Skandapurana 2.7.19.51.1

2.7.19.51.1

..vyādha uvāca..
viṣṇumuddiśya kartavyā dharmā bhāgavatāḥ śubhāḥ..
tatrā'pi mādhavīyāśca ityuktaṃ tu tvayā purā ..1 ..
sa viṣṇuḥ kīdṛśo brahmankiṃ vā tasya hi lakṣaṇam..
kiṃ mānaṃ tasya sadbhāvaiḥ kairjñeyo bhagavānvibhuḥ..2 ..
kīdṛśā vaiṣṇavā dharmāḥ kenā'sau prīyate hariḥ ..
etadācakṣva me brahmankiṃkarāya mahāmate ..3..
iti pṛṣṭastu vyādhena punaḥ prāha sa vai dvijaḥ..
praṇamya jagatāmīśaṃ nārāyaṇamanāmayam..4..
śaṃkha uvāca..
śṛṇu vyādha pravakṣyāmi viṣṇurūpamakalmaṣam ..
yadacintyaṃ viriṃcyādyairmunibhirbhāvitātmabhiḥ ..5..
pūrṇaśaktiḥ pūrṇaguṇo nirdiṣṭaḥ sakaleśvaraḥ ..
nirguṇo niṣkalo'naṃtaḥ saccidānandavigrahaḥ ..6..
yadetadakhilaṃ viśvaṃ carācaramanīdṛśam..
sādhiśaṃsā''śrayaṃ yacca yadvaśe niyataṃ sthitam..7..
atha te lakṣaṇaṃ vacmi brahmaṇaḥ paramātmanaḥ..
utpattisthitisaṃhārā hyāvṛttirniyamastathā ..8..
prakāśau bandhamokṣau ca vṛttiryasmādbhavaṃtyamī ..
sa viṣṇurbrahmasaṃjño'sau kavīnāṃ saṃmato vibhuḥ..9..
sākṣādbrahmeti taṃ prāhuḥ paścādbrahmādikānapi ..
brahmaśabdaṃ sopapadaṃ brahmādiṣu vido viduḥ.. 2.7.19.10..
nānyeṣāṃ brahmatā kvā'pi tacchaktyekāṃśabhāginām..
tadetacchāstragamyaṃ hi janmādyasya mahāvibhoḥ..11..
śāstraṃ ca vedāḥ smṛtayaḥ purāṇaṃ vai tadātmakam..
itihāsaḥ paṃcarātraṃ bhārataṃ ca mahāmate ..12..
etaireva mahāviṣṇurjñeyo nānyaiḥ kathaṃcana ..
nāvedavidamuṃ viṣṇuṃ manute ca naraḥ kvacit..13..
neṃdriyairnānumānaiśca na tarkaiḥ śakyate vibhum..
jñātuṃ nārāyaṇaṃ devaṃ vedavedyaṃ sanātanam ..14..
asyaiva janmakarmāṇi guṇāñjñātvā yathāmati..

The hunter said: / Auspicious Bhāgavata duties directed toward Viṣṇu should be performed, / and especially those pertaining to the month of Mādhava—so it was said by you before. / What is that Viṣṇu like, O brahmin? Or what indeed is his defining characteristic? / What is the proof of his true being? By what means is the lordly Bhagavān to be known? / What are the Vaiṣṇava duties like? By what is that Hari pleased? / Tell me this, O wise brahmin, to me, your servant! / Questioned thus by the hunter, the twice-born said again, / having bowed to Nārāyaṇa, the lord of the worlds, free from affliction: / Śaṅkha said: / Listen, O hunter! I will tell you the stainless form of Viṣṇu, / which is unthinkable [even] by Brahmā and the other sages of cultivated mind. / Possessing full power, possessing full qualities, he is designated the Lord of all; / devoid of [material] qualities, undivided, infinite, his form is being, consciousness, and bliss. / This entire universe, moving and unmoving, incomparable, / which rests on him as supreme support, remains continuously under his control. / Now I shall tell you the defining characteristic of Brahman, the Supreme Self: / From whom arise creation, maintenance, destruction, cycle [of rebirth], regulation, / illumination, bondage and liberation, and livelihood— / that Viṣṇu is called Brahman; he is considered all-pervading by the wise. / They call him directly Brahman, and afterward even Brahmā and the others; / the wise know the word 'brahman' applied to Brahmā and others as accompanied by an epithet. / In no other beings does Brahmanhood exist, for they possess only a single fraction of his power. / This [nature] of his, the great all-pervading Lord, originating [the universe] and so forth, is accessible only through scripture. / And scripture consists of the Vedas, the Smṛtis, the Purāṇa identical in nature to them, / the Itihāsa, the Pañcarātra, and the Bhārata, O wise one! / Only through these can Mahāviṣṇu be known, by no other means whatsoever; / a man who does not know the Vedas never comprehends this Viṣṇu. / Not by the senses, nor by inferences, nor by arguments can the all-pervading Lord, / the god Nārāyaṇa, knowable through the Vedas, eternal, be known. / Having known according to one's capacity his births, deeds, and qualities alone,