The gods, filled with reverence and hope, approached the Lord, the Chief of the Gaṇas, whose lotus feet are cherished by Umā. They praised him as the giver of the eight supernatural powers and glories to his devotees. They honored him as the Supreme Self, dwelling amidst the play of the great Māyā, the Bull-bannered Lord of immortals, abiding on the sacred mountain Kailāsa. Their salutations continued: to Ahibudhnya, the venerable one, giver of honor to Manu, unborn and of many forms, delighting in his own Self—Śambhu. They hailed him as Lord of the Gaṇas, God, Lord of the Mountain, bestower of great powers, praised even by Mahāviṣṇu. They offered salutations to the one who dwells in the lotus of Viṣṇu’s heart, devoted to supreme yoga, attainable through yoga, the very essence of yoga, Lord of yogins. They praised him as the giver of the fruits of yoga, the embodiment of compassion even to those devoted to giving aid to the distressed. To the dispeller of suffering, fierce in power, embodiment of virtues, Bull-bannered, Time itself and the ender of Time, their salutations flowed. Sūta narrated: Thus praised by the sacrificers, the Lord of gods, Bull-bannered, smiled at the best of the gods and spoke with a deep, resonant voice. The Blessed Lord said, “I am pleased, O gods, O best among men, by your hymn. I will fulfill the desires of you all, O foremost of the gods.” The gods replied, “Lord of all gods, Lord of the Mountain, radiant with the crescent moon, remover of distress, grant us well-being, O mighty one. There is a mountain named Vindhya, encircler of Meru, towering high; he obstructs the path of the sun and brings suffering to all, O sinless one. O Lord, restrain his growth and be the doer of all good; if the sun’s course is blocked, how will the reckoning of time remain? If the forms of svāhā and svadhā are lost, who will be the refuge in the world? For us, distressed by fear, you alone are seen as protector. O God, destroyer of suffering, be gracious, Lord of Girijā.” Śiva replied, “We do not have the power here, O gods, to restrain his growth. We shall speak thus to the Blessed Lord, Rāmādhava; he is our master, our very self, worthy of worship, the embodiment of the cause. Govinda, the Blessed Viṣṇu, is the cause of all causes; going to him, we will tell him, and the end of our suffering will come.” Hearing the words of the Lord of the Mountain, the gods, along with Indra and the lotus-born Brahma, trembling and led by Rudra, swiftly went to the world of Vaikuntha. Sūta continued: Having reached the Lord of Lords, the husband of Lakshmi, the teacher of the world, the gods beheld Vishnu, lotus-eyed and radiant. With voices choked with devotion, they praised him with a hymn. “Victory to you, O Vishnu, Lord of Lakshmi, primeval Great Person! Enemy of the demons, source of desire, bestower of all desired fruits, Great Boar, Govinda, embodiment of the great sacrifice! O Great Vishnu, Lord of Dhruva, cause of the creation of the universe, in your Matsya incarnation you upheld and rescued the Vedas. O Satyavrata, Lord of the earth, obeisance to you in the form of the Fish! Victory to you, destroyer of demons, accomplisher of the gods’ work! O Lord, bestower of nectar, obeisance to you in the form of the Tortoise! Victory to you, who took the primal Boar form for the destruction of the ancient demons! Obeisance to you who took the form of the Boar to raise up the earth! You assumed the form of Narasimha and tore apart the great demon. Obeisance to Narahari, who with his nails tore the body of the boon-intoxicated one! Assuming the form of Vamana, you bewildered the lordship of the three worlds. You unsettled Bali in the form of Vamana; obeisance to you in that form! Enemy of the thousand-armed, destroyer of wicked kshatriyas! Born from Renuka’s womb, obeisance to you as Jamadagni’s son! Most skilled in cutting off the heads of wicked rakshasas and the Paulastya. O illustrious son of Dasharatha, obeisance to you of infinite steps! By demons like Kamsa and Duryodhana, who were stains upon the earth, when the earth was burdened, you, the great Lord, relieved her; you established dharma and drove away sin far off. Obeisance to Krishna, the divine one, in many ways, O Lord! For the destruction of wicked sacrifices and the cessation of animal slaughter. Obeisance to that God who assumed the form of Buddha for this purpose! When the whole world became filled with mlecchas and oppressed by wicked kings, obeisance to you, Lord of gods, who will assume the form of Kalki! These ten incarnations, O God, are truly for the protection of devotees. For the destruction of wicked demons, therefore you are the remover of all suffering. Victory to you, destroyer of devotees’ distress, who have assumed forms among women and water-born beings. By whom, O God, these forms have been assumed—who else but you is a treasure of compassion?” Having thus praised the Lord of Lords, clad in yellow garments, the foremost among the gods bowed down in full prostration. Hearing their hymn, the blessed Supreme Person, wielder of the mace, delighted them and spoke to all the gods: “I am pleased by this hymn; O gods, cast off your distress. I will destroy your suffering, which is exceedingly hard to bear. Ask of me a boon, O gods, even one most difficult to obtain. I grant, being supremely pleased by this hymn, that whoever, rising in the morning, recites this hymn with devotion to me—making supreme devotion to me—sorrow will never touch him. Misfortune and the goddess of calamity will not enter his house. No obstacles, no spirits, no planets, nor Brahmarakshasas; nor diseases arising from wind, bile, or phlegm will afflict him.” Thus, the gods’ praises were heard, their suffering was answered, and the Supreme Lord’s grace was bestowed upon all who offer devotion.