Divisions of the Creation

Verse 1 (bhagavata.3.10.1)

विदुर उवाच अन्तर्हिते भगवति ब्रह्मा लोकपितामहः । प्रजाः ससर्ज कतिधा दैहिकीर्मानसीर्विभुः ॥ १ ॥

vidura uvāca antarhite bhagavati brahmā loka-pitāmahaḥ prajāḥ sasarja katidhā daihikīr mānasīr vibhuḥ

Vidura said: After the disappearance of the Personality of Godhead, how many kinds of generations — bodily and mental — did the mighty Brahmā, grandfather of all the worlds' inhabitants, create?

Verse 2 (bhagavata.3.10.2)

ये च मे भगवन् पृष्टास्त्वय्यर्था बहुवित्तम । तान् वदस्वानुपूर्व्येण छिन्धि नः सर्वसंशयान् ॥ २ ॥

ye ca me bhagavan pṛṣṭās tvayy arthā bahuvittama tān vadasvānupūrvyeṇa chindhi naḥ sarva-saṁśayān

O greatly learned one, whatever matters I have asked you concerning Him, kindly describe them to me in due order, one after another, and dispel all my doubts.

Verse 3 (bhagavata.3.10.3)

सूत उवाच एवं सञ्चोदितस्तेन क्षत्त्रा कौषारविर्मुनिः । प्रीतः प्रत्याह तान् प्रश्नान् हृदिस्थानथ भार्गव ॥ ३ ॥

sūta uvāca evaṁ sañcoditas tena kṣattrā kauṣāravir muniḥ prītaḥ pratyāha tān praśnān hṛdi-sthān atha bhārgava

Sūta said: Thus encouraged by him, the sage Maitreya, son of Kuṣāra, being pleased, replied to those questions which lay already in the core of his heart, O descendant of Bhṛgu.

Verse 4 (bhagavata.3.10.4)

मैत्रेय उवाच विरिञ्चोऽपि तथा चक्रे दिव्यं वर्षशतं तपः । आत्मन्यात्मानमावेश्य यथाह भगवानजः ॥ ४ ॥

maitreya uvāca viriñco ’pi tathā cakre divyaṁ varṣa-śataṁ tapaḥ ātmany ātmānam āveśya yathāha bhagavān ajaḥ

Maitreya said: Viriñca (Brahmā) too, in that same manner, engaging his own self in the Supreme Self, performed penance for a hundred celestial years, just as the unborn Personality of Godhead had instructed.

Verse 5 (bhagavata.3.10.5)

तद्विलोक्याब्जसम्भूतो वायुना यदधिष्ठितः । पद्ममम्भश्च तत्कालकृतवीर्येण कम्पितम् ॥ ५ ॥

tad vilokyābja-sambhūto vāyunā yad-adhiṣṭhitaḥ padmam ambhaś ca tat-kāla- kṛta-vīryeṇa kampitam

Looking upon that, he who was born of the lotus saw that the very lotus on which he was seated, and its waters, trembled, agitated by the force wrought by Time.

Verse 6 (bhagavata.3.10.6)

तपसा ह्येधमानेन विद्यया चात्मसंस्थया । विवृद्धविज्ञानबलो न्यपाद् वायुं सहाम्भसा ॥ ६ ॥

tapasā hy edhamānena vidyayā cātma-saṁsthayā vivṛddha-vijñāna-balo nyapād vāyuṁ sahāmbhasā

By penance thus increasing, and by transcendental knowledge grounded in the self, his power of practical realization matured, and he drank up the wind together with the water.

Verse 7 (bhagavata.3.10.7)

तद्विलोक्य वियद्व्यापि पुष्करं यदधिष्ठितम् । अनेन लोकान् प्राग्लीनान् कल्पितास्मीत्यचिन्तयत् ॥ ७ ॥

tad vilokya viyad-vyāpi puṣkaraṁ yad-adhiṣṭhitam anena lokān prāg-līnān kalpitāsmīty acintayat

Looking upon that lotus, spread throughout the sky, upon which he was seated, he thought: By this I shall create the worlds that had earlier merged into dissolution.

