"O Great King! Through his mouth I shall enter his belly and to my astonishment, shall see within him this whole earth of many kingdoms and cities, rivers, mountains, seas, the blue heavens bedecked with the sun and the moon, and the many forests. There I shall find Brāhmans engaged in various religious ceremonies, the Kshatriyas in ruling to the satisfaction of all other castes, the Vaishyas in their usual vocation of agriculture, and the Sudras in rendering loving sacrifices to the Brāhmans; lions and tigers, and all the gods, angels and serial beings are living peacefully in their respective spheres. In fact, all that existed before I shall find existing within the belly of that Great Soul.
"O King! Thus, having seen the whole world within that Boy, I will travel for many thousand years, like one in a dream, within that world and in trying to find out its limit will rush in all directions but will not succeed in doing so. Then disappointment will turn my thoughts to that beautiful Boy again, and, with all the concentrated force in my body, mind and speech, I will then ask for his protection and grace. At this I will be carried, by a violent wind as it were, through his mouth out of his body and I will find him still sitting under that tree.
"The Boy will then ask me with delighted heart and smiling face, 'O my good Rishi Mārkandeya! Thou didst become very tired floating on these waters for such a long time. Have you now been well refreshed by living within my body?'
"Then I will behold my soul freed from all bondage by the illumination which will enter me with the Boy's words. And placing his crimson Feet on my head I will address him thus with folded hands and humility, 'How lucky I am! To-day I have beheld the Lotus-eyed God of Gods, the Soul of All Things! O God! I have become very curious to know Thee and this Thy wonderful Māyā (Illusion). Entering Thy belly through Thy mouth, I have seen the whole world existing there. O Lord! it was through Thy grace that I did not lose my memory, and it is through Thy will that I have now come out of Thy body. O Lotus-eyed! I have become very desirous to know Thee. Why art Thou resting here in the form of a Boy after having devoured the whole world? How is it that this whole world is now dwelling in Thy body? How much longer will Thou rest here? O Lord of Gods! These subjects are great and unthinkable, and so I beg to hear from Thee their detailed explanations.'
"The God of the Gods, after consoling me, on the last occasion, began to answer my questions. He said:
"'O Brāhman! Even the gods have failed to know the mysteries of my creation. I will tell thee of it only to please thee. O Rishi! Thy wonderful devotion to thy father and to Me and to spiritual celibacy have won thee this grace; I have appeared before thy vision. In time past I called water by the term "Nār" This Nār is ever my seat, hence I am called Nārāyan. I am the First Cause. I am Eternal, Inexhaustible, the Creator and Destroyer of all that exists. I am all Wealth, I am Death, I am Shiva. Fire is in my mouth, the earth is my feet, the sun is my two eyes, the Celestial Regions are my head, the sky and the cardinal points are my two ears. Space and Eternity are my body, the winds my mind.
"'All sacred ceremonies are performed to please Me. All the Vedas come out of and enter into Me. The peace-loving, mind-disciplined, enquiring, soul's-mystery-knowing Brāhmans contemplate and worship Me alone. I am the Fire called Samvartak, I am the Samvartak Winds, and it is I who am the Seven Suns that rise and shine in Pralaya. The stars that thou seest now in the firmament are the pores of my body, the sky is my raiment, the seas my seat and abode. It is I who have divided them as they are.
"'Men are born, are overwhelmed by My Māyā and become enterprising through my Law, never through their own desire. Those Brāhmans who thoroughly study the Vedas, perform many spiritual sacrifices, bring peace to their souls and vanquish anger; it is they who attain to Me. Those persons who are addicted to bad actions, are swayed by greed, are misers, crooked-minded and void of soul-culture can never reach Me. The paths of Yoga are as easy for pure souls to tread as they are uncertain to the wicked and the foolish.
"'Whenever religion suffers from revolution and vice triumphs over virtue, I create myself and walk the earth and set things right. Whenever are born on the earth the selfish and envious Asuras and Demons so powerful that even the gods cannot destroy them, I in the form of man take birth in the family of pious men and bring peace to the world again by subduing them. I am white-complexioned in the Satya Yuga, yellow in the Tretā, red in the Dwāpar and dark in the Kali. At the end of each great cycle it is I who destroy every thing. I am the Three Paths, the Soul of the Universe, Giver of all Happiness, Superior to All, All-Pervading, the Endless and the All-Powerful.
"'At the last Kali Yuga of each Kalpa I spread my illusion upon all beings and enter into my trance-state. When old, old Brahmā, transformed into a child, goes to sleep and keeps sleeping, I rest here on the waters until he is awakened. Now, go thou about on the waters in restful spirit until that time, when I alone will create again earth and sky and light, air and water, and all bodies.'