[210]Himansu—name of the Moon.
[211]The Esculapius of the Hindus.
[212]A vessel so named.
[213]A hymn of the Rig Veda.
[214]A scimitar—a sacrificial knife.

Parāçara said,—"Thus eulogised to the height, the goddess Sri resident in all beings spoke unto Satakratu [215] in the hearing of all the gods. And Sri said,—'O chief of the celestials, O Hari, pleased am I with thy hymn. Do thou mention the boon thou desirest. I have come hither to confer the same on thee.' Thereat Indra said,—‘O goddess, if thou wouldst confer a boon on me, if I am worthy of one, let this be the great boon, that this triple world thou wouldst not forsake. And let this be the second boon that him also thou woudst not forsake, who, O ocean-sprung One, shall propitiate thee with this hymn.' Thereat Sri said,—‘O foremost of the celestials, O Vāsava, this triple world will I not leave. I confer upon thee this boon, being pleased with thy hymn and prayer. And I shall never be displeased with him whoever shall chant this hymn.'"

[215]Lit.—the performer of an hundred sacrifices. It is a name of Indra.

Parāçara said,—"O Maitreya, formerly the great goddess, Sri being pleased with the hymn and prayer, conferred this boon on the lord of the celestials. In the days of yore, Sri was begot of Bhrigu on Khyati. And she again came out of the Ocean when it was churned by the celestials. As the great god Janārddana, [216] the lord of the Universe, goes through incarnations, so does Sri to help Him. When Hari assumed the form of a dwarf, she took birth as a lotus, and when He descended on earth as Parasurāma, she appeared as the Earth. At time of the incarnation of Rāma, she became Sitā, and when He was born as Krishna, she became Rukhmini. And thus in all the incarnations, she assisted Vishnu. When he had a celestial shape, she assumed the shape of a celestial, and when he assumed a human form, she took a human shape. She changed her body (human or celestial) according as Vishnu did. Sri does not renounce the abode of him for three generations, who reads or hears of this story of her birth. O sage, never can quarrelsome Alakshmi, [217] dwell in that house where this hymn of Sri is chanted. O Brāhmana, I have related unto thee everything of what thou didst ask me for—how Sri formerly was born as the daughter of Bhrigu and how she afterwards came out of the Ocean of milk. This eulogy of Lakshmi, the source of all wealth, came out of the mouth of the lord of celestials. Poverty can never infest those persons on earth, who chant this hymn every day".

[216]Another name of Vishnu.
[217]The genius of ill-luck,