Hearing of the troubles besetting the world, it was said: “Let us go to the Lord of all, the destroyer of the Asuras, the very cause and ruler of creation, preservation, and destruction. He is the refuge of both the higher and lower worlds.” The call went out to seek Viṣṇu—the infinite and unconquered, the Lord of lords, the origin of both the unmanifest and the manifest, the source of all causes and effects. For it is Viṣṇu who removes the distress of those who take refuge in him, who grants welfare to his devotees. Thus, Brahmā, the Grandfather of the worlds, together with all the gods, journeyed to the northern shore of the Milk Ocean. There, with all the gods gathered, the Grandfather began to praise Hari, Lord of all realms, using words chosen with great care and devotion. “We bow to the all-pervading, all-peaceful, infinite, unborn, and imperishable one—the very support of the worlds, the foundation of the earth, the unmanifest and undivided. To Nārāyaṇa, the subtlest among all that is subtle, the greatest among all that is great, greater than the earth and all else—we bow. “In you all exists; from you all has arisen. You are the foremost among beings, the god of all creatures, and you are beyond even the highest. You are beyond the supreme person, embodying the supreme self, whom yogis contemplate, and you are the cause of liberation for those who seek release. “In you, the natural qualities such as existence do not exist; you are pure, the purest of all, the primeval person—may you be gracious to us. May Hari, whose power is not subject to the measures of time, who is ever pure, be gracious to us. Though the Supreme Lord is pure, he is described in many ways by convention; may that Viṣṇu, the very self of all embodied beings, be gracious to us. “He who is both the cause and the effect, and the cause even of the cause, and the effect even of the effect—may Hari be gracious to us. He who is the effect of the effect and the cause, and who himself becomes both cause and effect—we bow to him. He who is the cause of causes, and even the cause of that cause, and the reason for all those causes—we bow to you, Lord of the gods. “You are the enjoyer, the object to be enjoyed, the creator and what is created, whose nature is both action and result—we bow to that supreme state. That which is pure consciousness, eternal, unborn, imperishable, unchanging, unmanifest, and without transformation—that is Viṣṇu’s supreme state. “That which is neither gross nor subtle, nor within the scope of any attribute—that supreme state of Viṣṇu, ever pure, we always bow to. In a mere fraction of whose countless parts this universal power abides—that imperishable form of the supreme Brahman—we bow to him. “That supreme state of Viṣṇu, which neither gods nor sages, nor I, nor Śaṅkara know; that supreme state which yogis, ever disciplined, see as imperishable in the sacred syllable Om, when virtue and sin are destroyed; the powers of that god, beginning with Brahmā, Viṣṇu, and Śiva, arise from him who was never before—his supreme state is that of Viṣṇu. “O Lord of all, soul of all beings, the refuge of all, imperishable one, Viṣṇu, be gracious to your devotees; let your form be visible to us, your devotees.” Hearing this heartfelt praise, Brahmā and the gods bowed and pleaded: “Be gracious, come into our sight.” They continued: “That supreme state which even the blessed Brahmā does not know—we bow to you, O sustainer of the world, in whom all abides, O imperishable one.” When their words ended, the gods and Brahmā, together with the divine sages led by Bṛhaspati, spoke in unison: “He who is the first, the origin of sacrifice, the ancestor of all—him, the creator of the world, the unqualified creator, we bow to. “O Blessed Lord, Lord of past and future, bearer of the form of the universe, imperishable one, be gracious to those who bow; grant a vision of yourself to all. Here is Brahmā, and likewise Rudra with the three eyes, all the Ādityas, Pūṣā, and Pāvaka with the fires. The Ashvins, the Vasus, Sāva, and the hosts of Maruts, the Sādhyas, the Viśve Devas, and also the lord of the gods, Devendra, are here. “O Lord, all the hosts of gods, defeated by the armies of the Daityas, have come to you, bowing in reverence, seeking refuge.” Thus, as they praised him, O Maitreya, the Supreme Lord appeared before them, bearing the bow Śārṅga and the discus. The gods beheld him—holding the bow, the discus, and the mace, of a form and stature never seen before, a mass of radiant energy. With eyes wide in awe, they bowed down, led by the Grandfather Brahmā, and praised the lotus-eyed one. “Salutations, salutations to you, the undifferentiated one; you are Brahmā, you are the wielder of Pināka (Śiva), you are Indra, Agni, Vāyu, Varuṇa, Sūrya, and Yama. You are the Vasus, the Maruts, the Sādhyas, and all the hosts of gods; this assembly of deities has come near you, O Lord. “You alone are the creator of the universe, for you are all-pervading; you are the sacrifice, the syllable vaṣaṭ, the sacred syllable oṃ, and Prajāpati. You are both the knower and the known, the soul of all; the entire universe is pervaded by you. O Viṣṇu, conquered by the Daityas, we have come to you for refuge. “O soul of all, be gracious to us; replenish our strength with your energy. May our suffering, desires, delusion, and sorrow remain only until we reach your refuge. Until we reach you, the destroyer of all sins, as our refuge, O gracious one, show your favor to us who have surrendered. O Lord of all radiance, restore the strength of all by your own power.” Thus did the gods, with utmost devotion and humility, seek the grace and protection of the Supreme Lord Viṣṇu.