The Day and Night of the Unmanifest and of the Created Beings

Verse 1 (12.316.1)

अव्यक्तस्य नरश्रेष्ठ कालसङ्ख्यां निबोध मे । पञ्चकल्पसहस्राणि द्विगुणान्यहरुच्यते ॥

avyaktasya naraśreṣṭha kālasaṅkhyāṃ nibodha me | pañcakalpasahasrāṇi dviguṇānyaharucyate

Hear from me, best of men, the reckoning of time for the Unmanifest: five thousand kalpas, doubled, is called its day.

Note on the text: Adhyaya note: the page is the right adhyaya (table rows 1-21; the colophon reads षोडशाधिकत्रिशततमोऽध्यायः । 316). Its text is the critical edition's 12.299.1-18 (the CE numbers this adhyaya 299). From verse 6 the CE has several three-line verses that Wikisource divides into couplets, so the page's verses 6-8 and 12-20 are CE lines regrouped; each note below maps the lines. The CE star passage 12.299.7d*0765_01 (maharṣayaḥ sapta pūrve catvāro manavas tathā) is not in Wikisource and is not added. The heading line printed above the table (भीष्मेण युधिष्ठिरंप्रति अण्डादिसृष्टि … अनुवादः) and the four variant-reading notes printed after the colophon (12-316-4, -8, -13, -21) are not part of the text and are not added. No Appendix I passage occurs here.

Verse 2 (12.316.2)

रात्रिरेतावती चास्य प्रतिबुद्धो नराधिप । सृजत्योषधिमेवाग्रे जीवनं सर्वदेहिनाम् ॥

rātriretāvatī cāsya pratibuddho narādhipa | sṛjatyoṣadhimevāgre jīvanaṃ sarvadehinām

Its night is just as long. On waking, O ruler of men, it creates first the plants, the sustenance of all embodied beings.

Verse 3 (12.316.3)

ततो ब्रह्माणमसृजद्धैरण्याण्डसमुद्भवम् । सा मूर्तिः सर्वभूतानामित्येवमनुशुश्रुम ॥

tato brahmāṇamasṛjaddhairaṇyāṇḍasamudbhavam | sā mūrtiḥ sarvabhūtānāmityevamanuśuśruma

Then it created Brahma, born of the golden egg. That is the form of all beings—so we have heard.

Verse 4 (12.316.4)

संवत्सरमुषित्वाण्डे निष्क्रम्य च महामुनिः । संदधेऽर्धं महीं कृत्स्नां दिवमर्धं प्रजापतिः ॥

saṃvatsaramuṣitvāṇḍe niṣkramya ca mahāmuniḥ | saṃdadhe'rdhaṃ mahīṃ kṛtsnāṃ divamardhaṃ prajāpatiḥ

After dwelling a year in the egg, the great sage, Prajapati, came out and set half of it as the whole earth and half as the heaven.

Verse 5 (12.316.5)

द्यावापृथिव्योरित्येष राजन्वेदेषु पठ्यते । तयोः शकलयोर्मध्यमाकाशमकरोत्प्रभुः ॥

dyāvāpṛthivyorityeṣa rājanvedeṣu paṭhyate | tayoḥ śakalayormadhyamākāśamakarotprabhuḥ

"Of heaven and earth"—so this is recited in the Vedas, O king. Between the two halves the Lord made the space.

Note on the text: Corrected योरिज्येष → योरित्येष (misprint in Wikisource; a broken conjunct; CE reads dyāvāpṛthivyor ity eṣa).

Verse 6 (12.316.6)

एतस्यापि च सङ्ख्यानं वेदवेदाङ्गपारगैः । दशकल्पसहस्राणि पादोनान्यहरुच्यते ॥

etasyāpi ca saṅkhyānaṃ vedavedāṅgapāragaiḥ | daśakalpasahasrāṇi pādonānyaharucyate

Those versed in the Vedas and Vedangas give the reckoning of this one too: its day is said to be ten thousand kalpas less a quarter.

Note on the text: CE lines: this verse is CE 12.299.6a + 6c (the CE verse is a three-line verse, 6a, 6c, 6e).

