[Pramāṇa](https://indike.org/pramana/) › [Indian literature](https://indike.org/pramana/in) › [Purāṇas](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana) › [Vishnupurana](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.visnu) › 1.2.10-18 # Vishnupurana 1.2.10-18 Viṣṇupurāṇa 1.2.10-18 - **Language:** Sanskrit ### [1.2.10](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.visnu.1.2.10) paraḥ parāṇāṃ paramaḥ paramātmātmasaṃsthitaḥ rūpavarṇādinirdeśaviśeṣaṇavivarjitaḥ // > Who can describe him who is not to be apprehended by the senses: who is the best of all things; the supreme soul, self-existent: who is devoid of all the distinguishing characteristics of complexion, caste, or the like; and is exempt front birth, vicissitude, death, or decay: who is always, and alone: who exists every where, and in whom all things here exist; and who is thence named Vásudeva? He is Brahma, supreme, lord, eternal, unborn, imperishable, undecaying; of one essence; ever pure as free from defects. He, that Brahma, was all things; comprehending in his own nature the indiscrete and discrete. He then existed in the forms of Purusha and of Kála. Purusha (spirit) is the first form, of the supreme; next proceeded two other forms, the discrete and indiscrete; and Kála (time) was the last. These four--Pradhána (primary or crude matter), Purusha (spirit), Vyakta (visible substance), and Kála (time)--the wise consider to be the pure and supreme condition of Vishńu. These four forms, in their due proportions, are the causes of the production of the phenomena of creation, preservation, and destruction. Vishńu being thus discrete and indiscrete substance, spirit, and time, sports like a playful boy, as you shall learn by listening to his frolics. > — Horace Hayman Wilson 1840, The Vishnu Purana: A System of Hindu Mythology and Tradition ### [1.2.11](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.visnu.1.2.11) apakṣayavināśābhyāṃ pariṇāmarddhijanmabhiḥ varjitaḥ śakyate vaktuṃ yaḥ sadāstīti kevalam // > Who can describe him who is not to be apprehended by the senses: who is the best of all things; the supreme soul, self-existent: who is devoid of all the distinguishing characteristics of complexion, caste, or the like; and is exempt front birth, vicissitude, death, or decay: who is always, and alone: who exists every where, and in whom all things here exist; and who is thence named Vásudeva? He is Brahma, supreme, lord, eternal, unborn, imperishable, undecaying; of one essence; ever pure as free from defects. He, that Brahma, was all things; comprehending in his own nature the indiscrete and discrete. He then existed in the forms of Purusha and of Kála. Purusha (spirit) is the first form, of the supreme; next proceeded two other forms, the discrete and indiscrete; and Kála (time) was the last. These four--Pradhána (primary or crude matter), Purusha (spirit), Vyakta (visible substance), and Kála (time)--the wise consider to be the pure and supreme condition of Vishńu. These four forms, in their due proportions, are the causes of the production of the phenomena of creation, preservation, and destruction. Vishńu being thus discrete and indiscrete substance, spirit, and time, sports like a playful boy, as you shall learn by listening to his frolics. > — Horace Hayman Wilson 1840, The Vishnu Purana: A System of Hindu Mythology and Tradition ### [1.2.12](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.visnu.1.2.12) sarvatrāsau samastaṃ ca vasaty atreti vai yataḥ tataḥ sa vāsudeveti vidvadbhiḥ paripaṭhyate // > Who can describe him who is not to be apprehended by the senses: who is the best of all things; the supreme soul, self-existent: who is devoid of all the distinguishing characteristics of complexion, caste, or the like; and is exempt front birth, vicissitude, death, or decay: who is always, and alone: who exists every where, and in whom all things here exist; and who is thence named Vásudeva? He is Brahma, supreme, lord, eternal, unborn, imperishable, undecaying; of one essence; ever pure as free from defects. He, that Brahma, was all things; comprehending in his own nature the indiscrete and discrete. He then existed in the forms of Purusha and of Kála. Purusha (spirit) is the first form, of the supreme; next proceeded two other forms, the discrete and indiscrete; and Kála (time) was the last. These four--Pradhána (primary or crude matter), Purusha (spirit), Vyakta (visible substance), and Kála (time)--the wise consider to be the pure and supreme condition of Vishńu. These four forms, in their due proportions, are the causes of the production of the phenomena of creation, preservation, and destruction. Vishńu being thus discrete and indiscrete substance, spirit, and time, sports like a playful boy, as you shall learn by listening to his frolics. > — Horace Hayman Wilson 1840, The Vishnu Purana: A System of Hindu Mythology and Tradition ### [1.2.13](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.visnu.1.2.13) tad brahma paramaṃ nityam ajam akṣayam avyayam ekasvarūpaṃ ca sadā heyābhāvāc ca nirmalam // > Who can describe him who is not