तौ दिवं छादयित्वा तु ववृधाते महाऽसुरौ। वायुप्रमाणौ तौ दृष्ट्वा ब्रह्मा पर्यमृशच्छनैः
Those two mighty asuras, having covered the heavens, grew vast as the wind; seeing them, Brahmā pondered quietly.
एकं मृदुतरं वेत्ति कठिनं वेत्ति चापरम्। नामनी तु तयोश्चके सविता सलिलोद्भवः
He recognized one as softer, the other as harder; Savitā, born from the waters, gave them their names.
मृदुस्त्वयं मधुर्नाम कठिनः कैठभः स्वयम्। तौ दैत्यौ कृतनामानौ चेरतुर्बलगर्वितौ
This gentle one is named Madhu, and the hard one is Kaiṭabha; those two daityas, having received their names, roamed about, proud of their strength.
तौ पुराऽथ दिवं सर्वां प्राप्तौ राजन्महासुरौ। प्रच्छाद्याथ दिवं सर्वां चेरतुर्मधुकैठभौ
Long ago, O King, those two great asuras, Madhu and Kaiṭabha, reached the entire heaven and, covering it, wandered everywhere.
सर्वमेकार्णवं लोकं योद्धुकामौ सुनिर्भयौ। तौ गतावसुरौ दृष्ट्वा ब्रह्मा लोकपितामहः
Desiring battle and utterly fearless, those two asuras saw the world as one ocean; seeing this, Brahmā, the grandsire of the worlds—
एकार्णवाम्बुनिचये तत्रैवान्तरधीयत। स पद्मात्पद्मनाभस्य नाभिदेशात्समुत्थितात्
In that mass of oceanic water, he vanished; from the lotus that arose at the navel of Padmanābha, he emerged.
आससाद स्वयं जन्म तत्पङ्कजमपङ्कजम्। पूजयामास वसतिं ब्रह्मा लोकपितामहः
He himself approached that birth, the lotus without mud, and Brahmā, the grandsire of the worlds, worshipped that abode.
तावुभौ जलगर्भस्थौ नारायणचतुर्मुखौ। बहून्वर्षायुतानप्सु शयानौ न च कम्पितौ
Those two, Madhu and Kaiṭabha, with four faces, were in the womb of the waters; for many tens of thousands of years, they lay in the waters, unmoving.
अथ दीर्घस्य कालस्य तावुभौ मधुकैठभौ। आजग्मतुस्तौ तं देशं यत्र ब्रह्मा व्यवस्थितः
Then, after a long time, those two, Madhu and Kaitabha, came to the place where Brahmā was present.
तौ दृष्ट्वा लोकनाथस्तु रोषात्संरक्तलोचनः। उत्पपाताथ शयनात्पद्मनाभो महाद्युतिः
Seeing them, the Lord of the worlds, with eyes reddened in anger, the greatly radiant Padmanābha, rose from his couch.
तद्युद्धमभवद्घोरं तयोस्तस्य च भारत। एकार्णवे तदा घोरे त्रैलोक्ये जलतां गते
A terrible battle took place then between those two and him, O Bhārata, in that dreadful single ocean, when the three worlds had become filled with water.
तदभूत्तुमुलं युद्धं वर्षसङ्ख्यासहस्रशः। न च तावसुरौ युद्धे तदा श्रममवापतुः
That battle was tumultuous, lasting for thousands of years, yet those two asuras did not grow weary in the fight.
अथ दीर्घस्य कालस्य तौ दैत्यौ युद्धदुर्मदौ। ऊचतुः प्रीतमनसौ देवं नारायणं प्रभुम्
Then, after a long time, those two daityas, intoxicated by battle, spoke with pleased hearts to the Lord Nārāyaṇa.
प्रीतौ स्वस्तव युद्धेन श्लाघ्यस्त्वं मृत्युरावयोः। आवां जहि न यत्रोर्वा सलिलेन पिरप्लुता
We are pleased with your battle, and you are worthy of praise; let you be our death, but do not slay us where the earth is submerged in water.
हतौ च तव पुत्रत्वं प्राप्नुयाव सुरोत्तम। यो ह्यानां युधि निर्जेता तस्यावां विहितौ सुतौ
And when we are slain, O best of gods, may we obtain the status of your sons; for whoever defeats us in battle, to him we are destined to be sons.
तयोस्तु वचनं श्रुत्वा तदा नारायणः प्रभुः। तौ प्रहस्य मृधे दैत्यौ दोर्भ्यां च समपीडयम्
Hearing their words, then the Lord Nārāyaṇa laughed, and in battle seized those two daityas with his arms.
