In reverent awe, the sage addressed the Supreme, extolling his infinite nature. “You are the Rig, Yajur, and Sama Vedas,” he declared, “the very essence of the self. You are fire, wind, water, and earth. As creator, enjoyer, offerer, and offering, you embody sacrifice itself. You are the lord, all-pervading and infallible, the best among all.” The sage continued, “You are all-seeing and glorious, subduer of all, destroyer of enemies. Day and night are yours, and the wise call you the year. You are time, its divisions and measures, the moment, instant, and atom. You are child and old man, male, female, and neuter alike.” “You are the source of the universe, the eye, the steadfast one, famed for purity. Eternal and unconquered, you are Upendra, supreme above all. Giver of happiness to the worlds, you are the limbs of the Veda and imperishable. As knower, creator, and arranger of the Veda, you are composed and serene.” “You are the ocean in its depths, the sustainer, and again the wealth. Healer, self-controlled, beyond the reach of the senses, you are the leader and chief. Suparna, first-born, support and greatest, self-controlled and unfallen—these are all your forms.” “You are restraint and discipline, exalted, four-armed. You alone are the inner self of food, called the supreme self. Teacher and greatest teacher, you are the left, the auspicious, the fig tree, the scripture, manifest lord of creatures. Golden-naveled god, moon, lord of creatures, indescribable in form, Yama, slayer of the gods’ enemies.” “You are Sankarshana, the god, creator, eternal. Vasudeva of immeasurable self, free from qualities. Eldest and most excellent, patient Madhava, thousand-headed god, unmanifest, thousand-eyed. Thousand-footed god, cosmic form, lord of the gods, you alone stand, O god of gods, ten fingers in extent.” “Whatever has been is declared to be you, O supreme person, mighty Indra. Whatever will be, that you are. You are the lord, truth, and immortality. From you this world arises; you are the greatest, unsurpassed. Superior person, you exist in ten forms. You are the universe-being in four parts; nine parts are immortal in heaven, nine dwell in mid-space, eternal and belonging to the person. Two parts are established on earth, and four parts also exist here. From you sacrifices arise, which cause rain for the world.” “From you the cosmic person Virat was born, abiding in the heart of the world, surpassing all beings in brilliance, fame, and splendor. From you the food of the gods—clarified butter—was produced; cultivated and wild plants, cattle, deer, and others all came from you. Intent on meditation and the object of meditation, you created the plants. O god of gods, you are the seven-mouthed one called Time, of blazing form.” “All that moves and does not move, this entire world, mobile and immobile, has arisen from you; in you all is established. You are Aniruddha, Mādhava, Pradyumna, destroyer of the gods’ foes—supreme among all gods, refuge of all worlds.” The sage then prayed, “Protect me, O lotus-eyed one; O Nārāyaṇa, obeisance to you. O blessed Viṣṇu, highest of persons, lord of all worlds, abode of lotuses, abode and treasure-house of virtues, obeisance to you. Vāsudeva, best of the gods, Janārdana, eternal one, obeisance to you. Attainable by yogis, dwelling in yoga, lord of the cowherds, lord of Śrī, lord of the Maruts, obeisance to you. Lord of the world, source of the world, lord of the wise, lord of heaven, lord of earth, obeisance to you.” “Slayer of Madhu, lotus-eyed one, slayer of Kaiṭabha, O Subrahmaṇya, obeisance to you. Great fish, bearer of the Vedas on your back, O Acyuta, who agitated the ocean’s waters and brought delight to the lotus-born one, obeisance to you. Horse-headed one, great-necked, with the form of the great person, slayer of Madhu and Kaiṭabha, obeisance to you, O one with a horse’s face. Obeisance to the great tortoise, whose body is like a mighty turtle, who raised up the earth, who took the form of the mountain-bearer. Obeisance to the great boar, who lifted up the earth; and to the primeval boar, the all-formed creator.” “To the infinite, the subtle, the chief, and the excellent, whose form is atomic, attainable by yogis—obeisance to you. To that cause of causes, whose abode is the conduct of the lords of yoga, extremely difficult to know, who reclines on the great serpent in the ocean of milk, adorned with golden, jewel-studded earrings—obeisance to you.” Thus, when Mādhava was praised in this way, he was pleased and spoke: “Quickly speak, best of sages, whatever you desire from me.” The sage replied, “In this world, O lord of the universe, which is hard to cross, hair-raising, impermanent, full of suffering, and like a plantain leaf—without support, without foundation, as fickle as a water bubble, beset with all calamities, hard to cross and exceedingly terrifying—I wander for a long time, deluded by your māyā, my mind attached to sense-objects, and I do not reach the end.” “Today, O lord of the gods, afflicted by the fear of saṃsāra, I have come to you for refuge, O Kṛṣṇa; lift me up from the ocean of becoming.