विदुर उवाच ।
अन्तर्हिते भगवति ब्रह्मा लोकपितामहः ।
प्रजाः ससर्ज कतिधा दैहिकीर्मानसीर्विभुः ॥ १॥
ये च मे भगवन् पृष्टास्त्वय्यर्था बहुवित्तम ।
तान् वदस्वानुपूर्व्येण छिन्धि नः सर्वसंशयान् ॥ २॥
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Vidura said : When the Lord had disappeared from view, how many species of life did Brahmā, the grandfather of the whole creation, evolve either from his body or from his mind? (1)
Pray, also elucidate one after another the points that I have referred to you, O worshipful sage, and resolve all my doubts, foremost as you are of those possessing a vast knowledge. (2) (1-2)
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मैत्रेय उवाच ।
विरिञ्चोऽपि तथा चक्रे दिव्यं वर्षशतं तपः ।
आत्मन्यात्मानमावेश्य यदाह भगवानजः ॥ ४॥
तद्विलोक्याब्जसम्भूतो वायुना यदधिष्ठितः ।
पद्ममम्भश्च तत्कालकृतवीर्येण कम्पितम् ॥ ५॥
तपसा ह्येधमानेन विद्यया चात्मसंस्थया ।
विवृद्धविज्ञानबलो न्यपाद्वायुं सहाम्भसा ॥ ६॥
तद्विलोक्य वियद्व्यापि पुष्करं यदधिष्ठितम् ।
अनेन लोकान् प्राग्लीनान् कल्पितास्मीत्यचिन्तयत् ॥ ७॥
पद्मकोशं तदाऽऽविश्य भगवत्कर्मचोदितः ।
एकं व्यभाङ्क्षीदुरुधा त्रिधा भाव्यं द्विसप्तधा ॥ ८॥
एतावाञ्जीवलोकस्य संस्थाभेदः समाहृतः ।
धर्मस्य ह्यनिमित्तस्य विपाकः परमेष्ठ्यसौ ॥ ९॥
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The sage Maitreya said : Brahmā (the Creator) practised austere penance for a hundred celestial years with his mind fixed on Śrī Nārāyaṇa, as he had been told by the Lord, who is devoid of birth. (4)
The lotus-born god now saw the lotus on which he was perched, as well as the water all round, being tossed by the wind, whose fury had been intensified by the period of universal destruction. (5)
His knowledge (about creation) and creative power having been greatly enhanced by his ever-growing penance and worship through the Mantras sacred to the Lord, he drank up the wind along with the water. (6)
Perceiving the lotus on which he sat, and which rose to the very sky, he thought he should bring back to light the worlds that had disappeared at the end of the preceding Kalpa, by means of that very lotus. (7)
Directed by the Lord to carry on the work of creation, Brahmā entered the corolla of the lotus and split it up into three parts (viz., Bhūḥ, Bhuvah and Swah), although it was so big that it could be divided into fourteen or even more parts. (8)
It is these three worlds alone that have been declared (in the scriptures) as constituting the realm where the Jivas (embodied souls) experience the fruit of their actions. As for Brahmā, i.e., his abode (the Satyaloka) and the three worlds immediately below it (viz., Maharloka, Janaloka and Tapoloka), they are the rewards of virtue practised without any selfish motive. (9) (4-9)
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मैत्रेय उवाच ।
गुणव्यतिकराकारो निर्विशेषोऽप्रतिष्ठितः ।
पुरुषस्तदुपादानमात्मानं लीलयासृजत् ॥ ११॥
विश्वं वै ब्रह्म तन्मात्रं संस्थितं विष्णुमायया ।
ईश्वरेण परिच्छिन्नं कालेनाव्यक्तमूर्तिना ॥ १२॥
यथेदानीं तथाग्रे च पश्चादप्येतदीदृशम् ।
सर्गो नवविधस्तस्य प्राकृतो वैकृतस्तु यः ॥ १३॥
कालद्रव्यगुणैरस्य त्रिविधः प्रतिसङ्क्रमः ।
आद्यस्तु महतः सर्गो गुणवैषम्यमात्मनः ॥ १४॥
द्वितीयस्त्वहमो यत्र द्रव्यज्ञानक्रियोदयः ।
भूतसर्गस्तृतीयस्तु तन्मात्रो द्रव्यशक्तिमान् ॥ १५॥
चतुर्थ ऐन्द्रियः सर्गो यस्तु ज्ञानक्रियात्मकः ।
वैकारिको देवसर्गः पञ्चमो यन्मयं मनः ॥ १६॥
षष्ठस्तु तमसः सर्गो यस्त्वबुद्धिकृतः प्रभो ।
षडिमे प्राकृताः सर्गा वैकृतानपि मे शृणु ॥ १७॥
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Maitreya said : Time, which in itself is undifferentiated and has no beginning or end, appears in the form of metamorphosis of worldly phenomena. Making it His instrument, the Lord (the Supreme Person) sportfully manifested Himself (in the form of the universe). (11)
