उत्पत्तिहेतुभूता वै भूतानां महतां नृप । तेषामेव गृहीतानि शनैः पञ्चेन्द्रियाणि तु
O king, out of the great beings there arose causes of origin; from those very beings the five organs of sense were gradually taken.
तथैवावयवाः सूक्ष्माः षण्णामप्यमितौजसाम्
Likewise there came subtle members — six in number — each endowed with potency and subtlety.
संनिवेश्यात्ममात्रासु स राजन्भगवान्विभुः । भूतानि निर्ममे तात सर्वाणि विधिपूर्वकम्
The illustrious, all‑powerful Lord then placed those beings within mere self‑entities; O son, he fashioned all of them according to ordained order.
यन्मूर्त्यवयवाः सूक्ष्मास्तस्येमान्याश्रयाणि षट् । तस्माच्छरीरमित्याहुस्तस्य मूर्तिं मनीषिणः
Those material, subtle parts have six supports; hence the wise declare that body is the manifest form of that which has parts.
महान्ति तानि भूतानि आविशन्ति ततो विभुम् । कर्मणा सह राजेन्द्र सगुणाश्चापि वै गुणाः
From those vast beings the All‑Lord entered; with action, O king, qualities accompanied him, some with attributes and some without.
तेषामिदं तु सप्तानां पुरुषाणां महौजसाम् । सूक्ष्माभ्यो मूर्तिमात्राभ्यः सम्भवत्यव्ययाद्वयम्
From those there sprang the two imperishable elements in the seven great men: the subtle and the merely manifested.
भूतादिमहतस्तात येन व्याप्तमिदं जगत् । तस्मादपि महाबाहो पुरुषाः पञ्च एव हि
O mighty‑armed, that great origin — from which this world is pervaded — hence even the supreme persons are five in number.
केचिदेवं परां तात सृष्टिमिच्छन्ति पण्डिताः । अन्येऽप्येवं महाबाहो प्रवदन्ति मनीषिणः
Some, O son, wish to create the supreme in this way, say the learned; others, O mighty‑armed, proclaim it differently, say the wise.
योऽसावात्मा परस्तात कल्पादौ सृजते तनुम् । प्रजनश्च महाबाहो सिसृक्षुर्विविधाः प्रजाः
That self, other than the supreme, first fashions a body at the beginning of a kalpa; and, O mighty‑armed, it fathers diverse offspring in many forms.
तेन सृष्टः पुद्गलस्तु प्रधानं विशते नृप । प्रधानं क्षोभितं तेन विकारान्युजते बहून्
From him the aggregate (pudgala) was produced and entered into the prime; that prime, agitated by him, undergoes many alterations and modifications.
उत्पद्यते महांस्तस्मात्ततो भूतादिरेव हि । उत्पद्यते विशालं च भूतादेः कुरुनन्दन
From those beings a great one is born; therefore, O descendent of the Kurus, beings arise first, and from those arises a vast being.
विशालाच्च हरिस्तात हरेश्चापि वृकास्तथा । वृकैर्मुष्णन्ति च बुधास्तस्मात्सर्वं भवेन्नृप
From that Vast come Hari and Haresha, and likewise the wolves; the sages warm themselves by those wolves — thus, O king, all comes to be.
तथैषामेव राजेन्द्र प्रादुर्भवति वेगतः । मात्राणां कुरुशार्दूल विबोधस्तदनन्तरम्
In the same way their lord of kings quickly appears; then, O tiger among the Kurus, know the measures of those will be revealed afterward.
तस्मादपि हृषीकाणि विविधानि नृपोत्तम । तथेयं सृष्टिराख्याताऽऽराध्यतः कुरुनन्दन
Therefore, O best of kings, many diverse pleasures also arise; thus this creation is declared, O delight of the Kurus, to be worshipped.
भूयो निबोध राजेन्द्र भूतानामिह विस्तरम् । गुणाधिकानि सर्वाणि भूतानि पृथिवीपते
Again, understand, O king, the extent of beings here: all beings of many qualities belong to the Lord of the earth.
आकाशमादितः कृत्वा उत्तरोत्तरमेव हि । एकं द्वौ च तथा त्रीणि चत्वारश्चापि पञ्च च
He fashioned the sky first, evermore onward; one, two, and likewise three, four, and also five.
