"Salutation to thee, O thou having lotus-eyes, who art at one with time that devours, without any compunction, all created beings at the end of Kalpa. Salutation to thee who art at one with Rudra, who dances with delight after devouring all beings—gods and men. Salutation to thee, Janārddana, who art at one with men, who, actuated by the quality of foulness, engage in actions. Salutation to thee who art at one with brute animals—the spirit that leads to perversity, which proceeds from the quality of darkness and is encumbered with twenty-eight kinds of obstruction. Salutation to thee who art that chief spirit that appears diversified in the vegetable world and which are the substance of sacrifice is the agent of accomplishing the perfection of the universe. Salutation to thee who art identical with every thing and whose first form is the objects of perception and heaven and animals and men and celestials. Salutation to that form of thine, which is the cause of causes and which is distinct from and superior to the endless universe composed of intelligence, matter and the like and with which nothing can be compared. Salutation to thee, O great God, who hast neither colour nor extent nor dimensity and which is beyond all qualities and whose essence, purest of the pure, can be conceived only by sages. Salutation to the Brahma form of thine, who pervades in our bodies, who exists in all objects, who is without birth or decay and distinct from whom nothing exists. Salutation to thee, Vāsudeva, the supreme lord of all, who is unsullied, the root of all things, freed from dissolution, unborn, eternal, who in essence is the supreme condition of spirit and in substance the whole of the universe".
Having thus recited the prayer the celestials beheld Hari the supreme lord of all, seated on Garuda, armed with the shell, the discus, and the mace. And having placed themselves before him they addressed him and said "Have pity upon us, O lord, and save us, who have come to thee for help, from the Daityas. O supreme lord, transgressing the commands of Brahmā, the demons headed by Hrāda, have taken possession of the three worlds and appropriated the offerings which are our portion. Though thou art at one with the endless creation and we are a portion of thyself, we, impressed by illusions, behold all things of the universe as distinct. Our enemies are engaged in the duties of their respective orders, follow the paths laid down by sacred writings and practise religious penances so we cannot lay them. O thou of immeasurable wisdom, do thou so instruct us that we may root out the enemies of the celestials".
When the glorious Vishnu heard their prayers he emitted from his person an illusory form which he gave to the celestials and said. "This illusory form shall so deceive the Daityas, that being led astray from the path of the Vedas, they shall be slain; for all gods, demons and others, who shall transgress the authority of the Veda, shall perish by my prowess which I exercise for the preservation of the universe. Go then; be not afraid; this illusory form shall go before you. O celestials, it shall be of great service to you, this day".
SECTION XVIII.
Parāçara said:—Maitreya, having proceeded to the Daityas the illusory form beheld them engaged in austere penances on the banks of the river Nerbudā. And approaching them in the guise of a naked mendicant, with his head shaven and carrying a bunch of peacock's feathers he addressed them gently "O lords of Daitya race—why do you practice these devout penances? Do you expect rewards in this world or in the next?" The Asuras said:—"O thou of great mind, we have been engaged in these penances with a view to reap fruits in the next world. Do thou tell us if thou hast got anything to say on this". The deceptive figure said:—"If you are desirous of final emancipation hear my words, for you will obtain the revelation which is the door to final happiness. The instructions, superior to which there is nothing, I will give you, are the secret path to final emancipation. If you follow them you shall either obtain heaven or exemption from future births. O ye gifted with mighty strength, you are worthy of these instructions".
Parāçara said:—There did the illusory figure mislead the Daityas from the teachings of the Vedas by various persuations and many specious arguments, teaching that the same-thing might be for the sake of virtue and of vice; might be and might not be; might or might not lead to final emancipation; might be the supreme object and not the supreme object; might be effect and not be effect; might be manifest and not be manifest; might be the duty of those who go naked and who go richly dressed. And thus were the Daityas led astray from the path of their duties by the continued teachings of their illusory teacher, keeping up the equal truth of contradictory teachings. And those were called Arhatas from the phrase he had employed of "Ye are worthy (Arhatha) of this great teaching" that is of the false teachings which he induced them to follow. Thus did the illusory figure lead away the Asuras from the teachings of the Vedas. And being impressed by those teachings the Asuras initiated others in all those doctrines. They in their turn became teachers of the same false doctrines and converted others. And thus communicating their doctrines to each other, they were all led away from the teaching of the Vedas.
