ततः प्रमुदिता देवा ऋषयश्च तपोधनाः तुष्टुवुर्नामभिर्दिव्यैर् आदिदेवं सनातनम्
Then the delighted gods and the sages rich in austerity praised the primeval, eternal God with divine names.
यत्त्वया विहितं देव नारसिंहमिदं वपुः एतदेवार्चयिष्यन्ति परावरविदो जनाः
O God, this form of Narasiṃha which you have manifested—those who know the highest and the lowest will worship only this.
भवान्ब्रह्मा च रुद्रश्च महेन्द्रो देवसत्तमः भवान्कर्ता विकर्ता च लोकानां प्रभवो ऽव्ययः
You, Brahmā, Rudra, and Mahendra, O best of gods—you are the creator and destroyer, the imperishable origin of all worlds.
परां च सिद्धिं च परं च देवं परं च मन्त्रं परमं हविश्च परं च धर्मं परमं च विश्वं त्वामाहुरग्र्यं पुरुषं पुराणम्
The supreme attainment, the supreme deity, the supreme mantra, the supreme offering, the supreme dharma, the supreme universe—they call you the foremost, ancient Person.
परं शरीरं परमं च ब्रह्म परं च योगं परमां च वाणीम् परं रहस्यं परमां गतिं च त्वामाहुरग्र्यं पुरुषं पुराणम्
The supreme body, the supreme Brahman, the supreme yoga, the supreme speech, the supreme secret, the supreme goal—they call you the foremost, ancient Person.
एवं परस्यापि परं पदं यत् परं परस्यापि परं च देवम् परं परस्यापि परं च भूतं त्वामाहुरग्र्यं पुरुषं पुराणम्
The supreme state, the supreme god, the supreme being—even beyond the highest—they call you the foremost, ancient Person.
परं परस्यापि परं रहस्यं परं परस्यापि परं महत्त्वम् परं परस्यापि परं महद्यत् त्वामाहुरग्र्यं पुरुषं पुराणम्
The supreme secret, the supreme greatness, the supreme vastness—even beyond the highest—they call you the foremost, ancient Person.
परं परस्यापि परं निधानं परं परस्यापि परं पवित्रम् परं परस्यापि परं च दान्तं त्वामाहुरग्र्यं पुरुषं पुराणम्
The supreme repository, the supreme purity, the supreme restraint—even beyond the highest—they call you the foremost, ancient Person.
एवमुक्त्वा तु भगवान् सर्वलोकपितामहः स्तुत्वा नारायणं देवं ब्रह्मलोकं गतः प्रभुः
Having spoken thus, the blessed Lord, ancestor of all worlds, praised the god Nārāyaṇa and went to the world of Brahmā.
ततो नदत्सु तूर्येषु नृत्यन्तीष्वप्सरःसु च क्षीरोदस्योत्तरं कूलं जगाम हरिरीश्वरः
Then, as the drums resounded and the apsarases danced, Hari, the Lord, went to the northern shore of the Milky Ocean.
नारसिंहं वपुर्देवः स्थापयित्वा सुदीप्तिमत् पौराणं रूपमास्थाय प्रययौ गरुडध्वजः
Having established the radiant form of Narasiṃha, the bearer of the ancient form, Garuḍa-bannered Lord departed.
अष्टचक्रेण यानेन भूतयुतेन भास्वता अव्यक्तप्रकृतिर्देवः स्वस्थानं गतवान्प्रभुः
The Lord, with his eight-wheeled, shining vehicle attended by beings, whose nature is unmanifest, returned to his own abode.
कथितं नरसिंहस्य माहात्म्यं विस्तरेण च पुनस्तस्यैव माहात्म्यम् अन्यद्विस्तरतो वद
The greatness of Narasiṃha has been described in detail; now tell again, in detail, another greatness of his.
पद्मरूपमभूदेतत् कथं हेममयं जगत् कथं च वैष्णवी सृष्टिः पद्ममध्ये ऽभवत्पुरा
How did this lotus-form arise? How did the world become golden? And how did the Vaiṣṇava creation once appear in the midst of the lotus?