Having been dissolved by the Māyā (wonderful potency) of Lord Viṣṇu, this universe existed (during the period of universal destruction) as no other than Brahma God, then evolved it as a distinct entity through the instrumentality of Time, which is undifferentiated in itself. (12)
As the universe exists today, so it was before and so it will continue to be hereafter. Ninefold is its creation, the one proceeding both from Prakṛti (God) and Vikṛti (Brahmā) being the tenth. (13)
The reabsorption (dissolution) of the universe, again, is threefold, viz., through Time, elements and the Guṇas (modes of Prakṛti). (Now as regards the ninefold creation) the first in order of sequence is the creation of the Mahat-tattva, which takes place only when the equilibrium of the Guṇas (Sattva, Rajas and Tamas) is disturbed by the will of God Himself. (14)
The second is the evolution of the ego (Ahaṁ), from which proceed the five gross elements as well as the five senses of perception and the five organs of action. The third is the evolution of the subtle elements, which in their turn evolve the gross elements. (15)
The fourth is the evolution of the Indriyas, i.e., the senses of perception and the organs of action; while the fifth is the evolution of the deities (presiding over the Indriyas), who are born of the Sāttvika ego, as well as of the mind, which is also a product of the Sāttvika ego. (16)
The sixth is the evolution of Tamas (the principle of nescience), which clouds the reason and distracts the mind of the Jivas. These six varieties of creation proceed from Prakṛti (God, the Cause of causes); now hear of those that proceed from Vikṛti (Brahmā, who sprang up from the Lord). (17) (11-17)
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रजोभाजो भगवतो लीलेयं हरिमेधसः ।
सप्तमो मुख्यसर्गस्तु षड्विधस्तस्थुषां च यः ॥ १८॥
वनस्पत्योषधिलता त्वक्सारा वीरुधो द्रुमाः ।
उत्स्रोतसस्तमःप्राया अन्तःस्पर्शा विशेषिणः ॥ १९॥
तिरश्चामष्टमः सर्गः सोऽष्टाविंशद्विधो मतः ।
अविदो भूरितमसः घ्राणज्ञा हृद्यवेदिनः ॥ २०॥
गौरजो महिषः कृष्णः सूकरो गवयो रुरुः ।
द्विशफाः पशवश्चेमे अविरुष्ट्रश्च सत्तम ॥ २१॥
खरोऽश्वोऽश्वतरो गौरः शरभश्चमरी तथा ।
एते चैकशफाः क्षत्तः शृणु पञ्चनखान् पशून् ॥ २२॥
श्वा सृगालो वृको व्याघ्रो मार्जारः शशशल्लकौ ।
सिंहः कपिर्गजः कूर्मो गोधा च मकरादयः ॥ २३॥
कङ्कगृध्रबकश्येनभासभल्लूकबर्हिणः ।
हंससारसचक्राह्वकाकोलूकादयः खगाः ॥ २४॥
अर्वाक्स्रोतस्तु नवमः क्षत्तरेकविधो नृणाम् ।
रजोऽधिकाः कर्मपरा दुःखे च सुखमानिनः ॥ २५॥
वैकृतास्त्रय एवैते देवसर्गश्च सत्तम ।
वैकारिकस्तु यः प्रोक्तः कौमारस्तूभयात्मकः ॥ २६॥
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(As a matter of fact) the creation proceeding from Brahmā too is a pastime of the Lord, the very thought of whom rids one of all sorrows and who assumes the quality of Rajas (in order to carry on the work of creation as Brahmā). The seventh is the sixfold creation of immobile creatures (plants and trees etc.), which is the first (in order of sequence of the three categories of creation proceeding from Brahmā, and which is subdivided into six varieties. (18)
These consist of (i) trees which bear fruit without flowering, (e.g., the banyan, the Peepul and so on), (ii) annual plants and herbs that die as soon as their fruit is ripe (such as the cereals), (iii) creepers that grow on the support of other trees or walls etc., (iv) plants which have a hard bark (such as the bamboo), (v) creepers that creep on the ground alone, being too stiff to climb upwards (such as the melon, the water-melon and so on) and (vi) trees which bear fruit after blossoming. All these draw their nutriment from below; they are almost wanting in sensibility, have an inward feeling of touch alone and possess some peculiarity of their own. (19)
The eighth is the creation of animals (lit., living beings that draw their nutriment horizontally). They are believed to have as many as twenty-eight varieties, have no sense of time, are irrational (led by instinct alone), can perceive (what is desirable for them) with their olfactory sense, and cannot take a long view of things. (20)
