Page:The Mahabharata of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa (1884).djvu/122

88 roaring, he was terrible like a second ocean-fire. And all the deities seeing him, sought the protection of Bibhavasu (Agni.) And they bowed down to that deity of manifold forms seated on his seat and spake unto him these words:—'O Agni, extend not thy body. Thou wilt not consume us? Lo! this huge heap of thy flames is spreading wide' And Agni replied, 'O ye persecutors of the Asuras, it is not as ye imagine. This is Gadura of great strength and equal to me in splendour, endued with great energy, and born to promote the joy of Vinata. Even the sight of this heap of effulgence hath caused this delusion in ye. He is the mighty son of Kasyapa, the destroyer of the Nagas, engaged in the good of the gods, and the foe of the Daityas and the Rakshasas. Be not afraid of it in the least. Come with me and see.' And thus addressed, the gods along with the Rishis wending towards Gadura adored him from a distance with the following words.

"The gods said, 'Thou art a Rishi (, cognisant of all mantras), sharer of the largest portion in sacrifices, ever displayed in splendour, the controller of the bird of life, the presiding spirit of the animate and the inanimate universe! Thou art the destroyer of all, the creator of all; thou art Brahma of the Hiranyagarva form; thou art the lord of creation in the form of Daksha and the other Prajapatis; thou art Indra (the king of the gods), thou art the steed-necked incarnation of Vishnu; thou art the arrow (Vishnu himself, as he became such in the hands of Mahadeva on the burning of Tripura); thou art the lord of the universe; thou art the mouth of Vishnu; thou art the four-faced Padmaja; thou art a Brahmana (i.e., wise), thou art Agni, Pavana, &c., (i.e., the presiding deities of every object in the universe). Thou art knowledge; thou art the illusion to which we are all subject; thou art the all-pervading spirit, thou art the lord of the gods; thou art the great truth; thou art fearless; thou art ever unchanged; thou art the Brahma without attributes; thou art the energies of the Sun, &c.; thou art the ocean of holiness; thou art the pure; thou art bereft of the attributes of darkness, &c.; thou art the possessor of the six high attributes; thou art