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90
Bulagavadgita.
I am the lord of beasts, and the son of Vinata' among birds. I am the wind among those that blow? I am Râma' among those that wield weapons. Among fishes I am Makara“, and among streams the Gâhnavi. Of created things I am the beginning and the end and the middle also, O Arguna ! Among sciences, I am the science of the Adhyâtma, and I am the argument of controversialists. Among letters I am the letter A', and among the group of compounds the copulative compound. I myself am time inexhaustible, and I the creator whose faces are in all directions. I am death who seizes all, and the source of what is to be. And among females, fames, fortune, speech, memory, intellect, courage, forgiveness. Likewise among Saman hymns, I am the Brihat-sâman', and I the Gâyatri 10 among metres. I am Märgastrsha among the months, the
this refers to time, with its divisions into years, months,' &c.; while a little further on it means 'time eternal.'
* I.e. the Garuda or eagle, who is the vehicle of Vishnu in Hindu mythology.
? Those who have the capacity of motion,' says Râmânuga.
· The hero of the Hindu epos, Ramayana, translated into verse by Mr. R. T. H. Griffiths. • The dolphin.
The Ganges. • That letter is supposed to comprehend all language. Cf. Aitareya-aranyaka, p. 346, and another text there cited by Madhava in his commentary (p. 348).
" This is said to be the best, because all its members are co-ordinate with one another, not one depending on another.
. I.e. the deities of fame, &c.
• See, as to this, Muir, Sanskrit Texts, vol. I, p. 16. Sankara says this hymn relates to final emancipation.
10 Cf. K'håndogya-upanishad, p. 181, where Sankara says, Gayali is the chief metre, because it is the means to a knowledge of the Brahman.' It is the metre of the celebrated verse Om Tatsavitur,' &c.
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