Verse 7 (12.316.7)

रात्रिमेतावतीं चास्य प्राहुरध्यात्मचिन्तकाः । सृजत्यहंकारमृषिर्भूतं दिव्यात्मकं तथा ॥

rātrimetāvatīṃ cāsya prāhuradhyātmacintakāḥ | sṛjatyahaṃkāramṛṣirbhūtaṃ divyātmakaṃ tathā

Its night, say those who reflect on the Self, is of the same length. The seer creates egoity, and likewise a being of divine nature.

Note on the text: Corrected चास्व → चास्य (misprint in Wikisource; a broken akshara; CE reads cāsya). CE lines: this verse is CE 12.299.6e + 7a (the third line of the CE three-line verse 6, and the first line of 7).

Verse 8 (12.316.8)

चतुरश्चापरान्पुत्रान्देहात्पूर्वं महानृषिः । ते वै पितृभ्यः पितरः श्रूयन्ते राजसत्तम ॥

caturaścāparānputrāndehātpūrvaṃ mahānṛṣiḥ | te vai pitṛbhyaḥ pitaraḥ śrūyante rājasattama

Before his body he, the great seer, created four other sons. They are the fathers of the fathers, O best of kings—so it is heard.

Note on the text: Corrected श्रूयन्तें → श्रूयन्ते (misprint in Wikisource; stray anusvara; CE reads śrūyante). CE lines: this verse is CE 12.299.7c + 7e. The CE star passage 12.299.7d*0765_01 stands between them and is not in Wikisource.

Verse 9 (12.316.9)

देवाः पितॄणां च सुता देवैर्लोकाः समावृताः । चराचरा नरश्रेष्ठ इत्येवमनुशुश्रुम ॥

devāḥ pitṝṇāṃ ca sutā devairlokāḥ samāvṛtāḥ | carācarā naraśreṣṭha ityevamanuśuśruma

The gods are the sons of the fathers, and the worlds, moving and unmoving, are pervaded by the gods, O best of men—so we have heard.

Verse 10 (12.316.10)

परमेष्ठी त्वहंकारोऽसृजद्भूतानि पञ्चधा । पृथिवी वायुराकाशमापो ज्योतिश्च पञ्चमम् ॥

parameṣṭhī tvahaṃkāro'sṛjadbhūtāni pañcadhā | pṛthivī vāyurākāśamāpo jyotiśca pañcamam

The supreme one, egoity itself (Parameshthi), created the elements in five ways: earth, air, space, water, and light as the fifth.

Verse 11 (12.316.11)

एतस्यापि निशामाहुस्तृतीयमथ कुर्वतः । पञ्च कल्पसहस्राणि तावदेवाहरुच्यते ॥

etasyāpi niśāmāhustṛtīyamatha kurvataḥ | pañca kalpasahasrāṇi tāvadevāharucyate

For him too, as he carries out the third creation, they reckon a night; five thousand kalpas, and just as much is said to be his day.

Verse 12 (12.316.12)

शब्दः स्पर्शश्च रूपं च रसो गन्धश्च पञ्चमः । एते विशेषा राजेन्द्र महाभूतेषु पञ्चसु ॥

śabdaḥ sparśaśca rūpaṃ ca raso gandhaśca pañcamaḥ | ete viśeṣā rājendra mahābhūteṣu pañcasu

Sound, touch and form, taste, and smell as the fifth—these are the specific qualities, O chief of kings, of the five great elements,

Note on the text: CE lines: this verse is CE 12.299.11a + 11c (the CE verse is a three-line verse, 11a, 11c, 11e).

Verse 13 (12.316.13)

यैराविष्टानि भूतानि अहन्यहनि पार्थिव । अन्योन्यं स्पृहयन्त्येते अन्योन्यस्याहिते रताः ॥

yairāviṣṭāni bhūtāni ahanyahani pārthiva | anyonyaṃ spṛhayantyete anyonyasyāhite ratāḥ

by which the beings are possessed, day after day, O king. They covet one another and delight in one another's harm.

Note on the text: CE lines: this verse is CE 12.299.11e + 12a.

