हिन्दी
The air swallows everything. When fire is extinguished, it disappears into the air. When the sun sets, it disappears into the air. And when the moon sets, it disappears into the air.
When water dries up, it disappears into the air. The air swallows all these. This is the worship of the forces of nature.
Next is the worship concerning the body. Prāṇa swallows everything. When a person sleeps, speech, the eyes, the ears, and the mind—all these go into prana. Prāṇa swallows all these.
These two swallows everything: air among the gods and prāṇa among the organs.
Once Śaunaka, the son of Kapi, and Abhipratārin, the son of Kakṣasena, were being served their meals when a brahmacārin appeared and begged for some food. They, however, refused to give him any.
The brahmacārin said: ‘One God has swallowed four sages. Who is he who protects this world? O Kāpeya, O Abhipratārin, that God exists in many forms, but human beings cannot see him. The food is meant for him, but you are not giving it to him’.
After thinking this over, Śaunaka Kāpeya went to the brahmacārin and said, ‘He who is the self of all the gods and goddesses, the creator of all things moveable and immoveable, who eats with his golden (i.e., firm) teeth, who is intelligent, whom others cannot eat, who eats things which are not food, whose greatness wise people think highly of—O brahmacārin, we worship him.’ After this he said, ‘Give this man alms’.
Then they gave him alms. The first five (Vāyu or air, etc.) and the second five (prāṇa, etc.) together make ten. That is kṛta (the throw of dice of the highest denomination). These ten are the ten directions, and they are the food. This kṛta is Virāṭ. As Virāṭ is all-pervasive, everything is its food. By that Virāṭ all this is seen. He who knows this Virāṭ becomes Virāṭ himself. He becomes all-pervasive and everything becomes his food.