ततः स भगवान्ब्रह्मा पद्मासनगतः प्रभुः । सर्वेषां तु स नामानि कर्माणि च पृथक्पृथक्
Then that Lord, Brahmā, seated on the lotus, — distinct were the names and actions of all, each separated.
वेदशब्देभ्य एवादौ पृथक्संस्थाश्च निर्ममे । कर्मोद्भवानां देवानां सोऽसृजद्देहिनां प्रभुः
From the word 'Veda' alone those first stood apart, unattached; the Lord created the gods born from rituals and embodied beings.
तुषितानां गणं राजन्यज्ञं चैव सनातनम् । दत्त्वा वीर समानेभ्यो गुह्यं ब्रह्म सनातनम्
He formed the host of Tuṣita and the eternal sacrifice, and having given the secret eternal Brahman to heroes equal in might.
दुदोह यज्ञसिद्धयर्थमृग्यजुः सामलक्षणम् । कालं कालविभक्तीश्च ग्रहानृतूंस्तथा नृप
He caused milk for the attainment of sacrificial success and the deer-sacrifice with Sama-like marks; time, the divisions of Time, and the constellations and the myths of the planets too, O king.
सरितः सागराञ्छैलान्समानि विषमाणि च । कामं क्रोधं तथा वाचं रतिं चापि कुरुद्वह
Rivers, oceans, and mountains — all these were created alike, along with beings of diverse natures; desire, anger, speech, and delight he also established.
सृष्टिं ससर्ज राजेन्द्र सिसृक्षुर्विविधाः प्रजाः । धर्माधर्मौ विवेकाय कर्मणां च तथासृजत्
O great king, the Lord fashioned the creation, producing many kinds of creatures and distributing right and wrong, discernment, and the manifold duties of action.
सुखदुःखादिभिर्द्वन्द्वैः प्रजाश्चेमा न्ययोजयत् । अण्व्यो मात्राविनाशिन्यो दशार्धानां तु याः स्मृताः
He arranged beings in pairs of opposites like pleasure and pain; some were made indivisible like atoms, others were of ten-and-a-half parts, as is remembered.
ताभिः सर्वमिदं वीर सम्भवत्यनुपूर्वशः । यत्कृतं तु पुरा कर्म सन्नियुक्तेन वै नृप
By these means the whole universe comes into being in sequence; what actions were performed before were appointed by the sovereign endowed with ordinance.
स तदेव स्वयं भेजे सृज्यमानं पुनः पुनः । हिंस्राहिंस्रे मृदुक्रूरे धर्माधर्मे ऋतानृते
That same ruler sends forth anew things that are born again and again — violent and nonviolent, gentle and cruel, righteous and unrighteous, truth and falsehood.
यद्यथास्याभवत्सर्गे तत्तस्य स्वयमाविशत् । यथा च लिङ्गान्यृतवः स्वयमेवानुपर्यये
Whatever their origins were at birth, those very natures enter again of their own accord, just as false marks recur by their own sequence.
स्वानि स्वान्यभिपद्यन्ते तथा कर्माणि देहिनः । लोकस्येह विवृद्ध्यर्थं मुखबाहूरुपादतः
The embodied take upon themselves their own appropriate deeds; for the increase of the world they are born from mouths, arms, thighs and feet.
ब्रह्म क्षत्रं तथा चोभौ वैश्यशूद्रौ नृपोत्तम । मुखानि यानि चत्वारि तेभ्यो वेदा विनिःसृताः
From the mouths came Brahmins, from the arms the Kshatriyas, from the thighs the Vaishyas, and from the feet the Shudras — O best of kings; from those four limbs the Vedas were emitted.
ऋग्वेदसहिता तात वसिष्ठेन महात्मना । पूर्वान्मुखान्महाबाहो दक्षिणाच्चापि वै शृणु
Hear: the Rigveda was brought forth from the foremost faces by the great-souled Vasishtha; from the east came it forth, O mighty-armed one.
यजुर्वेदो महाराज याज्ञवल्क्येन वै सह । सामानि पश्चिमात्तात गौतमश्च महानृषिः
The Yajurveda, O king, came with Yajnavalkya; the Samaveda issued from the west, and Gautama was its great seer.