म्नैवामन्त्र्य राजेन्द्र चेदिराजमरिन्दमम्। भीमकर्मा ततो भीष्णो भूयः स इतमब्रवीत्
Without addressing the king of Cedi, the foe of enemies, Bhīṣma, performer of mighty deeds, spoke again thus.
वर्तमानामतीतां च शृणु राजन्युधिष्ठिर
Hear, O King Yudhiṣṭhira, of the present and past deeds.
ईश्वरस्योत्तमस्यैनां कर्मणां गहनां गतिम्। अव्यक्तो व्यक्तलिङ्गस्थो य एष भगवान्प्रभुः
The supreme Lord, master of all, abides in the subtle and manifest forms; the course of these actions is deep and mysterious.
पुरा नारायणो देवः स्वयम्भूः प्रपितामहः। सहस्रशीर्षः पुरुषो ध्रवोऽनन्तः सनातनः
In ancient times, Nārāyaṇa, the self-born god, the great ancestor, the thousand-headed Purusha, steadfast, infinite, eternal, existed.
सहस्रास्यः सहस्राश्चः सहस्रचरणो विभुः। सहस्रवाहुः सर्वज्ञो देवो नामसहस्रवान्
He is the lord with a thousand faces, a thousand eyes, a thousand feet, a thousand arms; all-knowing, the god with a thousand names.
सहस्रमुकुटो देवो विश्वरूपो महाद्युतिः। अनेकवर्णो देवादिरव्यक्ताद्वै परे स्थितः
The god with a thousand crowns, of universal form and great brilliance, of many colors, the origin of the gods, stands beyond the unmanifest.
असृजत्सलिलं पूर्वं स च नारायणः प्रभुः। ततस्तु भगवांस्तोये ब्रह्माणमसृजत्स्वयम्
He, the lord Nārāyaṇa, first created the waters; then, in those waters, the blessed one himself created Brahmā.
ब्रह्मा चतुर्मुखो लोकान्सर्वांस्तानसृजत्स्वयम्। आदिकाले पुरा ह्येवं सर्वलोकस्य चोद्भवः। पुरा यः प्रलये प्राप्ते नष्टे स्थावरजङ्गमे
Brahmā, four-faced, created all the worlds himself at the beginning; thus, in ancient times, arose all creation, when, at the time of dissolution, all that is movable and immovable was destroyed.
ब्रह्मादिषु प्रलीनेषु नष्टे लोके चराचरे। आभूतसम्प्लवे प्राप्ते प्रलीने प्रकृतौ महान्
When Brahmā and others are dissolved, when the world, both animate and inanimate, is destroyed, when the great dissolution of beings occurs and all is merged into primal nature,
एकस्मिष्ठति सर्वात्मा स तु नारायणः प्रभुः। नारायणस्य चाङ्गानि सर्वदैवानि भारत
Then, only Nārāyaṇa, the lord, remains, the soul of all; and, O Bhārata, all the gods are but limbs of Nārāyaṇa.
शिरस्तस्य दिवं राजन्नाभिः खं चरणौ मही। अश्विनौ कर्णयोर्देवौ चक्षुषी शशिभास्करौ
O King, his head is the heavens, his navel the sky, his feet the earth; the two Aśvins are his ears, the moon and sun his eyes.
इन्द्रवैश्वानरौ देवौ मुखं तस्य महात्मनः। अन्यानि सर्वदैवानि सर्वाङ्गानि महात्मनः
Indra and Agni are the mouth of that great soul; all other gods are the limbs of the great soul.
सर्वं चापि हरौ संस्थं सूत्रे मणिगणा इव। आभूतसम्प्लवान्तेऽथ दृष्ट्वा सर्वं तमोन्वितम्
All is established in Hari, as gems are strung on a thread; at the end of the dissolution of beings, seeing all enveloped in darkness,
नारायणो महायोगी सर्वज्ञः परमात्मवान्। ब्रह्मभूतस्तदात्मानं ब्रह्मणमसृजत्स्वयम्
Nārāyaṇa, the great yogi, all-knowing, possessed of the supreme self, having become Brahman, then created Brahmā from himself.
सोऽध्यक्षः सर्वभूतानां प्रभूतप्रभवोऽच्युतः। सनत्कुमारं रुद्रं च सप्तर्षीश्च तपोधनात्
He, the overseer of all beings, the source of all powers, the imperishable, created Sanatkumāra, Rudra, and the seven sages, rich in austerity.
