Garudapurana 3.12

The glorious Garuḍa Mahāpurāṇa, [Chapter] 12.
Śrī Kṛṣṇa said:
Having entered the stalk, that exalted devotee of glorious Viṣṇu, seated on the lotus, / investigated his teacher, his own root source, Nārāyaṇa, devoid of material qualities, without a second.

By so much, even in that devotee of Hari, the four-faced one of unbroken devotion, / at the time of inquiry, not the slightest trace of ignorance should be thought of, O supreme King of Birds.

Just as Viṣṇu's mental resolve is, so too does he constantly act; / in his contemplation there is always, O great one, [acting] without exceeding his own capacity.

The universe is in Hari's essential form, and in his own form, O bird, knowledge exists; / yet he is seen by Viṣṇu constantly acting like an attendant, as if ignorant.

He does this sometimes for the pleasure of Hari; even there, a certain distinction exists, O king of birds. / Listen with a fully restrained mind to what that god spoke, as he knows it.

The Vedas, ever flawless and liberated through specific distinctions, thus constantly know; / the creator [Brahmā] knows his own form and Hari without exceeding his own capacity.

He does not know the entire essential nature of Hari; he always knows the form of Viṣṇu that corresponds to his own capacity. / There is no ignorance whatsoever in that, O best of the twice-born, and just so is it with Lakṣmī's essential nature.

Brahmā does not know; how then could others [know]? He does not know the entire essential nature of both. / Even so, he knows a portion of the Vedas; and as much as Lakṣmī knows of Hari's form,

so much Brahmā does not know, O King of Birds, in the knowledge belonging to Brahmā's own capacity. / Therefore, not even the slightest particle of ignorance should be thought of regarding Brahmā in any place or time.

Entering the channel at that time, Brahmā did not know Nārāyaṇa as one. / Then the Lord, seated on the lotus, heard the uttered two syllables, 'Perform asceticism! Perform asceticism!' with reverence.

Fully understanding his intention: 'Perform asceticism solely to please Hari,' / devoted exclusively to Hari's feet, he performed asceticism for a divine thousand years to please Hari.

Then Hari appeared, O King of Birds, to grant a divine boon to the best of devotees. / The god of gods always beheld Viṣṇu, four-armed, with eyes like wide lotus petals,

marked with the Śrīvatsa, the Kaustubha jewel adorning his neck, gazing with a gracious, tender glance. / Having seen Hari, Nārāyaṇa, standing before him, subdued by devotion and compassionate,

Brahmā worshipped him with great magnificence; in devotion, he held the holy water from Hari's feet. / The foremost of the great devotees, his soul swelling with devotion, praised Hari, his guru.

Brahmā said: / 'O Lord of Ramā! O Lord of the world! O Abode of the universe! The goddess does not know your essential nature. / By your grace the goddess fully knows all the qualities spoken of in the Vedas at all times, O King of Birds.

Even so, that goddess does not know completely, without remainder, the true qualities. / Although there is nothing unexpressed by the five Vedas, nonetheless there is a distinction in the God.

Those desirous of truth always fully know all that is well said in the Veda and also what is nowhere uttered. / First, the four Vedas, beginning with the Ṛgveda, truly know here, O Murāri.

For these Vedas make [him] known, O God, as do the Purāṇa, the Mahābhārata, and the Pañcarātra. / Having contemplated them in order, the goddess Ramā also always knows the qualities of Viṣṇu that suit her capacity.

The goddess fully knows the qualities particularly stated in the Ṛgveda and other texts according to her own capacity; / in general the goddess fully knows the qualities of Hari, but not in specific detail constantly.

By Ramā's grace and by your grace, I always know the qualities; / some qualities corresponding to my own capacity, spoken of in the Vedas, [I know; yet] no one knows all of Hari's.

By your grace and by my grace, Śeṣa knows them at a later time; / because of a particle of wrong action, qualities are obscured, which were previously known according to his own capacity.

Having known them again, Śeṣa is commemorated as having regained the obscured qualities; / and Śiva also always knows Hari's qualities according to his capacity, by your grace.

When he knows, O Hari, O Murāri, then Śiva is said to have gained what was unobtained; / and when [he attains] my realm as well, O Murāri, then he knows your essential nature.

