He is at once the seer and the seen, the hearer and the heard, the one who touches and is touched, the meditator and the object of meditation. He is both the speaker and the spoken word, the knower and the known, the sentient and insentient world—everything is Hari, the glorious Lord known as Nārāyaṇa. This Supreme Person, the Purusha, is described as having a thousand heads, a thousand eyes, and a thousand feet, pervading all worlds in every direction and extending beyond them by ten fingers’ breadth. Whatever has existed in the past and whatever will exist in the future—all is Narayana, Hari. He is the Lord of immortality, and also the Virat Purusha who subsists by food. This very Purusha is Vishnu, Vasudeva, the infallible Hari. He is golden, blessed, immortal, eternal, and auspicious. He is the master of the universe, the sovereign over all worlds, known as Hiranyagarbha, Savita, Ananta, and the great lord. He is called both ‘Bhagavan’ and ‘Purusha’; Vasudeva, the soul of all, exists without any attributes. Bhagavan Vishnu is the supreme self, the friend of the world; he alone rules over all that moves and does not move, and he is the highest goal of ascetics. He is spoken of as the syllable at the beginning of the Vedas and established at their end; his essence is merged in nature. That supreme one is the great lord. That form is indeed Vishnu, that is Narayana, Hari; he alone is the eternal Purusha, the supreme self, the great lord. Wherever lordship arises, wherever it is present, sages use the term ‘Ishvara,’ for attribute-less lordship is established in Vasudeva. He is called ‘Atmeshvara’ by the eternal Vedic teachings; thus, the status of the great lord is established in Vasudeva. He is the lord even of the threefold manifestation by his divine play; the twofold manifestation of lordship belongs to him, the soul of all. He who is the lord of Sri, Bhumi, and Nila is declared as Ishvara; therefore, Vasudeva is established as the lord of all. He is the lord of sacrifice, the sacrifice itself, the enjoyer of sacrifice, the maker of sacrifice, the all-pervading one; he is the sacrificial Purusha, the supreme lord. The lord of sacrifice, the enjoyer of all offerings and oblations, the imperishable Hari, the lord present here—by his very presence, all demons and asuras immediately depart. Assuming the cosmic form, Hari, Janardana, nourishes the three worlds; he alone is the supreme lord. By him, with complete offerings, the gods performed sacrifice; from that sacrifice arose those who partake of both sides. From that sacrifice, all offerings, the Rig and Sama hymns were born; from it horses were produced, as well as cows and men. From the body of this Purusha, who is composed of all sacrifices, everything in the world, both stationary and moving, has arisen from Hari. His mouth, arms, thighs, and feet became the castes in due order; from his feet the earth arose, and from his head, the heavens were born. From his mind the moon was produced, from his eyes the sun; from his mouth, fire and Indra; from his breath, the ever-moving wind. From his navel came Brahmā and the sky; all the world, moving and unmoving, arose from the eternal Viṣṇu. Therefore, Viṣṇu, who is composed of all, is called Nārāyaṇa; having thus created the entire world, Hari again gathers it up. Like a spider with its web, which arises from its own play, he withdraws Brahmā, Indra, Rudra, Yama, and even Varuṇa into himself. Because he restrains and takes back all, he is called Hari; when the universe is dissolved into the great ocean, on the surface of Māyā, the Supreme Person alone remains. Having placed the world within his own womb, the Eternal One lies there; then, only Viṣṇu, Nārāyaṇa, the infallible, exists. There is no Brahmā, nor Rudra, nor gods, nor great sages; neither heaven nor earth, nor Soma, nor the sun. There are no stars, nor worlds, nor the cosmic egg; for the entire universe is enveloped by Hari. Again, at the time of creation, all is produced by him; therefore, he is remembered as Nārāyaṇa. Service to him is spoken of in the fourth case of the mantra, O Pārvatī. This entire world, beginning with Brahmā, is his servant; knowing this meaning, one should then apply the mantra. But without understanding the meaning of the mantra, one does not attain success, nor enjoyment, nor devotion, nor liberation. Thus ends the two hundred and twenty-sixth chapter, named ‘Instruction on the Meaning of the Mantra,’ in the dialogue between Umā and Maheśvara, in the Uttarakhaṇḍa of the glorious Padma Mahāpurāṇa. Then Pārvatī spoke: “Explain to me in detail the greatness of the words of the mantra, the true nature of the Lord, and also his powers and qualities. Tell me, O Lord of all the gods, the supreme abode of Viṣṇu, the divisions of Hari’s forms, and everything truly.” Īśvara replied: “Listen, O goddess, I will declare the true nature of the Supreme Self, the collection of his powers and qualities, and the states of Hari. That supreme person, called Viṣṇu and Nārāyaṇa, is the Lord of the worlds, the eternal Supreme Self. He has hands and feet everywhere, and eyes everywhere; the Lord pervades all worlds, and in him are all the highest abodes. Even while sustaining all, he surpasses the minds of the wise; thus, the Lord of Śrī, the Supreme Person, appeared in many forms, possessing a divine and auspicious form for the sake of enjoyment together with the goddess. Hari, with a vast body and a form like fire, having assumed youthful boyhood, delighted together with Śrī, the mother of the worlds, shining with his own radiance like the moon with its nectar-beams.