सर्वमेवासृजद्ब्रह्मा तथा लोकांस्तथा प्रजाः। ते च तद्व्यसृजंस्तत्र प्राप्तकाले युधिष्ठिर
Brahmā created everything: the worlds and the creatures; and they, in turn, created others at the proper time, O Yudhiṣṭhira.
तेभ्योऽभवन्महात्मभ्यो बहुधा ब्रह्म शाश्वतम्। कल्पानां बहुकोट्यश्चसमतीतास्तु भारत
From those great souls arose the eternal Brahman in many forms; countless millions of ages have passed, O Bhārata.
आभूतसम्प्लवाश्चैव बहुधाऽद्धाऽपचक्रमुः। मन्वन्तरयुगा राजन्सङ्कल्पो भूतसम्प्लवाः
Many dissolutions of beings have occurred, O King, in various ways; the cycles of Manus and ages, and the dissolutions of beings, are all determined by will.
चक्रवत्परिवर्तन्ते सर्वं विषमुखं जगत्। सृष्ट्वा चतुर्मुखं देवं देवो नारायणः प्रभुः
Like a wheel, all things revolve; the world faces destruction. Having created the four-faced god, the lord Nārāyaṇa,
स लोकानां हितार्थाय क्षीरोदे वसति प्रभुः। ब्रह्मा च सर्वलोकानां लोकस्य च पितामहः
He, the lord, dwells in the ocean of milk for the welfare of the worlds; and Brahmā, the ancestor of the worlds, is the father of all beings.
ततो नारायणो देवः सर्वस्य प्रपितामहः
Then the god Nārāyaṇa, the great grandsire of all, appeared.
अव्यक्तो व्यक्तलिङ्गस्थो य एव भगवान्प्रभुः। नरनारायणो भूत्वा हरिरासीद्युधिष्ठिर
He who is unmanifest, yet abides in a manifest form, that blessed Lord, having become Nara and Nārāyaṇa, was Hari, O Yudhiṣṭhira.
ब्रह्मा च शक्रः सूर्यश्च धर्मश्चैव सनातनः। बहुशः सर्वभूतात्मा प्रादुर्भवति कार्यतः। प्रादुर्भावांस्तु वक्ष्यामि दिव्यान्देवगणैर्युतान्
Brahmā, Śakra, Sūrya, and the eternal Dharma—he, the soul of all beings, manifests many times for the sake of action; I will recount those divine manifestations, accompanied by hosts of gods.
सुप्त्वा युगसहस्रं स प्रादुर्भवति कार्यवान्। अनेकबहुसाहस्रैर्देवदेवो जगत्पतिः
After sleeping for a thousand ages, the Lord of gods, the master of the world, arises for action with countless thousands.
ब्रह्माणं कपिलं चैव परमेष्ठिं तथैव च। देवान्सप्तर्षिभिश्चैव शङ्करं च महायशाः
He created Brahmā, Kapila, Parameṣṭhin, the gods with the seven sages, and the illustrious Śaṅkara.
सनत्कुमारं भगवान्मनुं चैव प्रजापतिम्। पुरा चक्रे च देवादिः प्रदीप्ताग्निसमप्रभः
The blessed one also made Sanatkumāra, Manu the progenitor, and, shining like blazing fire, he first created the gods and others.
येन चार्णवमध्यस्थौ नष्टेस्थावरजङ्गमे। नष्टदेवासुरवरे प्रनष्टोरगराक्षसे
By whom, when all that is fixed and moving was lost in the midst of the ocean, and the best of gods and asuras, as well as serpents and rākṣasas, had perished—
योद्धुकामौ सुदुर्धर्षौ भ्रातरौ मधुकैठभौ। हतौ भगवता तेन ततो दत्त्वा वरं परम्
The two brothers, Madhu and Kaiṭabha, fierce and eager for battle, were slain by that blessed Lord, who then granted them a supreme boon.
भूमिं बद्ध्वा कृतौ पूर्वावजेयौ द्वौ महाऽसुरौ। तौ कर्णमलसंभूतौ विष्णोस्तस्य महात्मनः
Having bound the earth, those two mighty asuras, born from the earwax of the great-souled Viṣṇu, were formerly invincible.
महार्णवे प्रस्वपतः शैलराजसमौ स्थितौ। तौ विवेश स्वयं वायुर्ब्रह्मणा साधु चोदितः
Lying in the great ocean, resembling mountain peaks, those two were entered by the wind himself, urged on by Brahmā.