O Govinda, eternal, imperishable, full of pure consciousness! By your grace, that [fault] does not exist in hundreds [of births] for me. / For whichever gods possess physical bodies, they are bereft of knowledge and dedicated to sense objects.

Whichever gods are dedicated to sense objects, those gods are oriented towards external things. / Whichever gods are oriented towards external things, they are other than liberated, forever lamenting.

In your essential nature and in the world's essential nature, there is no equal to you, O Viṣṇu, at all times. / Because you have no material body, therefore ignorance never, ever exists [in you].

Though his body is eternally full of bliss and knowledge, he is always spoken of as embodied by the devoted; / because you have no material body, therefore you are also remembered as eternally bodiless.

I bow, [for] I am always in this body void of the egotistical notions of 'I' and 'mine'; / therefore I too am always bodiless, and likewise eternally void of external objects.

Enjoyment of one's wife, enjoyment of Satyaloka and other worlds, enjoyment suitable to oneself, enjoyment of garments, garlands, and the like— / all these are called external objects, natural desires for me at all times, O Viṣṇu.

Even so, I am eternally free of desire, whereas Rudra and others possess desire; therefore, / those embodied beings are oriented towards external things and are remembered as possessing ignorance, O bird.

In the enjoyment of my own wife, I always act purely for the pleasure of Hari; / I shall always bear the pillar, weapon, and other items for the pleasure of Viṣṇu, never for the sake of the body.

I have no desire other than eternal bliss; therefore I am always free from external objects. / My wife also is free from external objects; not of a foolish nature, she appears as if foolish.

To the wise, she is always free of delusion; but to the ignorant, she appears devoid of knowledge. / As much knowledge as I possess, O Vāsudeva, so much knowledge Vāsudeva possesses.

As much knowledge as Vāsudeva possesses, so much knowledge belongs to the straightforward ones among the wise. / For the ignorant or crooked ones in succession, the distinction in knowledge is indistinct in nature.

Just as seeing occurs in the light of the sun, so is the distinction present in my knowledge; / and just as seeing occurs in the light of a lamp, such is the knowledge Vāsudeva possesses.

There is indeed an indistinct deficiency in Vāyu; knowledge should not be conceived in such a way. / Such power of knowledge of Murāri lasts for Vāyu and others until liberation.

The knowledge of the straightforward ones [persists] even at the time of liberation; of the five, Vāyu and the rest are not shattered at dissolution. / For Vāyu and for me at dissolution and at the time of creation, as well as for Gāyatrī, delusion never, ever exists.

Like Gāyatrī, [it is so] for Bhāratī, O God of gods; thus it should be understood by those who know the truth of Hari. / Wherever ignorance is seen in me, it is always for the purpose of deluding the Daityas and others.

'By that, the pleasure of Viṣṇu, the God of gods, will come to pass'—with a mind thus resolved, / I shall always ask questions and the like like an ignorant person, for the delusion of the base.

Just as there is no darkness at sunrise, so ignorance never, ever exists, O God. / I always perform hearing for the pleasure of Hari, for the ascertained truth of the virtuous.

For the crooked who have passed through a hundred births, previously indeed / the mere absence of direct perception is declared to be ignorance.

After direct perception, however, there is no ignorance; there is no doubt.
Throughout a hundred births, O Lord of gods, always by means of direct perception,

I indeed possess complete knowledge; no doubt should be entertained here.
Yet in the hundred births prior [to that], O Lord, through indirect knowledge,

there is also always complete knowledge—so the great sages say.
And in the case of Sarasvatī, who had entered the birth as Saṃjñā, O Great Lord,

ignorance should indeed not be conceived of, O God, in both Brahmā and Sarasvatī.
Here there is a certain distinction that must be understood by those seeking truth.

In the incarnations of Bhāratī, occasionally preceded by knowledge,
she consists always of knowledge and is free from all suffering.

For the delusion of the daityas, she appears in a partial manifestation as if suffering;
not the slightest suffering or anything of the sort belongs to her in any way at all.

A disappearance of direct perception is observed for a brief time;
by that alone, no ignorance is placed in her whatsoever.

In her original form there is never any forgetting of knowledge by Bhāratī.
If there is none in Bhāratī, how much less could there be in Sarasvatī?

