आहुर् वेदविदो विप्रा यं यज्ञे शाश्वतं प्रभुम् तस्य विष्णोः सुरेशस्य श्रीवत्साङ्कस्य धीमतः
The knowers of the Vedas, the Brahmins, declare that the eternal Lord in the sacrifice is Vishnu, the wise ruler of the gods, marked with Srivatsa.
प्रादुर्भावसहस्राणि समतीतान्य् अनेकशः भूयश् चैव भविष्यन्ति ह्य् एवम् आह पितामहः
Thousands of manifestations have passed in many ways, and many more will occur; so says the grandsire.
यत् पृच्छध्वं महाभागा दिव्यां पुण्याम् इमां कथाम् प्रादुर्भावाश्रितां विष्णोः सर्वपापहरां शिवाम्
O blessed ones, you ask about this divine and holy tale, based on Vishnu's manifestations, which removes all sins and brings auspiciousness.
शृणुध्वं तां महाभागास् तद्गतेनान्तरात्मना प्रवक्ष्याम्य् आनुपूर्व्येण यत् पृच्छध्वं ममानघाः
O blessed ones, listen to it with your inner self absorbed in him; I will recount in order what you have asked, O sinless ones.
वासुदेवस्य माहात्म्यं चरितं च महामतेः हितार्थं सुरमर्त्यानां लोकानां प्रभवाय च
The greatness and deeds of Vasudeva, the wise one, are for the benefit of gods and mortals and for the prosperity of the worlds.
बहुशः सर्वभूतात्मा प्रादुर्भवति वीर्यवान् प्रादुर्भावांश् च वक्ष्यामि पुण्यान् दिव्यान् गुणान्वितान्
The soul of all beings, powerful, manifests repeatedly; I will recount the manifestations, holy, divine, and endowed with virtues.
सुप्तो युगसहस्रं यः प्रादुर्भवति कार्यतः पूर्णे युगसहस्रे ऽथ देवदेवो जगत्पतिः
He who, after sleeping for a thousand ages, arises for action—when a thousand ages are complete, then the God of gods, the Lord of the universe, manifests.
ब्रह्मा च कपिलश् चैव त्र्यम्बकस् त्रिदशास् तथा देवाः सप्तर्षयश् चैव नागाश् चाप्सरसस् तथा
Brahmā, Kapila, Tryambaka, the thirty gods, the seven sages, the serpents, and the celestial nymphs—all these also appear.
सनत्कुमारश् च महानुभावो मनुर् महात्मा भगवान् प्रजाकरः पुराणदेवो ऽथ पुराणि चक्रे प्रदीप्तवैश्वानरतुल्यतेजाः
Sanatkumāra, the great-souled one, Manu, the illustrious progenitor, the ancient god—he, blazing with the radiance of fire, then created the ancient things.
यो ऽसौ चार्णवमध्यस्थो नष्टे स्थावरजङ्गमे नष्टे देवासुरनरे प्रनष्टोरगराक्षसे
He who abides in the midst of the cosmic ocean, when all that is stationary and moving is lost, when gods, demons, humans, serpents, and rākṣasas have perished—
योद्धुकामौ दुराधर्षौ ताव् उभौ मधुकैटभौ हतौ भगवता तेन तयोर् दत्त्वामितं वरम्
Those two, Madhu and Kaiṭabha, fierce and eager for battle, were slain by the Lord, who first granted them a great boon.
पुरा कमलनाभस्य स्वपतः सागराम्भसि पुष्करे तत्र संभूता देवाः सर्षिगणास् तथा
Long ago, as the lotus-naveled one slept upon the ocean’s waters, from the lotus there arose the gods along with the hosts of sages.
एष पौष्करको नाम प्रादुर्भावो महात्मनः पुराणं कथ्यते यत्र देवश्रुतिसमाहितम्
This manifestation, called Pauṣkaraka, of the great soul, is recounted as the Purāṇa, wherein the divine revelation is contained.
वाराहस् तु श्रुतिमुखः प्रादुर्भावो महात्मनः यत्र विष्णुः सुरश्रेष्ठो वाराहं रूपम् आस्थितः
The manifestation of the great soul as the Boar, as declared in the scriptures, is where Viṣṇu, the foremost of gods, assumed the form of a boar.
वेदपादो यूपदंष्ट्रः क्रतुदन्तश् चितीमुखः अग्निजिह्वो दर्भरोमा ब्रह्मशीर्षो महातपाः
With Vedas as his feet, sacrificial post as his tusks, sacrifices as his teeth, altar as his mouth, fire as his tongue, sacred grass as his hair, Brahmā as his head, and great austerity.
