... ॐ अथाश्वलायनो भगवन्तं परमेष्ठिनमुपसमेत्योवाच । अधीहि भगवन् ब्रह्मविद्यां वरिष्ठां सदा सद्भिः सेव्यमानां निगूढाम् । यथाचिरात् सर्वपापं व्यपोह्य परात्परं पुरुषं याति विद्वान् ॥१॥ OM. Aswalayana to the Lord Parameshthi came and said, Teach me, Lord, the highest knowledge of Brahman, the secret knowledge ever followed by the saints, how the wise man swiftly putting from him all evil goeth... unborn eternal Hiranyagarbha. In the Puranas Brahma is described as in fear of his life from Madhu and Kaitabha, and cannot be the fearless and immortal Hiranyagarbha. Nor would it be possible for Aswalayana to come to Hiranyagarbha and say "Teach me, Lord," for Hiranyagarbha has no form nor is He approachable nor does He manifest Himself to men as Shiva and Vishnu do. He is millionfold, Protean, intangible... Parameshtham, that which is superlative and highest,—Hiranyagarbha. The power of Hiranyagarbha is in Brahma and creates through him the nama and rupa of things in this cycle. To Brahma Parameshthi Aswalayana comes as a disciple to a master and says to him, Lord, teach me the Brahmavidya. He specifies the kind of knowledge he requires. It is varishtha, the best or highest, because it goes beyond the triple ...