within the Lotus was very hard.  From it sprang the Daitya Kaitabha made up of the attribute of Rajas.  Endued thus with the attributes of Tamas and Rajas, the two Daityas possessed of might and armed with maces, immediately after their birth, began to rove within that vast primeval Lotus.  They beheld within it Brahma of immeasurable effulgence, engaged in creating the four Vedas, each endued with the most delightful form.  Those two foremost of Asuras, possessed of bodies, beholding the four Vedas, suddenly seized them in the very sight of their Creator.  The two mighty Danavas, having seized the eternal Vedas, quickly dived into the ocean of waters which they saw and proceeded to its bottom.  Seeing the Vedas forcibly taken away from him, Brahma became filled with grief.  Robbed of the Vedas in this way, Brahma then addressed the Supreme Lord in these words.

“Brahma said, ’The Vedas are my great eyes.  The Vedas are my great strength.  The Vedas are my great refuge.  The Vedas are my high Brahman.  All the Vedas, however, have been forcibly taken away from me by the two Danavas.  Deprived of the Vedas, the worlds I have created have become enveloped in darkness.  Without the Vedas (beside me), how shall I succeed in causing my excellent Creation to start into existence?  Alas, great is the grief I suffer in consequence of the loss of the Vedas (through such agency).  My heart is very much pained.  It has become the abode of a great sorrow.  Who is there that will rescue me from this ocean of grief in which I am sunk for the loss I have endured?  Who is there that will bring me the Vedas I have lost?  Who is there that will take compassion on me?—­While Brahma was uttering these words, O best of kings, the resolution suddenly arose in his mind, O foremost of intelligent persons, for hymning the praises of Hari in these words.  The puissant Brahma then, with hands joined in reverence, and seizing the feet of his progenitor, sang this highest of hymns in honour of Narayana.’”

“Brahma said, ’I bow to thee, O heart of Brahman.  I bow to thee that hast been born before me.  Thou art the origin of the universe.  Thou art the foremost of all abodes.  Thou, O puissant one, art the ocean of Yoga with all its branches.  Thou art the Creator of both what is Manifest and what is Unmanifest.  Thou treadest along the path whose auspiciousness is of inconceivable extent.  Thou art the consumer of the universe.  Thou art the Antaralock (Inner Soul) of all creatures.  Thou art without any origin.  Thou art the refuge of the universe.  Thou art self-born; for origin thou hest none that is not thyself.  As regards myself, I have sprung through thy Grace.  From thee have I derived my birth.  My first birth from thee, which is regarded sacred by all regenerate persons, was due to a fiat of thy Mind.  My second birth in days of yore was from thy eyes.  Through thy Grace, my third birth was from thy speech.  My fourth birth.  O puissant Lord, was from thy ears.