Skandapurana 2.2.28

Jaimini said:

Then, by the majesty of the mantra, the Man-Lion, the Lord,

was seen by Indradyumna and all the others in a wondrous form,

licking the entire universe all around with his blazing tongue,

as if risen to swallow the entire Rudra of cosmic fire at the end of time,

pervading the vault of heaven and earth with his fiercely scorching splendour,

the all-pervading Lord possessing manifold eyes, faces, necks, hands, feet, and ears,

a deity full of all wonders, a sheer repository of fiery energy.

Terrified with fear and agitated, they were not even able to praise the Lord.

Seeing him of such a form, Nārada then

asked his father: “O blessed one, why does he appear thus?

Nārada said:

He descended for blessing, yet he inspires fear.

All are now petrified with fear, suspecting the cosmic dissolution.

You alone, O blessed one, know his divine sport, O Lord of the worlds.”

Hearing those words of Nārada, the lotus-born [Brahmā], smiling,

spoke curious words beneficial to all.

Brahmā said:

“Seeing Jagannātha descended and bearing a wooden body,

the worlds will disregard him, though he is directly of the nature of Brahman.

Foolish people who do not know the truth must know his greatness.

He has been addressed with the king of mantras by which Parameṣṭhin,

invoked by which formerly, tore apart the great asura.

Having assumed such a form exceedingly difficult to behold and terrifying,

this form is the highest culmination of Viṣṇu of immeasurable fiery energy,

by worshipping which people attain the state from which rebirth is hard to encounter.

Facing Nṛsiṃha, he, filled with joy, spoke this praise:

“Obeisance to you, peerless lion among the foremost gods! Obeisance to you, sole lion to the elephants of masses of sins!

Obeisance to you, lion on the farther shore of the ocean of sorrow! Obeisance to you, divine lion made of light!

Obeisance to you, wondrous lion embodying all forms! Obeisance to you, lion who liberates from afflictions!

Obeisance to you, Nṛsiṃha of divine form! Obeisance to you, sole lion among the best of heroes!

Obeisance to you, lion who tears asunder the Daityas! Obeisance to you, supreme lion of the gods among the gods!

Obeisance to you, sole lion in the forest of Vedānta! Obeisance to you, sole lion in the cave of the yogins!

Obeisance to you, lion, peerless lion of righteousness! Obeisance to you, lion on the peak of the Nīla mountain!”

Jaimini said:

Having thus praised that divine lion, the lord of creatures [Brahmā] drew a lion-yantra,

seated Indradyumna upon it,

and initiated him into the king of mantras proclaimed directly in the Atharvaveda,

which those devoted to Vedānta call the Vaiṣṇava liberation,

wherein the four Vedas are directly and eternally established,

reciting which great mantra the lord Svāyambhuva Manu formerly

performed creation after receiving it from this four-faced [Brahmā],

whose secondary fruit are the powers such as atomicity.

This single great mantra is the very cause

for obtaining the four aims of human life; what need to speak of trivial desires?

This single great mantra grants the fruit of all sacrifices;

it grants [the merit of] all sacred fords; it grants the fruit of all gifts and vows.

Just as this god in the form of a divine lion is a forest fire

to the heap of cotton that is all heaps of sin, so too is this king of mantras.

Practicing this, ascetics indeed cast off the disease of worldly existence.

By merely receiving it, seizing spirits, epilepsy, Rākṣasas,

Ḍākinīs, Bhūtas, Vetālas, Piśācas, serpents, and malevolent planets

flee from afar, nor are they able even to look upon him.

Then, having obtained the king of mantras from the four-faced one, Indradyumna saw

Nṛsiṃha, whose body was radiant, whose chest was embraced by Lakṣmī,

holding the discus and the bow, whose eyes were the moon, sun, and fire,

whose pair of lotus hands were extended over his knees, having an elevated nose,

seated comfortably in the yogapaṭṭa posture upon a thirty-two-petalled lotus

composed of the letters of the mantra, in the center shining with the praṇava on the pericarp,

laughing heartily, gazing at his auspicious lotus face,

his lotus face adorned with a mane, his form gleaming with divine jewels;

and behind the all-pervading lord, spreading a thousand hoods in the form of an umbrella,

he saw Balabhadra, who wields the ploughshare and plough.