Then pulling on garments of red colour, with collyrium in his eyes, the illusory figure again addressed others of the same family in sweet and mild accents—"O ye demons, gifted with strength, if ye wish for heaven or final rest desist from the sinful massacre of animals and hear from me what you should do. The whole universe is composed of discriminative knowledge; understand my words well for they have been uttered by the wise. The world is without stay and is perpetually revolving in the straits of existence being engaged in the pursuit of erroneous knowledge and sullied by passion and others".
Parāçara said:—In this wise exclaiming to them "Know" (Budhyadwam) and they saying (Budhyate), "it is known," those Daityas were led away from their own religion. They thus renounced their respective duties being impressed by the reasonings and arguments of that illusory figure. O Maitreya, they, impressed, persuaded others to do the same and thus the heresy spread and many abandoned the practices laid down by the Vedas and Smritis. O twice-born one, with various other erroneous teachings, the illusory figure converted many other Daityas. Being thus deluded, the Asuras, in no time, abandoned the doctrines and rites laid down by the three Vedas. Some of them, O twice-born one, spoke ill of the Vedas and others villified the celestials. Some spoke against the Vedic rites and sacrifices and others calumniated the Brāhmans. "The precepts" they preached "that lead to the sacrifice of animals, are highly culpable. To lay that throwing clarified butter in fire produces rewards is simply childishness. If any one, after having obtained godhead by multiplied ceremonies, is fed along with Indra upon the wood used as fuel in holy fire, he is lower than a brute which feeds upon leaves. If a beast, being sacrificed, attains to heaven, why does not the sacrificer slay his father in a sacrifice? If a dead person is satisfied if another is fed at a Srāddha then why does not the food offered by his son reach him who resides at a distance? All these words therefore depend upon individual respect so it is better for you to neglect them and appreciate mine. The words of authority, O mighty Asuras, do not fall from heaven; reasonable words only are to be acknowledged by me and persons like yourselves". By these and similar reasonings the Daityas were led away and none of them any longer acknowledged the authority of the Vedas.
After the Daityas have thus been led astray, the gods, with careful preparations, addressed themselves for fight. And there again began a terrible encounter between the gods and demons. And the demons were now defeated and slain by the gods who had adhered to the righteous path. Formerly the Daityas were protected by the armour of their own religion and they were now slain for the desertion of that armour of religion.
For that time, O Maitreya, those, who have followed the religion preached by the illusory figure, are called naked for they following a wrong track have thrown off the garment of the Vedas. There are four orders of men, namely; the religious student, the householder, the hermit and the mendicant; there is no fifth order. The sinful man, who after relinquishing the order of the householder, does not become either a hermit or a mendicant, is said to be naked. The man, who, although able, does neglect his permanent observances for one day, commits sin for one day; and if he neglects them, not being in trouble, for a fortnight he can be purified only by arduous expiation. The virtuous must see the sun after looking upon a person who has neglected his permanent observances for a year; if they have touched they must bathe with their clothes on—but that vicious one has no individual expiation for himself. There is no sinner on earth more culpable than one in whose house the celestials, progenitors and spirits are left to sigh unworshipped. No man should associate, in residence, sitting or society with him on whose person or in whose house the gods, progenitors and spirits sigh. Conversation, exchange of civilities or association with a man is equally reprehensible who for a year has not observed pious observances. And the man who eats in the house of such a man, or sits down with him or sleep on the same couch with him, becomes instantly in the same way culpable.