to be apprehended by the senses: who is the best of all things; the supreme soul, self-existent: who is devoid of all the distinguishing characteristics of complexion, caste, or the like; and is exempt front birth, vicissitude, death, or decay: who is always, and alone: who exists every where, and in whom all things here exist; and who is thence named Vásudeva? He is Brahma, supreme, lord, eternal, unborn, imperishable, undecaying; of one essence; ever pure as free from defects. He, that Brahma, was all things; comprehending in his own nature the indiscrete and discrete. He then existed in the forms of Purusha and of Kála. Purusha (spirit) is the first form, of the supreme; next proceeded two other forms, the discrete and indiscrete; and Kála (time) was the last. These four--Pradhána (primary or crude matter), Purusha (spirit), Vyakta (visible substance), and Kála (time)--the wise consider to be the pure and supreme condition of Vishńu. These four forms, in their due proportions, are the causes of the production of the phenomena of creation, preservation, and destruction. Vishńu being thus discrete and indiscrete substance, spirit, and time, sports like a playful boy, as you shall learn by listening to his frolics. > — Horace Hayman Wilson 1840, The Vishnu Purana: A System of Hindu Mythology and Tradition ### [1.2.14](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.visnu.1.2.14) tad eva sarvam evaitad vyaktāvyaktasvarūpavat tathā puruṣarūpeṇa kālarūpeṇa ca sthitam // > Who can describe him who is not to be apprehended by the senses: who is the best of all things; the supreme soul, self-existent: who is devoid of all the distinguishing characteristics of complexion, caste, or the like; and is exempt front birth, vicissitude, death, or decay: who is always, and alone: who exists every where, and in whom all things here exist; and who is thence named Vásudeva? He is Brahma, supreme, lord, eternal, unborn, imperishable, undecaying; of one essence; ever pure as free from defects. He, that Brahma, was all things; comprehending in his own nature the indiscrete and discrete. He then existed in the forms of Purusha and of Kála. Purusha (spirit) is the first form, of the supreme; next proceeded two other forms, the discrete and indiscrete; and Kála (time) was the last. These four--Pradhána (primary or crude matter), Purusha (spirit), Vyakta (visible substance), and Kála (time)--the wise consider to be the pure and supreme condition of Vishńu. These four forms, in their due proportions, are the causes of the production of the phenomena of creation, preservation, and destruction. Vishńu being thus discrete and indiscrete substance, spirit, and time, sports like a playful boy, as you shall learn by listening to his frolics. > — Horace Hayman Wilson 1840, The Vishnu Purana: A System of Hindu Mythology and Tradition ### [1.2.15](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.visnu.1.2.15) parasya brahmaṇo rūpaṃ puruṣaḥ prathamaṃ dvija vyaktāvyakte tathaivānye rūpe kālas tathāparam // > Who can describe him who is not to be apprehended by the senses: who is the best of all things; the supreme soul, self-existent: who is devoid of all the distinguishing characteristics of complexion, caste, or the like; and is exempt front birth, vicissitude, death, or decay: who is always, and alone: who exists every where, and in whom all things here exist; and who is thence named Vásudeva? He is Brahma, supreme, lord, eternal, unborn, imperishable, undecaying; of one essence; ever pure as free from defects. He, that Brahma, was all things; comprehending in his own nature the indiscrete and discrete. He then existed in the forms of Purusha and of Kála. Purusha (spirit) is the first form, of the supreme; next proceeded two other forms, the discrete and indiscrete; and Kála (time) was the last. These four--Pradhána (primary or crude matter), Purusha (spirit), Vyakta (visible substance), and Kála (time)--the wise consider to be the pure and supreme condition of Vishńu. These four forms, in their due proportions, are the causes of the production of the phenomena of creation, preservation, and destruction. Vishńu being thus discrete and indiscrete substance, spirit, and time, sports like a playful boy, as you shall learn by listening to his frolics. > — Horace Hayman Wilson 1840, The Vishnu Purana: A System of Hindu Mythology and Tradition ### [1.2.16](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.visnu.1.2.16) pradhānapuruṣavyaktakālānāṃ paramaṃ hi yat paśyanti sūrayaḥ śuddhaṃ tad viṣṇoḥ paramaṃ padam // > Who can describe him who is not to be apprehended by the senses: who is the best of all things; the supreme soul, self-existent: who is devoid of all the distinguishing characteristics of complexion, caste, or the like; and is exempt front birth, vicissitude, death, or decay: who is always, and alone: who exists every where, and in whom all things here exist; and who is thence named Vásudeva? He is Brahma, supreme, lord, eternal, unborn, imperishable, undecaying; of one essence; ever pure as free from defects. He, that Brahma, was all