Having proceeded thus far in the story, Nurnarain added, “Listen to me, O Narud! the Vedas having come forth from the mouth of the lord were saying, ‘O lord! awake quickly and create the world, and remove your deceptive power far from the minds of animated beings; then they will recognize your appearance; your deceptive power is predominant, and deprives all beings of intelligence; the being who escapes from it, will have knowledge to understand you. O lord! no one except you can reduce this power to subjection; he, in whose breast you dwell in the form of knowledge, overcomes this deceptive power; otherwise, who has ability to escape from the influence of this power? You are the creator of all; all animated beings, having derived their origin from you, are contained in you; just as many things being produced from the earth, are again mixed up in the earth; whoever worships or glorifies any god whatsoever, worships and glorifies you, just as a man may make many ornaments of gold, and give them various names, but it is still gold; so you have many forms; and consider this point, that not one of those forms is any thing, and that on what side soever we look, there you are presented to our sight. O lord! your deceptive power is infinite; this power becoming the three qualities of truth, passion and darkness; having assumed three forms, and created the universe, preserves and destroys it; no one has discovered its mystery, and no one ever will discover it; wherefore, it is right for an animated being to abandon all desires and meditate upon you; his welfare depends upon his doing so.’” O great king! having proceeded thus far in his story, Nurnarain said to Narud, “Narud! when Sunundun, the sage, having related this history of a former age, had removed the perplexities of all their minds, then Sunuk and the other sages offered worship to Sunundun according to the sacred precepts of the Vedas.” Having related thus much of the history, Shree Shookdeo Jee said,--Raja! whoever shall hear this conversation of Narain and Narud, shall without doubt obtain the fulfilment of all his desires, and be saved hereafter. The account of the complete Bruhm, which the Vedas sang of, Sunundun, the sage, recited to Sunuk and other saints, then Nurnarain related it before Narud; and Byas obtained it from Narud; and Byas explained it to me, and I have now mentioned it to you; whoever shall hear or relate this history, shall obtain whatever benefits he desires, whatever virtue there is in penance, sacrifice, gifts, fasting and pilgrimage, there is the same merit in reciting and hearing this history. CHAPTER LXXXVIII.