He delights in all beings by means of yoga, beginning with the senses; through yoga, he is both the coming and the going—the very ordinance, the supreme Lord who upholds all. For those endowed with righteousness, he is the path itself; for those bound by evil deeds, he is the absence of the path. He is the origin and protector of the four classes of society, the knower of the fourfold knowledge, and he abides in the four stages of life. He is the very directions, the sky, the earth, the wind, and the fire. He is the light composed of the moon and the sun, the lord of the ages, the wanderer of the night—he who is praised as the supreme light and the highest austerity. Some call him the Supreme, others the Non-supreme; yet he is the Supreme Self, the god among the Adityas, the destroyer of the Daityas, the all-pervading one. At the end of the ages, he is the ender of all, the destroyer even of those who destroy worlds. He is the bridge among the bridges that connect the worlds, the purest among those who perform pure deeds. He is the one to be known by the knowers of the Vedas, the lord of those with creative power; among the gentle, he is Soma, and among the radiant, he is Agni. He is the lord among Indras, the essence of asceticism among ascetics, humility among the disciplined, and brilliance among the brilliant. Among those with form, he is the form; among those with goals, he is the goal. He is the wind born of ether, from which arises the vital breath, and from the breath, the fire that consumes offerings. In heaven, he is the fire that receives the offerings; as vital breath, he is Agni, the slayer of Madhu. From essence arises blood, and from blood, flesh is produced; from flesh comes fat, and from fat, bone arises; from bone, marrow is formed, and from marrow, semen is produced. From semen, the embryo forms, rooted in essence. The first portion of water in this process is called the lunar mass; the embryo, warmed in the womb, becomes the second mass. Semen is of the nature of Soma; menstrual blood, of the nature of fire. The qualities of these follow their essences: in the seed, both moon and fire are present; in the phlegmatic group, semen prevails; in the bilious group, blood. The seat of phlegm is the heart, while bile is established at the navel. The heart, at the body’s center, is the seat of the mind. Between the navel and the inner cavity resides the god of fire. The mind is Prajapati, and phlegm is manifest as the moon; bile is considered fire. Thus, the world is of the nature of fire and moon. In this way, the embryo develops, growing like a lump. The wind, united with the Supreme Self, enters in and divides itself fivefold within the body: prāṇa, apāna, samāna, udāna, and vyāna. Prāṇa moves, nourishing the Supreme Self within; apāna governs the lower body, udāna the upper half, vyāna pervades throughout, and samāna brings balance. From these arise the elements, perceptible to the senses: earth, wind, space, water, and fire. Within this being, the senses are established in their proper places; the body is said to be of earth, the vital self of wind. Holes in the body arise from space; from water, flow arises; light becomes the eyes, and consciousness is their mind. Villages and sense-objects, too, proceed from his power; thus, the eternal Person creates all these worlds. At this point, the sages ask: How did Viṣṇu, the Lord, come to take human birth in this mortal world? This, O Brahman, is our doubt and wonder. How did the path of the swiftest bring him to a human form? This supreme marvel of Viṣṇu is spoken of by gods and demons alike. Tell us, O great sage, of the wondrous origin of Viṣṇu, whose strength and power are renowned, whose brilliance is immeasurable. Speak of the true nature of Viṣṇu, whose deeds astonish, the supreme among gods, the remover of distress—how did he come to be? He is all-pervading, Lord of the universe, supreme ruler of all worlds, the god who creates, sustains, and ends creation, the bringer of happiness to all beings. He is imperishable, eternal, infinite, free from increase and decay, untouched, without qualities, subtle, changeless, and stainless. Freed from all limitations, established solely in existence, unchanging, all-pervading, eternal, the supreme self, everlasting. Unmoving, pure, all-pervading, ever content, without dependence, whose purity is praised, and whose greenish hue was seen in the Kṛta age. Among the gods, he is known as Vaikuṇṭha; among humans, as Kṛṣṇa. Such is the profound course of his actions, the Lord’s. The desire arises to hear of what is past and what is to come—he who is unmanifest, yet marked by manifest signs, this blessed Lord. Nārāyaṇa is indeed the infinite self, the inexhaustible source; having become Nārāyaṇa, Hari existed as the eternal one. Brahmā, Śakra, Rudra, Dharma, Śukra, and Bṛhaspati—all were created by him, the Lord whose essence is primordial. In a former cycle, the primeval person created the progenitors; thus, that blessed Viṣṇu, Lord of all worlds—why did Hari come into the mortal world, into the Yadu lineage? Having bowed to the Lord of gods, Viṣṇu, the all-powerful, the primeval Person, the eternal and imperishable one, to him who is the essence of the fourfold manifestation, with and without qualities, the most excellent, the greatest, the immeasurable—to him whose limbs are sacrifice, whose limbs are all things, desired by gods and others, than whom there is nothing subtler, nor anything greater—the sages seek to know the wondrous mystery of his descent.