the fire, Brahma, Kapila, Paramesthi, the gods, the seven Rishis, the
highly illustrious, three-eyed god Siva, the air, the oceans and the
mountains exist in His form (20–22). The great Sanatkumar and the
high-souled Manu, the father of creation (also exist in His form). That
ancient Lord, effulgent like the fire, has created all the forms (23).
After the destruction of all creatures mobile and immobile, after the
destruction of the gods and demons, serpents and Rakshasas that highly
powerful Purusha killed the two irrepressible Dānavas, Madhu and Kaitava
in the midst of the ocean and conferred upon them the boon of final
liberation (24-25).
While in the days of yore the lotus-navelled Lord lay in the water of
the ocean there sprang from His navel the gods and the Rishis (26). This
is the Lotus incarnation of the Lord as recorded in the Vedas and Srutis
(27). Next the Boar incarnation of the Lord is recorded in Srutis, where
Vishnu, the foremost of the celestials, assumed the form of a boar and
raised up the earth with her forests and mountains, with His tusks sunk
in the all-spreading ocean. The (four) Vedas were his feet, the
sacrificial altar was his tusk, the sacrifices were his teeth, the
funeral pile was his mouth, the fire was his tongue, and the Darbhas
were the hairs of his body. The great ascetic Brahmā was his head, the
days and nights were the eyes of that eldest Purusha, the various
divisions of the Vedas were the ornaments of his ears, the progenitors
were his nose, the chanting of the Sama Veda was his great voice. He was
identical with virtue and truth. Penance was his nostril; dreadful
beasts were his nails and he had long arms. The air was his soul, the
_mantra_ was his hip, the sanctified Soma juice was his blood, the
sacrificial altars were his shoulders. Havi was his smell, Havy and
Kavya were his energies, Nagvangsha was his body. He was effulgent and
sanctified by various forms of initiation. Dakshinā or gift was his
heart. He was ascetic and great and the recitation of the Vedic hymns
was the ornament of his lips. The great heroes, who stand in the way of
virtue, were his ornaments. The various metres were his motion. The
sacred Upanishad was his seat. The image of his wife was his help and he
was tall like the summit of the mount Meru. This thousand-headed Prime
Deity re-established the earth (28–37). Thus in the days of yore for
encompassing the well-being of creatures the Lord, assuming the shape of
a sacrificial boar, raised up the earth from the water of the ocean
(38). This is an account of the boar incarnation. Listen now to an
account of His man-lion incarnation where assuming the form of a lion he
killed Hiranyakashipu.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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