Garudapurana 3.9

The glorious Garuḍa said: / 'Declare also the nature of the Ajānajas, O Kṛṣṇa of great intellect, / and you ought to speak in order of the others as well, O Kṛṣṇa.'

The glorious Kṛṣṇa said: / 'The deities called Ajānas are born in their respective divine families. / They are indeed the Ajāna deities; higher than them are the Karma deities.'

Virādha, Cārudeṣṇa, Citraratha, / Dhṛtarāṣṭra, Kiśora, Hūhū, and Hāhā;

Vidyādhara, Ugrasena, Viśvāvasu and Parāvasu, / Citrasena, Gopāla, and Bala are considered fifteen.

These and other Gandharvas, numbering one hundred, O King of Birds, / are to be known as equal to the ājānaja gods, in liberation and in worldly existence.

The gods born in the realm of ignorance are a hundredfold inferior to those born of rites: / Ghṛtācī, Menakā, Rambhā, Urvaśī, and Tilottamā;

Suketu, Śabarī, Mañjughoṣā, and Piṅgalā— / these and other foremost Yakṣas are proclaimed along with them.

These are equal to the ājānaja gods, a hundredfold inferior to those born of rites. / Viśvāmitra, Vasiṣṭha, Nārada, Cyavana,

and the sage Utathya—reciting these, O King of Birds, / the great-souled seers are declared equal to the ājānaja gods.

Śatarcin, Kaśyapa, Madhyama, Parāśara, / Pāvamānya, Pragātha, Kṣudrasūkta, Devala,

Gṛtsamada, Āsuri, Bharadvāja, then Mudgala, / Uddālaka, Ṛṣyaśṛṅga, Śaṅkha, and Satyavrata,

Suyajña, Bābhravya, Māṇḍūka, and Bāṣkala, / Dharmācārya, Agastya, Dālbhya, and Dārḍhyacyuta,

Kavaṣa, Harita, Kaṇva, Virūpa, and Musala, / Viṣṇuvṛddha, Ātreya, Śrīvatsa, and Vatsala,

Bhārgava, Āpnavāna, Māṇḍūkeya, / Maṇḍuka, Jābāli, and Vītihavya,

Gṛtsamada, and Śaunaka—these are remembered as the foremost seers. / Just by hearing of these, Hari is always pleased.

I shall speak of the sixteen thousand; listen, O Tārkṣya, to the sons of Agni, / who are my sixteen thousand wives. / These are equal to the ājānaja gods; no doubt should be entertained here.

Kaśerū, the daughter of Tvaṣṭṛ, is superior in virtue among them. / I shall describe those born after them; listen attentively, O King of Birds.

The ancestors other than the seven are a hundredfold inferior to the ājānajas; / yet the ancestors are superior [to others]: such is the opinion of the knowers of the Veda.

I shall speak of those born after them; listen, O best of the twice-born. / The divine Gandharvas, with the exception of one hundred and eight,

are inferior to them; but foremost are the messengers of the gods, whose joy is a hundredfold [greater]. / The attendants are always to be commanded by the gods with their own mouth.

The divine Gandharvas are declared a hundredfold inferior to them; / kings of the earth are to be known as a hundredfold inferior to them.

The foremost classes among humans are to be known as a hundredfold [inferior] to them. / Having thus spoken of digressive matters, I shall pursue the main theme. / Thus Brahmā and the other gods, as well as Lakṣmī and the rest on every side,

having praised him, all stood in silence with folded hands, O twice-born!

Praised thus, the Lord of gods, the immutable lord Hari, / thought in his mind of granting them an abode.

This [praise] is purifying, health-giving, meritorious, destructive of sin, / productive of Hari's grace, and the means of attaining the joy of one's true nature.

O Brahmins, those men here who do not recite this praise, / and those who do not hear it daily, are all deceivers.

The lowest of men who eat without constantly meditating on the Inner Ruler / ever consume excrement filled with hundreds of worms.

Thus ends the ninth chapter, entitled 'Determination of the Hierarchy of Deities through the Praise of Viṣṇu by the Gods,' in the theological section of the latter portion of the great Garuḍa Purāṇa.