seed of the gods Mitra and Varuna
to fall within a jar, whence sprang the Rishi known by the name of
Vasishtha. It is Krishna who is the god of wind; it is He who is the
puissant Aswins; it is He who is that first of gods, viz., the sun
possessed of a thousand rays. It is He by whom the Asuras have been
subjugated. It is He who covered the three worlds with three steps of
His. He is the soul of the deities and human beings, and Pitris. It is He
who is the Sacrifice performed by those persons that are conversant with
the rituals of sacrifices. It is He who rises every day in the firmament
(in the form of the sun) and divides Time into day and night, and courses
for half the year northwards and for half the year southwards.
Innumerable rays of light emanate from Him upwards and downwards and
transversely and illumine the earth. Brahmanas conversant with the Vedas
adore Him. Taking a portion of His rays the sun shines in the firmament.
Month after month, the sacrificer ordains Him as a sacrifice. Regenerate
persons conversant with the Vedas sing His praises in sacrifices of all
kinds. He it is that constitutes the wheel of the year, having three
naves and seven horses to drag it. It is in this way that He supports the
triple mansion (of the seasons). Endued with great energy, pervading all
things, the foremost of all creatures, it is Krishna who alone upholds
all the worlds. He is the sun, the dispeller of all darkness. He is the
Creator of all. Do thou, O hero, approach that Krishna! Once on a time,
the high-souled and puissant Krishna dwelt, for a while, in the form of
Agni in the forest of Khandava among some straw or dry grass. Soon was He
gratified (for he consumed all the medicinal herbs in that forest).
Capable of going everywhere at will, it was Krishna who, having
subjugated the Rakshasas and Uragas, poured them as libations upon the
blazing fire. It is Krishna who gave unto Arjuna a number of white
steeds. It is He who is the creator of all steeds. This world (or, human
life) represents his car. He it is that yokes that car for setting it in
motion. That car has three wheels (viz., the three attributes of Sattwa,
Rajas, and Tamas). It has three kinds of motion (for it goes upwards or
downwards or transversely, implying superior, inferior, and intermediate
birth as brought about by acts). It has four horses yoked to it (viz.,
Time, Predestiny, the will of the deities, and one's own will). It has
three naves (white, black, and mixed, implying good acts, evil acts and
acts that are of a mixed character). It is this Krishna who is the refuge
of the five original elements with the sky among them. It is He who
created the earth and heaven and the space between. Indeed, it is this
Krishna of immeasurable and blazing energy who has created the forests
and the mountains. It is this Krishna who, desirous of chastising Sakra
who was about to hurl his thunder at him, crossed the rivers and once
paralysed him. He is the one great Indra that is adored by the Brahmanas
in great sacrifices with the aid of a thousand old Riks. It was this
Krishna, O king, who alone was able to keep the Rishi Durvasa of great
energy as a guest for some time in his house. He is said to be the one
ancient Rishi. He is the Creator of the universe. Indeed, He creates
everything from His own nature. Superior to all the deities it is He who
teaches all the deities. He scrupulously observes all ancient ordinances.
Know, O king, that this Krishna, who is called Vishwaksena, is the fruit
of all acts that relate to pleasure, of all acts that are founded on the
Vedas, and of all acts that appertain to the world. He is the white rays
of light that are seen in all the worlds. He is the three worlds. He is
the three Regents of all the worlds. He is the three sacrificial fires.
He is the three Vyahritis; indeed, this son of Devaki is all the gods
together. He is the year; He is the Seasons; He is the Fortnights; He is
the Day and the Night; He is those divisions of time which are called
Kalas, and Kashthas, and Matras, and Muhurtas, and Lavas, and Kshanas.
Know that this Vishwaksena is all these. The Moon and the Sun, the
Planets, the Constellations, and the Stars, all the Parva days, including
the day of the full moon, the conjunctions of the constellations and the
seasons, have, O son of Pritha, flowed from this Krishna who is
Vishwaksena. The Rudras, the Adityas, the Vasus, the Aswins, the Sadhyas,
the Viswedevas, the diverse Maruts, Prajapati himself, the mother of the
deities, viz., Aditi, and the seven Rishis, have all sprung from Krishna.
Transforming Himself into the Wind, He scatters the universe. Of
Universal form, He becomes Fire that burns all things. Changing Himself
into Water, He drenches and submerges all, and assuming the form of
Brahman, He creates all the diverse tribes of animate and inanimate
creatures. He is Himself the Veda, yet he learns all the Vedas. He is
Himself all the ordinances, yet He observes all the ordinances that have
been laid down in matters connected with Righteousness and the Vedas and
that force or might which rules the world. Indeed, know, O Yudhishthira,
that this Kesava is all the mobile and immobile universe. He is of the
form of the most resplendent light. Of universal form, this Krishna is
displayed in that blazing effulgence. The original cause of the soul of
all existent creatures. He at first created the waters. Afterwards He
created this universe. Know that this Krishna is Vishnu. Know that He is
the soul of the universe. Know that He is all the seasons; He is these
diverse wonderful vegetations of Nature which we see; He is the clouds
that pour rain and the lightening that flashes in the sky. He is the
elephant Airavata. In fact, He is all the immobile and mobile universe.
The abode of the universe and transcending all attributes, this Krishna
is Vasudeva. When He becomes Jiva He comes to be called Sankarshana.
Next, He transforms Himself into Pradyumna and then into Aniruddha. In
this way, the high-souled Krishna, who has Himself for His origin divides
(or displays) Himself in fourfold form. Desirous of creating this
universe which consists of the fivefold primal elements, He sets himself
to his task, and causes it to go on in the fivefold form of animate
existence consisting of deities and Asuras and human beings and beasts
and birds. He it is that then creates the Earth and the Wind, the Sky,
Light, and also Water, O son of Pritha! Having created this universe of
immobile and mobile objects distributed into four orders of being (viz.,
viviparous, oviparous, vegetable and filth-born), he then created the
earth with her fivefold seed. He then created the firmament for pouring
copious showers of water on the earth.[614] Without doubt, O king, it is
this Krishna who has created this universe. His origin is in his own
self; it is He who causes all things to exist through his own puissance.
He it is that has created the deities, the Asuras, the human beings, the
world, the Rishis, the Pitris, and all creatures. Desirous of creating,
that Lord of all creatures duly created the whole universe of life. Know
that good and evil, mobile and immobile, have all flowed from this One
who is Vishwaksena. Whatever exists, and whatever will spring into
existence, all is Kesava. This Krishna is also the death that overtakes
all creatures when their end comes. He is eternal and it is He who
upholds the cause of Righteousness. Whatever existed in the past, and
whatever we do not know, verily, all that also is this Vishwaksena.
Whatever is noble and meritorious in the universe, indeed, whatever of
good and of evil exists, all that is Kesava who is inconceivable. Hence,
it is absurd to think of anything that is superior to Kesava. Kesava is
even such. More than this, He is Narayana, the highest of the high,
immutable and unfading. He is the eternal and immutable cause of the
entire mobile and immobile universe with its beginning, middle, and end,
as also of all creatures whose birth follows their wish."'"