Garudapurana 3.25

Glorious Garuḍa Mahāpurāṇa — 25 / At the gateway of Śrīnivāsa, that lady, together with some others, beheld the Svāmipuṣkariṇī. / 'O Lord, O Hari, O Śrīnivāsa,' she meditated upon Him who brings liberation to Brahmā and the others.

Along with the gods, Viṣṇu remains perpetually in the waters of the pond for the sake of protection; / therefore they call it Svāmipuṣkariṇī, and the maiden with the other maidens bathed there.

Having become purified, the gods entered with pure devotion to praise Śrīnivāsa, O King of Birds; / just as instructed by the guru, so the maiden did everything, O King of Birds.

Then Hari revealed to her His own form, well-featured and completely full. / That maiden beheld with devotion the form of Śrīnivāsa, delighting her own heart,

wearing variegated golden garments, wearing a turban and a tunic,

the quarters perfumed with the fragrance of musk, / His wide eyes like white lotuses, His neck like a conch, His arms mighty,

His body adorned with a golden sacred thread, looking like the god of love himself, / possessed of beauty that enchants the universe, tender-limbed, captivating.

And seeing [Him], the maiden rejoiced, the hair on her beautiful body bristling with joy.

With her heart overflowing with the joy of seeing Him, her eyes filled with tears of love and bristling hairs, / that lady, her faults destroyed, danced with supreme reverence before that Viṣṇu: / 'O Bliss, protect me by giving happiness; O Mukunda, protect me by granting liberation!

Protect me always, O Lotus-eyed One, with a gracious look, moistened with the nectar of compassion! / O Govinda, O Govinda, protect me, deeply distressed, always indeed by giving knowledge and the rest!

O Janārdana, removing completely the associations with the wicked, which take the form of desire and other vices, / O Hari, O Hari, protect me always, having destroyed the powerful daityas who take the form of obstacles!

O Lord of Ramā, protect me; O Lord of the Four-faced One; O Lord of the Universe, protect me; O Lord of Sarasvatī; / O Lord of Ramā, protect me, O Form of the Primal Cause, whose lotus feet are praised by the multitudes of gods!'

Having thus bowed with supreme reverence, she praised Viṣṇu, the supreme and ancient one: / 'Innumerable are the qualities in Viṣṇu that are ever unknown even to Lakṣmī, O King of Birds;

the qualities in Hari far exceeding in number those that are known to Ramā. / Therefore, where is the capacity to praise Hari? Yet I shall make an effort in praising You.

By Your grace, and by Ramā's grace, by the grace of Brahmā, by the grace of Sarasvatī's lord, / and by Rudra's grace, I shall make a hymn of praise to You; yet, O Viṣṇu, grant me peace.

If You are pleased with me, O Lord, grant devotion to the soles of Your feet at all times; / by seeing You, O God, good and bad [karma] and all my misfortune have been destroyed forever.'

By your māyā this world is ruined, intoxicated with pride, deaf and blinded, / and who, through union with wealth, has truly become always dumb toward the wretched, the teachers, and others.

Do not give me supreme wealth that is opposed to your lotus feet; / O Lord, give me the association of the virtuous who expound your true nature.

Having burned away worldly attachment to sons and the like, O Vāsudeva, give me [a place] at your lotus feet; / having burned away anger directed toward true Vaiṣṇavas, give me [a place] at your lotus feet.

Having burned away greed directed toward wealth and the like, give me [a place] at the base of your lotus feet; / having burned away delusion directed toward sons and the like, give me [a place] at the base of your lotus feet.

Having burned away [pride in] learning, sons, multitude of wealth, and arrogance, give me [a place] at the base of your lotus feet; / having burned away malice whose nature is intolerance toward true Vaiṣṇavas, protect me, O Veṅkaṭeśa!

And give me a mantra, O embodiment of the primal cause, by which my association with you may occur again and again; / I choose nothing else other than contact with your lotus feet; being pleased with me, give me only that!