things; comprehending in his own nature the indiscrete and discrete. He then existed in the forms of Purusha and of Kála. Purusha (spirit) is the first form, of the supreme; next proceeded two other forms, the discrete and indiscrete; and Kála (time) was the last. These four--Pradhána (primary or crude matter), Purusha (spirit), Vyakta (visible substance), and Kála (time)--the wise consider to be the pure and supreme condition of Vishńu. These four forms, in their due proportions, are the causes of the production of the phenomena of creation, preservation, and destruction. Vishńu being thus discrete and indiscrete substance, spirit, and time, sports like a playful boy, as you shall learn by listening to his frolics. > — Horace Hayman Wilson 1840, The Vishnu Purana: A System of Hindu Mythology and Tradition ### [1.2.17](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.visnu.1.2.17) pradhānapuruṣavyaktakālās tu pravibhāgaśaḥ rūpāṇi sthitisargāntavyaktisadbhāvahetavaḥ // > Who can describe him who is not to be apprehended by the senses: who is the best of all things; the supreme soul, self-existent: who is devoid of all the distinguishing characteristics of complexion, caste, or the like; and is exempt front birth, vicissitude, death, or decay: who is always, and alone: who exists every where, and in whom all things here exist; and who is thence named Vásudeva? He is Brahma, supreme, lord, eternal, unborn, imperishable, undecaying; of one essence; ever pure as free from defects. He, that Brahma, was all things; comprehending in his own nature the indiscrete and discrete. He then existed in the forms of Purusha and of Kála. Purusha (spirit) is the first form, of the supreme; next proceeded two other forms, the discrete and indiscrete; and Kála (time) was the last. These four--Pradhána (primary or crude matter), Purusha (spirit), Vyakta (visible substance), and Kála (time)--the wise consider to be the pure and supreme condition of Vishńu. These four forms, in their due proportions, are the causes of the production of the phenomena of creation, preservation, and destruction. Vishńu being thus discrete and indiscrete substance, spirit, and time, sports like a playful boy, as you shall learn by listening to his frolics. > — Horace Hayman Wilson 1840, The Vishnu Purana: A System of Hindu Mythology and Tradition ### [1.2.18](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.visnu.1.2.18) vyaktaṃ viṣṇus tathāvyaktaṃ puruṣaḥ kāla eva ca krīḍato bālakasyeva ceṣṭāṃ tasya niśāmaya // > Who can describe him who is not to be apprehended by the senses: who is the best of all things; the supreme soul, self-existent: who is devoid of all the distinguishing characteristics of complexion, caste, or the like; and is exempt front birth, vicissitude, death, or decay: who is always, and alone: who exists every where, and in whom all things here exist; and who is thence named Vásudeva? He is Brahma, supreme, lord, eternal, unborn, imperishable, undecaying; of one essence; ever pure as free from defects. He, that Brahma, was all things; comprehending in his own nature the indiscrete and discrete. He then existed in the forms of Purusha and of Kála. Purusha (spirit) is the first form, of the supreme; next proceeded two other forms, the discrete and indiscrete; and Kála (time) was the last. These four--Pradhána (primary or crude matter), Purusha (spirit), Vyakta (visible substance), and Kála (time)--the wise consider to be the pure and supreme condition of Vishńu. These four forms, in their due proportions, are the causes of the production of the phenomena of creation, preservation, and destruction. Vishńu being thus discrete and indiscrete substance, spirit, and time, sports like a playful boy, as you shall learn by listening to his frolics. > — Horace Hayman Wilson 1840, The Vishnu Purana: A System of Hindu Mythology and Tradition ## Translations (2) - [The Vishnu Purana: A System of Hindu Mythology and Tradition](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.visnu~en-wilson.1.2.3) — Horace Hayman Wilson 1840, English - [A Prose English Translation of Vishnupuranam](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.visnu~en-dutt.1.2.p1.2) — Manmatha Nath Dutt 1896, English ## Other recensions (1) - [Viṣṇupurāṇa (vulgate)](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.visnu*vulgate.1.2.10) — Sanskrit ## Linked texts (5) - [Padmapurāṇa](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.padma.1.1.86) — Vyāsa, Sanskrit - [Garuḍapurāṇa](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.garuda.1.4.4) — Vyāsa, Sanskrit - [Ṭoḍarānanda](https://indike.org/pramana/in.niti.dharma.nibandha.mahanibandha.todarananda.1.66) — Ṭoḍaramalla 1564, Sanskrit - [Prabhañjana](https://indike.org/pramana/in.darsana.suddhadvaita.vitthala.prabhanjana.5.14.24) — Viṭṭhalanātha 1518, Sanskrit - [Virodhanirodha](https://indike.org/pramana/in.darsana.visistadvaita.virodhanirodha.1.p15.3) — Sanskrit --- Source: [https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.visnu.1.2.10-18](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.visnu.1.2.10-18) · Pramāṇa