Verse 14 (12.316.14)

अन्योन्यमतिवर्तन्ते अन्योन्यस्पर्धिनस्तथा । ते वध्यमाना ह्यन्योन्यं गुणैर्हारिभिरव्ययाः ॥

anyonyamativartante anyonyaspardhinastathā | te vadhyamānā hyanyonyaṃ guṇairhāribhiravyayāḥ

They overstep one another and vie with one another. Struck down by one another through their captivating qualities, though imperishable in nature,

Note on the text: CE lines: this verse is CE 12.299.12c + 13a. Wikisource reads अन्योन्यमतिवर्तन्ते where the CE has अन्योन्यमभिमन्यन्ते (recension variant, kept).

Verse 15 (12.316.15)

इहैव परिवर्तन्ते तिर्यग्योनिप्रवेशिनः । त्रीणि कल्पसहस्राणि एतेषामहरुच्यते ॥

ihaiva parivartante tiryagyonipraveśinaḥ | trīṇi kalpasahasrāṇi eteṣāmaharucyate

they keep turning right here, entering animal wombs. Three thousand kalpas is the day of these;

Note on the text: CE lines: this verse is CE 12.299.13c + 14a.

Verse 16 (12.316.16)

रात्रिरेतावती चैव मनसश्च नराधिप । मनश्चरति राजेन्द्र चरितं सर्वमिन्द्रियैः ॥

rātriretāvatī caiva manasaśca narādhipa | manaścarati rājendra caritaṃ sarvamindriyaiḥ

and their night is just as long, as it is for the mind too, O ruler of men. The mind ranges about, O chief of kings, and all that is ranged over is ranged through the senses.

Note on the text: CE lines: this verse is CE 12.299.14c + 15a.

Verse 17 (12.316.17)

न चेन्द्रियाणि पश्यन्ति मन एवात्र पश्यति । चक्षुः पश्यति रूपाणि मनसा तु न चक्षुषा ॥

na cendriyāṇi paśyanti mana evātra paśyati | cakṣuḥ paśyati rūpāṇi manasā tu na cakṣuṣā

The senses do not see; it is the mind that sees here. The eye sees forms—through the mind, not through the eye.

Note on the text: CE lines: this verse is CE 12.299.15c + 16a.

Verse 18 (12.316.18)

मनसि व्याकुले चक्षुः पश्यन्नपि न पश्यति । अथेन्द्रियाणि सर्वाणि पश्यन्तीत्यभिचक्षते ॥

manasi vyākule cakṣuḥ paśyannapi na paśyati | athendriyāṇi sarvāṇi paśyantītyabhicakṣate

When the mind is distracted, the eye, though looking, does not see. And so it is said of all the senses that they see.

Note on the text: CE lines: this verse is CE 12.299.16c + 16e (the third line of the CE verse 16).

Verse 19 (12.316.19)

मनस्युपरते राजन्निन्द्रियोपरमो भवेत् ॥

manasyuparate rājannindriyoparamo bhavet

When the mind is stilled, O king, the senses come to rest.

Note on the text: Wikisource prints this single line as its own verse (12-316-19a, one line only). It is CE 12.299.17a, the first line of the CE three-line verse 17; the other two lines are the next verse.

Verse 20 (12.316.20)

न चेन्द्रियव्युपरमे मनस्युपरमो भवेत् । एवं मनः प्रधानानि इन्द्रियाणि प्रभावयेत् ॥

na cendriyavyuparame manasyuparamo bhavet | evaṃ manaḥ pradhānāni indriyāṇi prabhāvayet

But when the senses are stilled, the mind is not necessarily stilled. Thus one should understand that the senses have the mind as their chief.

Note on the text: CE lines: this verse is CE 12.299.17c + 17e.

Verse 21 (12.316.21)

इन्द्रियाणां तु सर्वेषामीश्वरं मन उच्यते । एतद्विशन्ति भूतानि सर्वाणीह महायशः ॥

indriyāṇāṃ tu sarveṣāmīśvaraṃ mana ucyate | etadviśanti bhūtāni sarvāṇīha mahāyaśaḥ

The mind is called the lord of all the senses. All beings here enter into it, O glorious one.