Vishnupurana 1.2.11
Viṣṇupurāṇa 1.2.11
- Language
- Sanskrit
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.
Translations (2)
- The Vishnu Purana: A System of Hindu Mythology and Tradition — Horace Hayman Wilson 1840, English
- A Prose English Translation of Vishnupuranam — Manmatha Nath Dutt 1896, English
Other recensions (1)
- Viṣṇupurāṇa (vulgate) — Sanskrit
Linked texts (3)
- Padmapurāṇa — Vyāsa, Sanskrit
- Ṭoḍarānanda — Ṭoḍaramalla 1564, Sanskrit
- Virodhanirodha — Sanskrit