ऊरुभ्यां निधनं चक्रे तावुभौ मधुकैठबौ। तौ हतौ चाप्लुतौ तोये वपुर्भ्यामेकतां गतौ
With his thighs he brought about the destruction of both Madhu and Kaitabha; and when they were slain, they fell into the water, their bodies becoming one.
मेदो मुमुचतुर्दैत्यौ मज्जमानौ जलोर्मिभिः। मेदसा तज्जलं व्याप्तं ताभ्यामन्तर्दधे तदा
As they were sinking, the two daityas released fat, and with the waves of water, that fat spread throughout the water and disappeared.
नारायणश्च भगवानसृजद्विविधाः प्रजाः। दैत्ययोर्मेदसा छन्ना सर्वा राजन्वसुन्धरा
And the blessed Nārāyaṇa created various beings; the whole earth, O king, was covered by the fat of the two daityas.
तदाप्रभृति कौन्तेय मेदिनीति स्मृता मही। प्रभावात्पद्मनाभस्य शाश्वती च कृता नृणाम्
From that time, O son of Kunti, the earth has been called 'Medinī'—because of the power of Padmanābha, she became eternal among men.
प्रादुर्भावसहस्राणि समतीतान्यनेकशः। यथाशक्ति तु वक्ष्यामि शृणु तान्कुरुनन्दन
Thousands of manifestations have passed, in many ways; I will tell you of them as I am able—listen to them, O joy of the Kurus.
पुरा कमलनाभस्य स्वपतः सागराम्भसि। पुष्करे यत्र सम्भूता देवा ऋषिगणैः सह
Long ago, as the lotus-naveled one slept upon the ocean, in the lotus there arose the gods together with groups of sages.
एष पौष्करिको नाम प्रादुर्भावः प्रकीर्तितः। पुराणैः कथ्यते यत्र वेदश्रुतिसमाहितः
This manifestation called 'Pauṣkarika' is proclaimed, which is described in the Purāṇas, where the Vedas and their recitations are established.
वाराहस्तु श्रुतिसुखः प्रादुर्भावो महात्मनः। यत्र विष्णुः सुरश्रेष्ठो वाराहं रूपमास्थितः
The Varāha manifestation, pleasing to hear, is of the great soul, where Viṣṇu, the best of gods, assumed the form of a boar.
उज्जहार महीं तोयात्सशैलवनकाननाम्। वेदपादो यूपदंष्ट्रः क्रतुर्दन्तश्चितीमुखः
He lifted up the earth from the waters, along with its mountains, forests, and groves—his feet were the Vedas, his tusks the sacrificial post, his teeth the altar's mouth.
अग्निजिह्वो दर्भरोमा ब्रह्मशीर्षो महातपाः। अहोरात्रेक्षणो दिव्यो वेदाङ्गः श्रुतिभूषणः
His tongue was fire, his hair was darbha grass, his head was Brahman, the great ascetic; his eyes were day and night, divine, his limbs the Vedas, adorned with the sacred utterances.
आज्यनासः स्रुवं तुण्डं सामघोषस्वनो महान्। धर्मसत्यमयः श्रीमान्कर्मविक्रमसत्कृतः
He was resplendent, filled with the sound of the Sāman chants, his mouth an offering ladle, his snout a sacrificial spoon; he was made of righteousness and truth, adorned with glory, and honored for his deeds and valor.
प्रायश्चित्तमुखो धीरः पशुजानुर्महावृषः। औद्गात्रहोमलिङ्गोऽसौ पशुबीजमहौषधिः
His mouth was the gateway to expiation, steadfast and patient, resembling a great bull, compassionate to sacrificial animals; he bore the marks of the Udgātṛ's oblation, the seed of sacrificial beasts, and the essence of sacred herbs.
बाह्यन्तरात्मा मन्त्रास्थिविकृतः सौम्यदर्शनः। वेदिस्कन्धो हविर्गन्धो हव्यकव्याभिवेगवान्
He was both the inner and outer soul, formed from the power of mantras, gentle in appearance; his shoulders were the altar, his fragrance that of oblations, and he moved swiftly toward offerings to gods and ancestors.
प्राग्वंशकायो द्युतिमान्नानादीक्षाभिरूर्जितः। दक्षिणाहृदयो योगी महाशास्त्रमयो महान्
His body was like the eastern sacrificial enclosure, radiant, mighty through various initiations; his heart was the southern quarter, a yogi, vast and composed of great scriptures.