To every 4-8] PADUMĀWATI. 3 He made eighteen thousand creations of varied kinds. For all did He make meet provision, and thus gave food to all. 5. He indeed is a master of wealth, to whom belongeth the universe ; to all He giveth continually, yet His storehouse minisheth not. creature in the world, aye, from the elephant even unto the ant, doth He day and night give its share of nourishment. His eye is upon all: none is forgotten, neither foe nor friend ; nor bird nor grasshopper, nor aught whether manifest or hidden is forgotten. He deviseth dainty food of many kinds. All doth He feed thereof, yet eateth not Himself. His meat and His drink is this- that to all He giveth nourishment and life. All have hope in Him at every breath, nor hath He ever (turned) the hope of any to despair. Æon after won doth He give, yet never minisheth (His store). Yea, so doth He this with both hands, that whatever hath been given in this world, hath all been given by Him. 6. Let me tell of Him as that great primal king, whose rule is glorious from the beginning to the end of things. Ever all-bounteous doth He rule, and whom He willeth, rule to him He giveth. He maketh umbrellaless him who hath the umbrella of royalty ; and He giveth its shade unto him who is without it; no other is there who is equal unto Him. The people all look as He upturneth the mountains, and maketh the ant (that crawleth from beneath them) equal unto the elephant. Adamant He maketh like unto straw and scattereth it, and again He maketh straw like adamant, and giveth it honour. For one created He food, and enjoyment and all happiness; another striketh He with beggary and a home of poverty. No one understandeth what He hath done, for He doeth that which is beyond the power of mind and thought. All else is non-existent. He alone is ever the same, whose wondrous creations are such as these. He createth one and destroyeth him, and, if He will, He formeth him again. 7, Invisible, formless and untellable is that Creator; He is one with 3 all, and all are one in Him. Whether manifest or hidden, He is all pervad- ing; but only the righteous recognize Him, and not the sinful. He hath no son nor father nor mother, no family hath He, and no relations. He hath begotte none, nor is He begotten of any; but all created beings proceed from Him. All things, as many as exist, He made; nor was He made by any one. He was at the beginning, and He is now; He alone remaineth existent and no one else. All else that are, are mad and blind; for after but two or four days they do their work and die. Whate'er He willed that He did, He doeth that He willeth to do. No one is there to prevent Him, and, by his mere will, He gave life to all. 8. In this manner know ye Him, and meditate upon Him, for so is 1 There is no such enumeration of created beings in the works of Musalman doctors, but, in poetry, both Persian and Hiudūstānī, phrases like hizhda hazār 'alm, the eighteen thousand created beings, are of frequent occurrence ;-more especially in the class of works called maulūd, which celebrate the Prophet's birth. The expression merely means an enormous quantity, like our thousand and one.'
- Urdū gloss B, transient.
3 The Urdū gloss translates baratā by wo" near," but I know of no authority for this meaning. Barată means batā huā, twisted as a rope is twisted, hence involved in, closely connected with. Compare Bihārī Sat'saī, 59, dīthi barata bādha atani, twisting their (mutual) glances into a rope, they bind it from balcony to balcony.
