स च विष्णुः परं ब्रह्म यतः सर्वमिदं जगत् । जगच्च यो यत्र चेदं यस्मिंश्च लयमेष्यति
And that Vishnu is the Supreme Brahman, from whom this entire universe arises, in whom the world exists, and into whom it will dissolve.
तद्ब्रह्म तत्परं धाम सदसत्परमं पदम् । यस्य सर्वमभेदेन यतश्चैतच्चराचरम्
That Brahman, that supreme abode, the highest state beyond existence and non-existence, by whom all this, moving and unmoving, is pervaded and from whom it arises.
स एव मूलप्रकृतिर्व्यक्तरूपी जगच्च सः । तस्मिन्नेव लयं सर्वं याति तत्र च तिष्ठति
He alone is the root-prakriti, the manifest form, and the universe itself; into him all things dissolve, and in him they abide.
कर्त्ता क्रियाणां स च इज्यते क्रतुः स एवतत्कर्मफलं च तस्य । स्रुगादियत्साधनमप्यश्षॐ हरेर्न किञ्चिद्व्यतिरिक्तमस्ति
He is the doer of actions, he is worshipped as the sacrifice, and he is also the fruit of that action; all the means such as the ladle and so on—nothing exists apart from Hari.
श्रीपारशर उवाच तारामयं भगवतः शिशुमाराकृति प्रभोः । दिवि रूपं हरेर्यत्तु तस्य पुच्छे स्थितो ध्रुवः ॥ २,९.
Śrī Parāśara said: The form of the Lord in the heavens, shaped like a dolphin and composed of stars, is that of Hari; Dhruva is situated at its tail.
सैष भ्रमन् भ्रामयति चन्द्रादित्यादिकान् ग्रहान् । भ्रमन्तमनु तं यान्ति नक्षत्राणि च चक्रवत् ॥ २,९.
As this revolves, it causes the moon, the sun, and the other planets to revolve; and the stars follow it in their rotation, like a wheel.
सूर्याचन्द्रमसौ तारा नक्षत्राणि ग्रहैः सह । वातानीकमयैर्बन्धैर्ध्रुवे बद्धानि तानि वै ॥ २,९.
The sun, the moon, the stars, and the planets are all bound to Dhruva by bonds made of wind, and thus remain fixed.
शिशुमाराकृति प्रोक्तं यद्रूपं ज्योतिषां दिवि । नारायणोऽयनं धाम्नां तस्याधारः स्वयं हृदि ॥ २,९.
That form of the luminaries in the sky, called the dolphin-shape, is said to be Nārāyaṇa; he himself is the support of the abodes, in his own heart.
उत्तानपादपुत्रस्तु तमाराध्य जगत्पतिम् । स तारा शिशुमारस्य ध्रुवः पुच्छे व्यवस्थितः ॥ २,९.
The son of Uttānapāda, having worshipped the Lord of the world, became that star; Dhruva is established at the tail of the dolphin.
आधारः शिशुमारस्य सर्वाध्यक्षो जनार्दनः । ध्रुवस्य शिशुमारस्तु ध्रुवे भानुर्व्यवस्थितः ॥ २,९.
Janārdana is the support of the dolphin, and the overseer of all; the dolphin is the support of Dhruva, and the sun is established in Dhruva.
तदाधारं जगच्चेदं सदेवासुरमानुषम् ॥ २,९.
This entire world, with gods, asuras, and humans, is supported by that.
येन विप्रविधानेन तन्ममैकमनाः शृणु । विवस्वानष्टभिर्मासैरादायापो रसात्मिकाः । वर्षत्यम्बुततश्चान्नमन्नादप्यखिलं जगत् ॥ २,९.
By what arrangement this is so, listen to me with single-minded attention: the sun, in eight months, draws up the waters, which are of the essence of sap; then he rains, and from that water comes food, and from food, the entire world.
विवस्वानंशुभिस्तीक्ष्णैरादाय जगतो जलम् । सोमं पुष्णात्यथेन्दुश्च वायुनाडीमयैर्दिवि । नालैर्विक्षिपतेऽभ्रेषु धूमाग्न्यनिलमूर्तिषु ॥ २,९.
The sun, with his sharp rays, draws water from the world; then the moon nourishes it, and the moon, by means of channels made of wind in the sky, disperses it into the clouds, in forms of vapor, fire, and wind.
न भ्रश्यन्ति यतस्तेभ्यो जलान्यभ्राणि तान्यतः । अभ्रस्थाः प्रपतन्त्यापो वायुना समुदीरिताः । संस्कारं कालजनितं मैत्रेयासाद्य निर्मलाः ॥ २,९.
The clouds do not lose that water, for it comes from them; the waters that are in the clouds, driven by the wind, fall down, and, having acquired the transformation caused by time, O Maitreya, they become pure.
सरित्समुद्रभौमास्तु तथापः प्राणिसम्भवाः । चतुष्प्रकारा भगवानादत्ते सविता मुने ॥ २,९.