There is never a partial incarnation of Sarasvatī;
neither is there a partial incarnation of me, O Madhusūdana.

Just so does the knowledge of Hari and of Nārāyaṇa truly exist.
There is a partial incarnation of Vāyu, just as in the original form;

all strength, knowledge, and the rest must be contemplated [there], without doubt.
Even so, manifestations of strength, knowledge, and the like are seen in Vāyu.

In the incarnations of Vāyu, he truly exists fully in his own power;
there is no disappearance of direct perception even in his partial incarnations.

As much strength, knowledge, and the like as is seen in the original form,
he does not show the same in his form in the Tretā Yuga.

And whatever he showed in his form in the Tretā Yuga, O Lord,
he showed just that in his form standing in the Dvāpara Yuga,
and whatever he showed in his form in the Tretā Yuga, O Lord,

or whatever the Lord showed in his form as Vāyu standing in the Dvāpara Yuga,
Vāyu shows just that in his form in the Kali Yuga.

Vāyu displays in such a manner for the purpose of deluding the daityas.
Those who perceive a difference among the incarnations of Vāyu, O Lord,

enter blind darkness; they are daityas and not gods.
There is no difference even in Vāyu when ascertaining the truth of Hari.

Whoever blasphemes Viṣṇu, I cut off their tongue;
for that purpose alone is Vāyu's constant incarnation on earth.

Conceiving Viṣṇu, who is full of auspicious attributes, as devoid of attributes;
thinking of Him as having an उत्पन्न beginning of bliss, or thinking, 'I am He';

conceiving birth and the like in a body consisting of consciousness and bliss;
thinking of cutting, splitting, and the like in limbs that cannot be cut or split;

conceiving separation and the like from the Goddess who is eternally inseparable;
thinking of distress and the like in Hari, who is free from distress, grief, and the like;

conceiving a non-ṛṣi or non-Brahmin status in forms such as Vyāsa and Rāma;
thinking of a difference among forms such as Kṛṣṇa and Rāma;

thinking of a difference among forms such as Rāma and Kṛṣṇa;
thinking of defeat among forms such as Rāma and Kṛṣṇa;

thinking that worship of Śiva and the like was performed by Kṛṣṇa for the sake of offspring;
[thinking that] an installation of a liṅga was performed by Rāma afflicted with grief;

conceiving the form of Hari in a Kṛṣṇa made of five metals;
or imagining the nature of consciousness and bliss in a self-manifested place;

conceiving father, mother, and twice-born castes to have the form of Hari;
thinking of identity of Hari with the non-independent Rudra;

thinking of non-difference and the like of Viṣṇu with Sūrya;
[thinking that] Sūrya alone is supreme and Viṣṇu and others are his servants—

thinking in such ways is a fault, and is called blasphemy of Hari.
Regarding non-self-manifested liṅgas, and regarding the aśvattha tree and tulasī,

whoever bow down while abandoning the Śālagrāma stone,
they all are truly participants in blasphemy of Hari.

Those who are eligible for liberation, if out of ignorance of the Supreme Lord
they bring about a distinction among these, whenever that may be, O Lord,

then in those times suffering indeed comes to them; there is no doubt.
Therefore, those who always make a distinction among these,

they are all to be known as foolish; no doubt should be entertained here.
Those who bow down before non-self-manifested liṅgas,

they are all to be known as asuras; it is never otherwise.
Those who bow down having abandoned the sacred aśvattha tree,

or to a tulasī plant less than two months old, or to a cow that has not yet calved—
they are all to be known as asuras; no doubt should be entertained here.

From shrubs up to humans, they are known as the arms of Brahmā.
For as long as our hundred-year lifespan lasts, Kali is remembered as one alone.

They exist in Kali for the measure of a kalpa, and at the end of Kali they exist;
on that day of Brahmā's nature, they go into the proximity of darkness.

Stationed there, they await the course of the world, without doubt,
afflicted by the servants of Vāyu, who accomplish the deeds of Viṣṇu.

And after a hundred years, for all along with Kali,
the destruction of the subtle body will occur by the strike of Vāyu's mace.

They enter blind darkness according to their gradations, all of them;
in blind darkness or in saṃsāra, no doubt should be entertained here.

Among all of them, the foremost at the end is Kali alone, without doubt;
he is the defamer of Viṣṇu's devotees; there is none equal to him at any time.