अहोरात्रेक्षणो दिव्यो वेदाङ्गः श्रुतिभूषणः आज्यनासः स्रुवतुण्डः सामघोषस्वरो महान्
With day and night as his eyes, divine, adorned with the limbs of the Vedas, clarified butter as his nose, ladle as his snout, possessing the great sound of Sāman chants.
सत्यधर्ममयः श्रीमान् क्रमविक्रमसत्कृतः प्रायश्चित्तनखो घोरः पशुजानुर् मुखाकृतिः
He is composed of truth and righteousness, resplendent, honored for his measured steps, with expiation as his nails, terrible, with the form of a beast’s jaw.
उद्गतान्त्रो होमलिङ्गो बीजौषधिमहाफलः वाद्यन्तरात्मा मन्त्रस्फिग् विकृतः सोमशोणितः
With upward-moving entrails, bearing the mark of sacrifice, the great fruit of seeds and herbs, the inner soul of musical instruments, with mantras as his hips, strange, with soma and blood.
वेदिस्कन्धो हविर्गन्धो हव्यकव्यातिवेगवान् प्राग्वंशकायो द्युतिमान् नानादीक्षाभिर् अन्वितः
With the altar as his shoulders, the scent of oblations, surpassing in speed the offerings to gods and ancestors, with the eastern sacrificial enclosure as his body, radiant, endowed with various initiations.
दक्षिणाहृदयो योगी महासत्त्रमयो महान् उपाकर्माष्टरुचकः प्रवर्गावर्तभूषणः
With the right as his heart, a yogin, composed of great sacrificial sessions, skilled in rites, adorned with the eightfold ladle and the Pravargya vessel.
नानाच्छन्दोगतिपथो गुह्योपनिषदासनः छायापत्नीसहायो ऽसौ मणिशृङ्ग इवोत्थितः
With manifold meters as his paths, the seat of secret Upaniṣads, accompanied by his shadow-wife, he arose like a jewel-horn.
महीं सागरपर्यन्तां सशैलवनकाननाम् एकार्णवजलभ्रष्टाम् एकार्णवगतः प्रभुः
The Lord, having entered the single ocean, beheld the earth, with its mountains, forests, and groves, fallen into the one oceanic water.
दंष्ट्रया यः समुद्धृत्य लोकानां हितकाम्यया सहस्रशीर्षो लोकादिश् चकार जगतीं पुनः
With his tusk, desiring the welfare of the worlds, the thousand-headed one raised up the earth, and again established the world for the beings.
एवं यज्ञवराहेण भूत्वा भूतहितार्थिना उद्धृता पृथिवी देवी सागराम्बुधरा पुरा
Thus, assuming the form of the sacrificial Boar for the sake of the beings’ welfare, the goddess Earth, bearing the ocean and mountains, was lifted up in ancient times.
वाराह एष कथितो नारसिंहस् ततो द्विजाः यत्र भूत्वा मृगेन्द्रेण हिरण्यकशिपुर् हतः
This was the Boar incarnation; next is the Man-Lion, O twice-born, in which, having taken the form of a lion, he slew Hiraṇyakaśipu.
पुरा कृतयुगे नाम सुरारिर् बलदर्पितः दैत्यानाम् आदिपुरुषश् चकार सुमहत् तपः
Long ago, in the Kṛta Yuga, the enemy of the gods, filled with pride in his strength, the primeval being among the Daityas, performed intense austerity.
दश वर्षसहस्राणि शतानि दश पञ्च च जपोपवासनिरतस् तस्थौ मौनव्रतस्थितः
For ten thousand times ten years and five hundred more, he remained engaged in recitation and fasting, steadfast in the vow of silence.
ततः शमदमाभ्यां च ब्रह्मचर्येण चैव हि प्रीतो ऽभवत् ततस् तस्य तपसा नियमेन च
Then, through tranquility and self-control, and indeed through celibacy, the Lord was pleased with him because of his austerity and discipline.
तं वै स्वयंभूर् भगवान् स्वयम् आगम्य भो द्विजाः विमानेनार्कवर्णेन हंसयुक्तेन भास्वता
Then the self-born Lord himself, O twice-born, came, shining, in a chariot the color of the sun, yoked with swans.
आदित्यैर् वसुभिः सार्धं मरुद्भिर् दैवतैस् तथा रुद्रैर् विश्वसहायैश् च यक्षराक्षसकिंनरैः
With the Ādityas, Vasus, Maruts, and other deities, with Rudras, the universal supporters, and with Yakṣas, Rākṣasas, and Kiṃnaras,