Addressed thus, the pleased Lord Śrīnivāsa, pouring forth nectar, said: / 'Right here, O maiden, repeat the mantra of very secret nature with supreme reverence.

I will declare the mantra with supreme reverence; listen today with devotion and supreme reverence: / the last of the semivowels joined with the first [vowel], endowed with an anusvāra, and likewise joined with the first of the stops,

joined with the letter e, joined with the first semivowel, endowed with a sibilant in an equilateral triangle, / attached to the letter ta, joined with a stop and a semivowel, and endowed with the syllable Oṃ at the beginning and end.'

'By this mantra, your desire will indeed be accomplished, O maiden; there is no doubt about this.' / Having spoken thus, Hari Śrīnivāsa revealed his form just like his image.

Bowing down to Śrīnivāsa, the lady dwelt near the Svāmisaras lake; / on that day, she satiated all the brahmins and others with food having the six tastes.

In the evening, having seen Śrīnivāsa, together with the festive manifestations representing Śrīnivāsa, / the lady, having fully bowed down with devotion, performed a thorough circumambulation of Śrīnivāsa.

The lady danced before the auspicious image, abandoning shame and proclaiming, 'Victory, O Lord!' / And while dancing, gazing at the face of Hari with her eyes, she danced exceedingly.

'Today my body is purified, O Śrīnivāsa! Today my eyes have become fruitful! / Today my feet have become meaningful, having performed circumambulation, O Lord Śrīnivāsa!

And my two hands have become meaningful today, having clapped my hands in front of Murāri!' / Speaking thus and pleasing the Lord, she departed with clusters of words of praise.

Then the gods sounded their kettledrums and showered flowers upon her head; / at that time, celestial courtezans danced on both sides.

Likewise, they clapped their hands and all bowed down then; / on the Ānandaśaila [mountain], it is always thus, making her continually dance, O best of birds.

Immersed in bliss, that lady also went to her hermitage together with Jaigīṣavya; / the noble declare that for those who do not perform the pilgrimage in this manner, O best of birds, everything is fruitless.

Having gone to the hermitage together with Jaigīṣavya, she asked her guru about the mantra of Veṅkaṭeśa: / 'Tell me the meaning of the mantra, O Jaigīṣavya, for the fruit of those who repeat the mantra.'

Jaigīṣavya said: / 'Listen, auspicious one, to the meaning of the name of Veṅkaṭeśa, and having heard it, hold it in your heart.

"Vi" signifies the supreme; "ya" is declared to be knowledge; / the letter "ka" signifies happiness; "ṭa" is declared to be the mind.

Lordship signifies the Self; thus it should be understood, O maiden; / because he pervades complete knowledge, happiness, and consciousness, he is named Vyaṅkaṭa.

"Ve" is declared to be the senses and the rest, since they are parts belonging to Hari; / and "kaṭa" means an assemblage; Vyaṅkaṭa (Veṅkaṭa) is the host of senses.

Because he impels [them] within himself, he is named Vyaṅkaṭa; / or because he constantly directs [them] to objects, he is named Vyaṅkaṭa.

Because they consist of distinguished knowledge, the liberated are always called "vya"; / and the assembly of the liberated is proclaimed to be "kaṭa".

Because he is always the Lord of the assembly of the liberated, he is named Vyaṅkaṭa; / hence the jīva having a subtle body is called Vyaṅkaṭa.

Because he is the master of subtle bodies, he is named Veṅkaṭeśa; / and because the hosts of Daityas are devoid of knowledge and the like, / therefore the host of Daityas is proclaimed to be "vyaṅkaṭa".

Because he is the Lord in destroying them, he is named Vyaṅkaṭa; / because they are opposed to bliss, the qualities such as desire and anger

are called "vyaṅkaṭas"; the Lord is the destroyer of them; / therefore he is named Veṅkaṭeśa. Knowing this, perform the repetition [of the mantra]!'

