O Viṣṇu! Wide-strider! Lord of the three great strides! Thou hast traversed the earth, the sky, and all the hidden realms beyond in thy mighty footsteps. We praise thee with awe and wonder, O boundless one!

In thy first stride thou didst step upon the earth. Behold! The mountains rose beneath thy foot. The valleys were carved by thy passage. The rivers began to flow following the course of thy movement. The very ground became firm and dwelling-place beneath thy sole.

In thy second stride thou didst step into the sky. Behold! The winds scattered before thee. The clouds assembled in patterns. The birds found their paths through the air. The sun and moon moved in their ordained courses, set in motion by thy power.

But where, O mysterious one, was thy third stride taken? Not in the realm of mortals, not in the realm of the immortals—but in that hidden place that lieth beyond all knowing, where only the initiated perceive, where the greatest mystery resideth! Some say this third step is the realm of the spirit that transcendeth both the manifest and the hidden. Others say it is thee thyself, infinite and eternal.

O Viṣṇu! Thou art the mightiest of all beings! Thy form is as vast as the cosmos itself. Yet thou art also intimate, dwelling within the heart of each creature. Thou art both the greatest and the smallest, the highest and the deepest.

By thy mighty steps thou hast measured out the entire universe. Nothing escapeth thy knowing. All space and all the beings that dwell therein art measured by thee, contained within thee, sustained by thee.

We tiny creatures, who can barely traverse the distance from our dwelling to the water's edge, do marvel at thy incomprehensible vastness. Yet we know that thou carest for us, that thy eye seeth even the smallest sparrow that falleth.

O Viṣṇu! Thou pervader of all existence! Protect us! Guide us! Let us dwell forever within the circle of thy three great strides!