1S75.] Ram Narayan — Translation of the Ayodhya- Mdhdtmya. 161 



changeable wisdom, the destroyer of the wicked, and the treasury of riches. 

 Thou descendest to the world to remove ignorance, deceit, and vice ; thou art 

 the creator of illusion (rnaya), matter, and the universe ; Maharudra, S'esha, 

 supporter of the earth, sleepless, creator of the lotus from the navel, from 

 which Brahma issued, and from him, the world. Thou supportest the earth 

 and the water on the day of general destruction. Thou art cause and effect, 

 the destroyer of the vicious, all powerful, and the life of all creatures. Thou 

 assumest the shape of half lion and half man, to kill Hiranyakashiup and 

 other demons. Thou art endless, the supporter and destroyer of the world, 

 and the remover of darkness. Mind, Reason, and Wisdom do not come up 

 to thee. Thou art invisible. There is no difference between thee and S'iva, 

 and those who think so, go to hell, as is written in the Srutis and the Smri- 

 tis. Thou art a Brahman to explain the religious principles to the four 

 castes, and art kind to the virtuous. Thou art separate from matter and 

 salvation. In short, thou art both visible and invisible. Thy body is dark 

 like the lotus, and covered with yellow clothes.' On hearing our prayer, 

 Vishnu appeared, was pleased, and said, " I know what ye have come for, 

 ye have been deprived of your houses by the demons, go ye to Ayodhya, 

 perform devotions, and I will increase your power, and ye will be able to 

 overcome them.' " 



Chapter XX. 



Then Mahadeva said, " Goddess, having thus told the deities, the 

 rider on Garuda (Vishnu) disappeared, and coming to Ayodhya performed 

 great acts of devotion in secret, to increase their powers. Hence the spot 

 is called Gupta-hari. 



Listen now to the origin of C h a k r a-h a r i. At this place Sudarsana 

 Chakra fell from the hand of Hari, whence it received the name of Chakra- 

 hari. By visiting these two Haris, a man is freed from all sins. The gods 

 also performed severe devotion, and after thus obtaining additional strength, 

 defeated the demons in battle, recovered their houses, gained great wealth, 

 and became happy. Headed by Vrihaspati (the spiritual guide of the gods), 

 they all went to Ayodhya to see Hari, and adored him with undivided at- 

 tention, upon which Parames'vara appeared dressed in yellow silk cloth, and 

 said — ' gods, ye have been fortunate enough to conquer your powerful 

 enemies, why have ye now come here, tell me without fear and delay.' The 

 gods, having got permission, replied, ' Bhagavan, we have obtained all our 

 wishes through thy favour, please remain always kindly disposed towards us, 

 and protect us when attacked by foes.' Bhagavan said that he would do so, 

 and added that this place would be called Gupta-hari. He who will bathe 

 here and worship Gupta-hari will gain salvation, and by giving alms, go to 

 heaven. One should give, at this holy spot, a cow with her young one, her 



