Chapter 84 - Greatness of Ādinārāyaṇa

[Sanskrit text for this chapter is available]

Īśvara said:

1-3. Thereafter, O great goddess, a pilgrim should go to Lord Viṣṇu called Ādinārāyaṇa. The deity is destructive of all sins. He is stationed on the eastern side of Yogeśvarī.

The Lord is the destroyer of all Daityas. He has sandals and a seat.

At the beginning (of the creation) in Kṛtayuga, O fair lady, there was a Daitya named Meghavāhana. He had a huge body extending to ten thousand Yojanas. He was very mighty. He could not be conquered by all the Devas joined together. He caused the destruction of all the three worlds. O lady of excellent countenance, Brahmā, pleased by his penance, had granted him a boon.

4. “Your death will take place only when in a battle Viṣṇu strikes you with Pādukā (sandal), not otherwise.”

5. The Daitya who got this boon, began to oppress the whole of the earth along with Devas and Asuras and human beings. This continued for a period of a crore of Yugas.

6. After tormenting (all) in various ways, O goddess, he came to the southern sea. There he destroyed the hermitages of sages.

7. Then all those sages whose hermitages and surroundings had been destroyed sought refuge in Keśava, the Lord of Devas. Knowing fully well that he is invincible, they eulogized the Garuḍa-emblemed Lord.

The Sages said:

8. Obeisance to the Ātmayogin (the Supreme Soul as a Yogin) highly auspicious and cause of auspiciousness. Obeisance to Janārdana, to Lord Śrīdhara, to Vedhas.

9. Obeisance to Keśava with the golden coronet resembling the filaments of a lotus. Obeisance, obeisance to the extremely subtle in form, to one having a huge form.

10. Obeisance to the lotus-navelled one, to the most preeminent one, to the most desirable one, to the great Atman. Obeisance to Hari in the form of Man-lion (Narasiṃha), to the creator of Indra.

11. Obeisance to the Ātman, to the cause of the universe, Obeisance to the Absolute having Hiraṇyagarbha (Brahmā) in his womb. Obeisance to Acyuta always. Obeisance, obeisance to the infinite one.

12. Obeisance to the great Ātman whose refulgence is concealed by the veil of Māyā, to the abode of the universe. Obeisance to the bestower of the raft of knowledge enabling one to cross the ocean of worldly existence. Obeisance to the Dhātṛ (Creator) of unobstructed intelligence, to the Dhātṛ performing the duties of creation, maintenance and annihilation.

13. Just as a sin gets destroyed when the name ‘Vāsudeva’ is uttered once, so also let this Daitya Meghavāhana undergo destruction.

14. Just as Viṣṇu takes away a sin that is settled upon his devotees, so also may this Daitya, the perpetrator of sinful activities, meet with destruction.

15. Even as Viṣṇu dispels all sins as soon as he is remembered, so also may this Daitya Meghavāhana attain annihilation.

16. When the Supreme Lord of great Lords, Vāsudeva, the creator of the universe is remembered with impregnable (very firm) devotion, let there be auspicious results; may all the defects of the entire universe meet with destruction.

17. May excellent men, all those who are on the earth, those who are in heaven, those who are in the intervening space, all those living beings that live in Rasātala, become endowed with Siddhi (spiritual perfection) when Vāsudeva, the creator of the universe, is remembered.

18. May those living beings that live anywhere in this Cosmic Egg and beings living beyond that too, attain the greatest Siddhi when Vāsudeva, the creator of the universe, is eulogized.

Īśvara said:

19-21. O fair lady, on being thus eulogized, Hari Ādinārāyaṇa (the primordial Nārāyaṇa) visualized the future task, stepped on the (Vehicle-like?) Sandals and became perceptible to those sages. The Lord, the destroyer of sins, spoke to them as they bowed down: “What is there in your heart that you wish to be done by me? May that be mentioned. Propitiated by the eulogy of you all, I shall duly accomplish it.”

22. On being told thus, all those sages stood with palms joined in reverence. With the heads bowed down, they spoke to Hari, the primordial Lord.

The Sages said:

23. O Lord, you know everything. Nothing is unknown to you. O great Lord, slay this highly powerful Daitya, O Lord, so that this entire universe maybe free from dread.

24. O splendid lady, on being told thus then by all of them, Viṣṇu challenged the Daitya for a combat. He hit him on his chest with his sandal.

25. On being struck down, the Daitya fell dead into the great ocean. After killing the notorious Daitya, the Lord stationed himself there. O lady of excellent countenance, even today, he is stationed there on the sandal-shaped seat.

26. Any excellent man who devoutly worships him gets the benefit of a horse-sacrifice and rejoices in heaven like a Deva.

27. When Govinda, the primordial Lord, is visited devoutly the man gets the same benefit which is attained by giving away a hundred thousand cows to a Brāhmaṇa.

28. The suffering of those who have Lord Ādinārāyaṇa in their heart is less than happiness. It is as though they are having Kṛtayuga in Kali itself.

29-30. By worshipping Ādinārāyaṇa after bathing in the waters of Sannihitā (a river) on a Sunday coinciding with the eleventh lunar day, one is rid of the bondage of worldly existence. Thus, O goddess, the greatness of Viṣṇu, the deity, has been spoken to you. If it is listened to by men, it destroys sins and a series of states of poverty.