In saṃsāra or in blind darkness, he is everywhere the defamer of Hari;
he considers falsehood as knowledge, and in suffering he perceives happiness.

Therefore, nowhere in the world is there a devotee of Śiva equal to Kali;
he is called Duryodhana, whose very nature is infinite suffering.

Lesser than him by a hundredfold portion is Kali's wife at all times,
known as Alakṣmī, remembered in the world as Mantharā.

Lesser than him by a tenfold portion is Vipracitti at all times;
he is declared to be Jarāsaṃdha, and Kālanemi is beyond him.

Lesser than him by a hundredfold portion is celebrated as Kaṃsa;
lesser than him by fivefold are the two named Madhu and Kaiṭabha.

Janārdana, those two should be known as Haṃsa and Hiḍamba,

Lesser than him by eightfold is remembered Hiraṇyakaśipu;
and lesser than him by threefold is the great asura Hiraṇyākṣa.

Maṇimant should be known as equal to him; Baka is remembered as slightly lesser;
lesser than him by twentyfold is the great asura named Tāraka.

Lesser than him by sixfold is Śambara, the tormentor of the world;
equal to Śambara is to be known Śālva, lowest among the daityas.

Hiḍimba is said to be lesser than Śambara by two times;
Bāṇa is to be known as lower than him, who goes by the name of Kīcaka.

The one called Dvāpara, Mahāhāsa, is traditionally considered equal to the asura Bāṇa. / Inferior to him by ten times is Namuci, the best among daityas.

Both Pāka and Ilvala are known to be equal to Namuci. / Inferior to him by four times is Vātāpi, the lowest of the dānavas.

Inferior to him by one and a half times is the king of daityas named Dhenuka. / And lower by half a part than Dhenuka is the daitya Keśin.

The great asura Tṛṇāvarta is known to be equal to the daitya Keśin. / Inferior to him by ten times is the one named Haṃsa, O Lord of Ramā.

Tririka is known to be equal [to him], and Pauruka is considered equal to him; / he himself is to be known as Veta in a previous birth, O best of beings.

Inferior to him by one fold are Kumbhāṇḍaka and Kuparṇaka. / Duḥśāsana, O Lord, is to be known as equal to Jarāsandha.

Vikarṇa, the best of daityas, is to be known as equal to Kaṃsa. / Inferior by a hundred times to Kumbhakarṇa is the one known as Kradhya.

Inferior to him by a hundred times is the great asura Śatadhanvan. / Karmāri, the best of daityas, is to be known as equal to him.

The Kālakeya is to be known as always considered equal to Vena. / Equality is stated between the lowest of daityas and the highest [gods],

due to the entrance [of the daityas] therein, no doubt, among the gods. / Inferior to him by a hundred times is the great asura presiding over the mind (citta).

The one presiding over the body, however, is superior to him by a hundred times. / Inferior to him by a hundred times is the great asura presiding over the hand.

Inferior to him by a hundred times is the great asura presiding over the foot. / The one presiding over the sense organ of sight is superior to him by a hundred times.

The one presiding over the organ of the eye is superior to him by a hundred times. / Inferior to him by six times is the great asura presiding over touch.

Inferior to him by a hundred times is the great asura Caṇḍamāna. / Inferior to him by a hundred times is the great asura presiding over the penis.

Inferior to him by a hundred times is considered the asura presiding over action. / Prompted from the beginning of the kalpa, all the authoritative lords headed by Rudra

sometimes act quite contrary to you, O best of beings; / yet neither I nor Vāyu ever act contrary [to you], O Lord!

In the prime forms and partial incarnations of Rudra and the others, O great Lord, / because their intellect is impaired, they are all called 'broken' (chinna).

And my intellect, O Lord of the earth, is designated as 'unbroken' (achinna); / though being such, O God, there is no ability in us to praise you.

Show compassion unto me, whose devotion is unbroken, O great Lord!' / Having thus praised Hari, Brahmā stood before him with folded hands.

Thus ends the twelfth chapter, entitled 'Description of Brahmā's Praise', in the dialogue between Śrī Kṛṣṇa and Garuḍa, in the Dharmakāṇḍa of the second section of the glorious Garuḍa Mahāpurāṇa.