Having seen Puruṣottama of such a kind, the king rejoiced;

and, his mind filled with wonder, he asked the lotus-seated one:

“O Lord, wondrous indeed is this deed of the slayer of Madhu!

How could it be possible for us to comprehend it, O creator of the worlds?

At the conclusion of the sacrifice, he assumed such a form made of wood;

and the Lord himself, mounted on a chariot, entered inside the temple.

That voice concealed in the sky previously said to me:

‘By means of the super-human tree, there will be four forms.’

Now he is seen well-established as one alone.

Is this māyā, or is it reality? Tell me according to reality, O Lord,

if you consider me a worthy vessel to hear it, O creator of existence!”

Hearing this, [Brahmā] then replied to that best of kings who was filled with doubt.

Brahmā said:

“The primordial form of the Lord has the appearance of Nārasiṃha, O king,

revealed to you by Nārāyaṇa out of grace toward me.

‘This is a wooden form’—such a notion that it is merely an image

should not be yours, O tiger among kings! For this is the form of the supreme Brahman.

Because it cuts through (khaṇḍanāt) all sufferings and because it bestows unbroken (akhaṇḍa) bliss,

this wood (dāru) by its very nature is called the supreme Brahman.

Thus the god made of wood, in accordance with the four Vedas,

is the creator of the worlds, and from that he also created himself.

Between the Brahman as sound (śabdabrahman) and the supreme Brahman, no difference is admitted;

in dissolution this is only one, but in creation difference operates.”

Word and meaning are mutually interdependent, O king;

a word exists for the purpose of meaning, and through a word [meaning] is understood.

Therefore, the four Vedas are the meaning; the words and meanings are of such nature.

The plough-bearer (Balarāma) has the form of the Ṛgveda; the man-lion (Nṛsiṃha) is the Sāmaveda.

This Subhadrā is the form of the Yajurveda; the discus is considered to be the Atharvaveda.

The Veda is fourfold; this division forms a single mass through non-difference.

Therefore let there be no doubt in you: the all-pervading Lord is one, yet manifold.

And in his other incarnations he operates according to this same rule.

Thus both difference and non-difference of Jagannātha have been declared to you, O king.

Practice [worship] with devotion according to whatever pleases your mind.

For this Lord consists of all forms and consists of all mantras.

Just as and by whomsoever he is worshipped, in that very manner he bestows fruits upon him.

Just as purely refined gold, fashioned according to one's desire, O king,

obtaining various designations in this world, produces various kinds of satisfaction,

even so the Blessed Lord has manifested here by his majesty, O king.

Whatever trust a person has, so great is his attainment of perfection.

With an inner self purified by action, mind, and speech,

worship Govinda here, who bears a wooden body,

in order to attain the fruit of the four goals of life as desired by you.

Worship this Viṣṇu with this king of mantras.

There is no mantra superior to this, nor has there been, nor will there be.

Worshipped with this, Viṣṇu becomes pleased that very moment;

the Blessed Lord, who is affectionate to his devotees, grants even his own abode.

What need has he of sacrifices, sacred fords, observances, gifts, and austerities,

who worships Viṣṇu in wooden form stationed on Nīlācala?

I tell you the truth, O king; having heard it, keep it in mind:

stationed on Nīlācala at the base of the banyan tree on the shore of this ocean,

having seen Brahman disguised as wood, which is immortal, one is liberated; there is no doubt.

Thus ends the twenty-eighth chapter, in the dialogue of the sage Jaimini, in the Glorification of the Puruṣottama-kṣetra, in the second Vaiṣṇava Section, in the venerable Skanda Mahāpurāṇa containing eighty-one thousand verses.