श्रुत्वा च नरसिंहस्य माहात्म्यं रविनन्दनः विस्मयोत्फुल्लनयनः पुनः पप्रच्छ केशवम्
Having heard the greatness of Narasiṃha, Rāvinandana, his eyes wide with wonder, again questioned Keśava.
कथं पाद्मे महाकल्पे तव पद्ममयं जगत् जलार्णवगतस्येह नाभौ जातं जनार्दन
How, in the great kalpa of the lotus, did your lotus-formed world arise from the navel, O Janārdana, while you lay in the ocean?
प्रभावात्पद्मनाभस्य स्वपतः सागराम्भसि पुष्करे च कथं भूता देवाः सर्षिगणाः पुरा
By the power of Padmanābha, while he slept in the ocean, how did the gods and the hosts of sages once arise in the lotus?
एतदाख्याहि निखिलं योगं योगविदां पते शृण्वतस्तस्य मे कीर्तिं न तृप्तिरुपजायते
Tell me all this, O master of yogis, the yoga; as I listen to your glory, my satisfaction does not arise.
कियता चैव कालेन शेते वै पुरुषोत्तमः कियन्तं वा स्वपिति च को ऽस्य कालस्य संभवः
For how long does the Supreme Person sleep, and for how long does he dream? What is the origin of this period of time?
कियता वाथ कालेन ह्य् उत्तिष्ठति महायशाः कथं चोत्थाय भगवान् सृजते निखिलं जगत्
And after how much time does the illustrious one arise? How, upon rising, does the Blessed Lord create the entire universe?
के प्रजापतयस्तावद् आसन्पूर्वं महामुने कथं निर्मितवांश्चैव चित्रं लोकं सनातनम्
Who were the progenitors in former times, O great sage, and how did they create the wondrous, eternal world?
कथमेकार्णवे शून्ये नष्टस्थावरजङ्गमे दग्धे देवासुरनरे प्रनष्टोरगराक्षसे
How, when all that is fixed and moving was lost in the single, empty ocean—when gods, asuras, humans, serpents, and demons were destroyed—
नष्टानिलानले लोके नष्टाकाशमहीतले केवलं गह्वरीभूते महाभूतविपर्यये
When air and fire had perished from the world, when space and earth had vanished, and all was reduced to darkness in the upheaval of the great elements—
विभुर्महाभूतपतिर् महातेजा महाकृतिः आस्ते सुरवरश्रेष्ठो विधिमास्थाय योगवित्
—did the all-pervading Lord, master of the great elements, of immense brilliance and vast form, the foremost among the best of gods, remain, established in discipline and knowing yoga?
शृणुयां परया भक्त्या ब्रह्मन्नेतदशेषतः वक्तुमर्हसि धर्मिष्ठ यशो नारायणात्मकम्
May I hear this in full, O Brahman, with utmost devotion. You, righteous one, are worthy to speak of the glory that is the essence of Nārāyaṇa.
श्रद्धया चोपविष्टानां भगवन्वक्तुमर्हसि
O Blessed One, you are worthy to speak to those of us seated here with faith.
नारायणस्य यशसः श्रवणे या तव स्पृहा तद्वंश्यान्वयभूतस्य न्याय्यं रविकुलर्षभ
Your desire to hear of the glory of Nārāyaṇa is fitting, O bull among the solar dynasty, for you are descended from his lineage.
शृणुष्वादिपुराणेषु वेदेभ्यश्च यथा श्रुतम् ब्राह्मणानां च वदतां श्रुत्वा वै सुमहात्मनाम्
Listen, as it has been heard in the earliest Purāṇas and from the Vedas, and as spoken by the most noble Brāhmaṇas.
यथा च तपसा दृष्ट्वा बृहस्पतिसमद्युतिः पराशरसुतः श्रीमान् गुरुर्द्वैपायनो ऽब्रवीत्
And as the illustrious son of Parāśara, the revered teacher Dvaipāyana, whose brilliance rivaled Bṛhaspati, declared after perceiving through austerity—
तत्ते ऽहं कथयिष्यामि यथाशक्ति यथाश्रुति यद्विज्ञातुं मया शक्यम् ऋषिमात्रेण सत्तमाः
That, to the best of my ability and as I have heard, I shall relate to you, O best of sages, as much as I am able to know by the measure of a seer.