Having heard this greatness of Vyaṅkaṭa, O king of birds, the lady / slept right there at night together with her father; / and rising at the hour of Brahman, the maiden remembered in her heart:

[Morning praise of Veṅkaṭeśa] / 'May Śrī Vyaṅkaṭeśa, the form of Nṛsiṃha, Śrī Varadarāja, the form of Varāha, / the one reclining at Śrīraṅgam, and the one reclining on Ananta, all grant me an auspicious dawn!

May the form of Śrī Kṛṣṇa, Gadādhara, the foot of Śrī Viṣṇu, he whose abode is Prayāga, / and Nārāyaṇa residing at holy Badarī, all grant me an auspicious dawn!

May Dāmodara who dwells in the three worlds, Śrī Pāṇḍuraṅga, Lord Nṛsiṃha, / and Lord Śrī Rāma of infallible dwelling, grant [me an auspicious dawn]!

May Śrī Dharmaputra, the form of Nṛsiṃha, the one residing in the pippala tree, the resident of Muhalla, / Kolā-Nṛsiṃha, and the lion residing in Śūrpakāra, grant [me an auspicious dawn]!

May the four-faced [Brahmā], lovely Sarasvatī, one's own Bhāratī, Śarva, Suparṇa, and Śeṣa, / the great Indra, and those led by Śacī, grant [me an auspicious dawn]!

May Dvārāvatī, Kāśī, Avantikā, Prayāga, Kāñcī, and the city of Mathurā, / Māyāvatī, and the city of Hastimatī, all grant [me an auspicious dawn]!

May the Bhāgīrathī, Sarasvatī, Godāvarī, Sindhu, Kṛṣṇā, Veṇī, / Yamunā the daughter of Kalinda, and Narmadā, grant [me an auspicious dawn]!'

'May the Vitastā, Kāverī, and Tuṅgabhadrā, the Suvañjarā, Bhīmarathī, and Vipāśā, / the fair Tāmraparṇī and Pinākinī [...]

and the Svāmipuṣkariṇī, and likewise the Suvarṇamukharī, / the sacred Pāṇḍavī, Tuṃburu, Kapilā, and Pāpanāśanī;

may Guru, Vasiṣṭha, Kratu, and Aṅgiras, Manu, Pulastya, Pulaha, and Gautama, / Raibhya, Marīci, Cyavana, and Dakṣa—may they all make my morning auspicious.

May the seven oceans, the seven principal mountain ranges, the seven islands, the seven groves, / and the seven worlds beginning with the earth make [all my morning auspicious]!

Māndhātṛ, Nahuṣa, Ambarīṣa, Sagara, King Nala, Dharmarāja, Prahlāda, the king of sacrificers, Vibhīṣaṇa, Gaya, Vyāsa, and Hanūmat; / Aśvatthāman, Kṛpa, Umā, the daughter of Drupada, glorious Jānakī, Tārā, and Mandodarī—may they all make the morning celebration splendid always, O Hari!'

Moreover, groves of aśvattha trees, groves of tulasī and dhātrī, O Lord, / groves of punnāga trees, campaka groves, and other flowers, / and whatever groves of mandāra and fragrant night-jasmines belong to Hari—ah! / may they always bestow my joy, O Lord Śrīveṅkaṭeśa!

Having thus remembered Śrīnivāsa, the lady, having performed her purifications together with Jaigīṣavya, / went to Hari's sacred pool to bathe, and bathed properly in that place. / Having properly muttered the mantra of Veṅkaṭeśa, she spoke to her guru Jaigīṣavya:

Thus ends the twenty-fifth chapter, titled 'The Description of the Lady's Vision and Praise of Veṅkaṭeśa,' in the Brahmakāṇḍa, the third section of the latter section of the venerable Garuḍa Mahāpurāṇa.