O sage, the divine Sun takes up water of four kinds: from rivers, oceans, the earth, and from living beings.
आकाशगङ्गासलिलं तथादायगभस्तिमान् । अनभ्रगतमेवोर्व्यां सद्यः क्षिपति रश्मिभिः ॥ २,९.
The radiant one, the Sun, also draws up the waters of the celestial Ganga, and, as if in a cloudless sky, immediately casts them down to earth with his rays.
तस्य संस्पर्शनिर्धूतपापपङ्को द्विजोत्तम । न याति नरकं मर्त्यो दिव्यं स्नानं हि तत्स्मृतम् ॥ २,९.
O best of twice-born, a mortal whose sins and impurities are washed away by contact with that water does not go to hell; for such a bath is considered divine.
दृष्टसूर्यं हि यद्वारि पतत्यभ्रैर्विना दिवः । आकाशगङ्गासलिलं तद्गोभिः क्षिप्यते रवेः ॥ २,९.
The water that falls from the sky when the Sun is visible and there are no clouds is the water of the celestial Ganga, cast down by the rays of the Sun.
कृत्तिकादिषु ऋक्षेषु विषमेषु च यद्दिवः । दृष्टार्कपतितं ज्ञेयं तद्गाङ्गं दिग्गजोज्झितम् ॥ २,९.
Know that the water which falls from the sky when the Sun is seen among the stars, from Krittika onward and in the uneven constellations, is Ganga water, poured down by the guardian elephants of the directions.
युग्मर्क्षेषु च यत्तोयं पतत्यर्कोज्झितं दिवः । तत्सूर्यरश्मिभिः सर्वं समादाय निरस्यते ॥ २,९.
And the water that falls from the sky during the conjunctions of paired stars, cast down by the Sun, is all taken up and dispersed by the rays of the Sun.
उभयं पुण्यमत्यर्थं नृणां पापभयापहम् । आकाशगङ्गासलिलं दिव्यं स्नानं महामुने ॥ २,९.
Both are supremely meritorious for people, removing fear of sin: the celestial Ganga water and the divine bath, O great sage.
यत्तु मैघैः समुत्सृष्टं वारि तत्प्राणिनां द्विज । पुष्णात्यौषधयः सर्वा जीवनायामृतं हि तत् ॥ २,९.
But the water released by clouds nourishes all living beings, O twice-born; it sustains all plants, for it is truly the nectar of life.
तेन वृद्धिं परां नीतः सकलश्चौषधीगणः । साधकः फलपाकन्तः प्रजानां द्विज जायते ॥ २,९.
By that, all kinds of plants attain the highest growth; they mature and bear fruit, becoming productive for living beings, O twice-born.
तेन यज्ञान्यथाप्रोक्तान्मानवाः शास्त्रचक्षुषः । कुर्वन्त्यहरहस्तैश्च देवानाप्याययन्तिते ॥ २,९.
By that, people, guided by the scriptures, perform the prescribed sacrifices day after day, and by these acts they also nourish the gods.
एवं यज्ञाश्च वेदाश्च वर्णाश्च द्विजपूर्वकाः । सर्वे देवनिकायाश्च सर्वे भूतगणाश्च ये ॥ २,९.
Thus, sacrifices, the Vedas, the classes beginning with the twice-born, all the hosts of gods, and all groups of beings—
वृष्ट्या धृतमिदं सर्वमन्नं निष्पाद्यते यया । सापि निष्पाद्यते वृष्टिः सवित्रा मुनिसत्तम ॥ २,९.
—all this is sustained by rain, by which food is produced; and that rain itself, O best of sages, is produced by the Sun.
आधारभूतः सवितुर्ध्रुवो मुनिवरोत्तम । ध्रुवस्य शिशुपारोऽसौ सोऽपि नारायणात्मकः ॥ २,९.
O foremost of sages, the fixed star Dhruva is the support of the Sun; and the Shishumara, who supports Dhruva, is also of the nature of Narayana.
हृदि नारायणस्तस्य शिशुमारस्यं संस्थितः । बिभर्ता सर्वभूतानामादिभूतः सनातनः ॥ २,९.
Narayana abides in the heart of that Shishumara, sustaining all beings, being the primeval and eternal one.
रथस्त्रिचक्रः सोमस्य कुन्दाभास्तस्य वाजिनः । वामदक्षिणतो युक्ता दश तेन चरत्यसौ
The chariot of Soma has three wheels and is bright as jasmine; ten horses are yoked to it, five on the left and five on the right, and thus he moves.
वीथ्याश्रयाणि ऋक्षाणि ध्रुवाधारेण वेगिना । ह्रासवृद्धिक्रमस्तस्य रश्मीनां सवितुर्यथा
The stars, which follow their paths, are attached to it by the swift and fixed Dhruva; their waxing and waning is like the course of the Sun's rays.