Of these, the bovine class, the goat, the buffalo, the black antelope, the swine, the Gavaya (a wild animal very closely resembling the cow), the Ruru (a species of deer), the sheep and the camel, O noblest of men, belong to the category of cloven-hoofed beasts. (21)
The donkey, the horse, the mule, the Gaura (a white antelope), Śarabha (an eight-legged animal extinct now) and the yak (a kind of wild ox, the bushy end of whose tail is employed as Chowrie)—all these are classed as the whole—hoofed beasts. Now hear, O Vidura, the names of the beasts who are endowed with five claws. (22)
They are: the dog, the jackal, the wolf, the tiger, the cat, the hare, the hedgehog, the lion, the monkey, the elephant, the tortoise, the iguana (a large arboreal lizard) and the alligator etc. (23)
The heron, the vulture, the quail, the hawk, the Bhāsa (a bird of prey), the Bhallūka, the peacock, the swan, the crane, the Cakrawāka, the crow, the owl etc., are birds moving in the air. (24)
The ninth is the creation of the human species, which, O Vidura, is only of one kind and whose current of nutriment tends downwards. Human beings have an abundance of Rajas (the principle of activity), are active by nature and take delight in the pleasures of sense, which are rooted in sorrow. (25)
All these three (viz., the immobile creation, the beasts and birds and the human species) as well as the creation of the gods (to be discussed hereafter), O noblest of men, are creations that have proceeded from Brahmā. As for the deities (presiding over the Indriyas and) born of the Sāttvika ego they have already been dealt with (in verse 16 above under the category of the creation proceeding from God); while the creation of the sages Sanaka and others is classed as proceeding from God and Brahmā both.* (26) (18-26)
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देवसर्गश्चाष्टविधो विबुधाः पितरोऽसुराः ।
गन्धर्वाप्सरसः सिद्धा यक्षरक्षांसि चारणाः ॥ २७॥
भूतप्रेतपिशाचाश्च विद्याध्राः किन्नरादयः ।
दशैते विदुराख्याताः सर्गास्ते विश्वसृक्कृताः ॥ २८॥
अतः परं प्रवक्ष्यामि वंशान् मन्वन्तराणि च ।
एवं रजःप्लुतः स्रष्टा कल्पादिष्वात्मभूर्हरिः ।
सृजत्यमोघसङ्कल्प आत्मैवात्मानमात्मना ॥ २९॥
इति श्रीमद्भागवते महापुराणे पारमहंस्यां
संहितायां तृतीयस्कन्धे दशमोऽध्यायः ॥ १०॥
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The creation of heavenly beings consists of eight varieties, viz., the gods; the manes; the demons; the Gandharvas (celestial musicians) and the Apsarās (celestial dancing girls); the Yakṣas and the Rākṣasas; the Siddhas (a class of heavenly beings endowed with supernatural powers), the Cāraṇas (the celestial bards) and the Vidyādharas; the Bhūtas (ghosts), Pretas (spirits) and Piśācas (fiends); the Kinnaras, Kimpuruṣas and Aśwamukhas. I have thus told you, O Vidura, the ten creations evolved by the Lord personally as well as in the form of Brahmā (the Creator of the universe). (27-28)
After this I shall speak to you of the ruling dynasties as well as the periods presided over by the Manus, United with Rajas (the principle of activity) as the self-born Brahmā, the creator, none other than Śrī Hari of unfailing resolve thus projects Himself (in the form of the universe) by Himself at the beginning of every Kalpa. (29)
Thus ends the tenth discourse in Book Three of the great and glorious Bhāgavata-Purāṇa, otherwise known as the Paramahamsa-Sarhhitā.
*Sanaka and others, being the mind-born sons of Brahmā, obviously belong to the creation proceeding from Brahmā. But having been created before all others, even before Rudra and the Prajāpatis (the progenitors of all created beings), they are also classed as a creation proceeding from God Himself. (27-29)
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