When the Lord entered the waters, a wondrous radiance filled the depths, for there appeared the majestic form of the great earth-bearer. As the best among the gods assumed the form of a mighty fish and plunged into the vast ocean, all the gods gathered and offered hymns of praise to Hari, who upheld the earth itself. Their voices rose in reverence: “Homage to you, who are beyond the grasp of both the Vedas and human reasoning; homage to Nārāyaṇa in the form of a fish; homage to you, O melodious one, whose form encompasses all the universe; homage to you, who embody knowledge and fearlessness. “Homage to you, whose forms are the moon, the sun, and the winds, who dwell within all waters and possess beautiful eyes; homage to Viṣṇu—we take refuge in you; protect us, laying aside your fish form. “O infinite one, you pervade the whole universe—what else exists here, O god, apart from you? You are not different from this creation; from you alone we seek refuge. “The sky, the moon, the fire, and the mind—they are all ancient forms of your body, O lotus-eyed one. Forgive us, O auspicious Lord, even if our devotion is lacking, for by your power, O god of gods, the world shines. “This divine form of yours is wondrous and mysterious—fearsome in aspect, yet with a sweet voice, solid as a mountain. O ancient Lord of gods, sustainer of the world, grant us peace, O unfailing and intensely radiant one. “We have all sought your refuge; out of awe and reverence, we behold this form of yours. In all the world, apart from you, there is no other ancient embodied being.” Thus praised by the gods, the Lord, abiding in the waters, revealed his form and recovered the Vedas, along with the Upaniṣads and all the sacred scriptures. As long as the Blessed Lord remains manifest in his own form, the world endures; when he becomes the immutable, all dissolves into him, but when he abides in the mutable, the world flourishes and grows. Śrī Varāha then declared: “Thus, having created all the worlds, the Lord—the sustainer of beings—became still; and so, creation flourished upon the earth. When creation had grown, all the ancient gods came together and worshipped the great Person, Nārāyaṇa, with many sacrifices. On every island and in every region, the gods performed grand sacrificial rites, full of faith, offering worship to Hari, desiring to greatly please him and make him their chief object of devotion. For thousands of years, they sought to please him, and at last, the satisfied Lord appeared before them. He manifested with many arms, bellies, mouths, and eyes, towering like the peak of a great mountain. The Lord of gods addressed them: ‘Tell me, what is to be done? Speak your wish, best of gods, and I shall grant you a boon.’ The gods replied: ‘Conquer, O Govinda of great power! By your boon we gods exist. Even among mortals, apart from you, none else exists.’ The Rudras, Ādityas, Vasus, Sādhyas, Viśvedevas, Aśvins, Maruts, and the ancestors—all sought refuge in him, the universal form, and pleaded, ‘Make us worthy of worship here.’ Thus addressed, Hari, the great lord of yoga, replied, ‘I will make you all worthy of worship,’ and then vanished from their sight. The gods returned to their own eternal abodes, and the supreme Lord, praised by them, assumed a threefold nature. He became the threefold sustainer of the world, and Maheśvara worshipped the sattvic, rajasic, and tamasic forms, each established in three ways. With the sattvic aspect, one should recite the Vedas and worship the gods with sacrifice; Keśava, as a part of himself, also acts through the rajasic aspect. In the form of time, fierce and bearing a trident, he worshipped his own rajasic form with devotion; and with the tamasic disposition, he abided among the asuras. Thus, having become the threefold sustainer of the world, Maheśvara worshipped the gods, and the world itself became threefold. He was established as Brahmā, Viṣṇu, and Maheśa; and in the Kṛta Yuga, the supreme Lord Nārāyaṇa was preeminent. In the Tretā Yuga, he appeared as Rudra; in the Dvāpara Yuga, as the embodiment of sacrifice; and in the Kali Yuga, Nārāyaṇa manifested in many forms. Now, O lady of beautiful hips, listen as I recount in full the deeds of Viṣṇu, the one of great splendor, as they were first performed—hear them all as I narrate, O fair one. In the Kṛta Yuga, there was a mighty king named Supratīka, who had two wives, both equally charming and delightful. Their names were Vidyutprabhā and Kāntimatī, but despite his earnest efforts, the king did not obtain a son from either of them. At that time, he pleased the foremost sage, Ātreya—pure and sinless—by performing proper rites on the excellent mountain Citrakūṭa. The sage, gratified by the king’s long service and longing for a boon, was moved to grant it, and thus the son of Atri spoke. Meanwhile, mighty Indra arrived there on his elephant, surrounded by the armies of the gods, but remained silent. Seeing Indra, the sage was inwardly pleased but outwardly displeased, and in anger, he pronounced a fierce curse upon the king of the gods: “Because you have shown me disrespect, O foolish lord of heaven, you shall be cast down from your kingdom and dwell in another world.” Then, turning to the king, the sage declared, “O king, your son will be steadfast in valor. He will be glorious, resembling Indra in form, radiant, skilled in weapons, renowned for his prowess, learned in the arts and actions of Vidyutprabhā, and though fierce in deeds, he will be a king unconquerable and exceedingly strong.” With these words, the sage departed. King Supratīka, righteous and dutiful, caused his wife Vidyutprabhā to conceive, and in due time, she gave birth. Her son was named Durjaya, mighty in strength; the sage himself performed his birth and other sacraments—he was the ascetic Durvāsas, pure in body. By the power of the sage’s actions, that son became gentle, mastered the Vedas and scriptures, and was righteous and pure. The king’s second wife, Kīrtimatī, was blessed, and her son was called Sudyumna, who also mastered the Vedas and their branches. After a long time, when King Supratīka saw his son Durjaya fit for rule, he drew him near. As the king grew old, the powerful lord of Vārāṇasī began to consider the matter of the kingdom with regard to Durjaya, O fair one.