Verse 8 (bhagavata.3.10.8)

पद्मकोशं तदाविश्य भगवत्कर्मचोदितः । एकं व्यभाङ्क्षीदुरुधा त्रिधा भाव्यं द्विसप्तधा ॥ ८ ॥

padma-kośaṁ tadāviśya bhagavat-karma-coditaḥ ekaṁ vyabhāṅkṣīd urudhā tridhā bhāvyaṁ dvi-saptadhā

Then, entering the whorl of that lotus, impelled by the activity of the Personality of Godhead, he divided that one whorl into a great threefold division, capable of further creation into fourteen divisions.

Verse 9 (bhagavata.3.10.9)

एतावाञ्जीवलोकस्य संस्थाभेदः समाहृतः । धर्मस्य ह्यनिमित्तस्य विपाकः परमेष्ठ्यसौ ॥ ९ ॥

etāvāñ jīva-lokasya saṁsthā-bhedaḥ samāhṛtaḥ dharmasya hy animittasya vipākaḥ parameṣṭhy asau

Thus far has been briefly told the differentiation of the abodes of the living entities within this world — the mature fruit of religion performed without ulterior motive, belonging to that highest personality of the universe.

Verse 10 (bhagavata.3.10.10)

विदुर उवाच यथात्थ बहुरूपस्य हरेरद्भुतकर्मणः । कालाख्यं लक्षणं ब्रह्मन् यथा वर्णय नः प्रभो ॥ १० ॥

vidura uvāca yathāttha bahu-rūpasya harer adbhuta-karmaṇaḥ kālākhyaṁ lakṣaṇaṁ brahman yathā varṇaya naḥ prabho

Vidura said: As you have described the wondrous acts of Hari of many forms, so also, O learned brāhmaṇa, kindly describe to us, exactly as it is, that characteristic known as time.

Verse 11 (bhagavata.3.10.11)

मैत्रेय उवाच गुणव्यतिकराकारो निर्विशेषोऽप्रतिष्ठितः । पुरुषस्तदुपादानमात्मानं लीलयासृजत् ॥ ११ ॥

maitreya uvāca guṇa-vyatikarākāro nirviśeṣo ’pratiṣṭhitaḥ puruṣas tad-upādānam ātmānaṁ līlayāsṛjat

Maitreya said: The Supreme Person, who is the source of the interaction of the modes of nature, formless and unlimited, created, taking Himself as the instrument, through His own pastime, this material creation.

Verse 12 (bhagavata.3.10.12)

विश्वं वै ब्रह्मतन्मात्रं संस्थितं विष्णुमायया । ईश्वरेण परिच्छिन्नं कालेनाव्यक्तमूर्तिना ॥ १२ ॥

viśvaṁ vai brahma-tan-mātraṁ saṁsthitaṁ viṣṇu-māyayā īśvareṇa paricchinnaṁ kālenāvyakta-mūrtinā

The universe is verily nothing but that same Brahman, situated by the potency of Viṣṇu, delimited by the Personality of Godhead through time, whose own form is unmanifest.

Verse 13 (bhagavata.3.10.13)

यथेदानीं तथाग्रे च पश्चादप्येतदीदृशम् ॥ १३ ॥

yathedānīṁ tathāgre ca paścād apy etad īdṛśam

As it is now, so it was in the beginning, and so it shall likewise be at the end.

Verse 14 (bhagavata.3.10.14)

सर्गो नवविधस्तस्य प्राकृतो वैकृतस्तु यः । कालद्रव्यगुणैरस्य त्रिविधः प्रतिसंक्रमः ॥ १४ ॥

sargo nava-vidhas tasya prākṛto vaikṛtas tu yaḥ kāla-dravya-guṇair asya tri-vidhaḥ pratisaṅkramaḥ

Its creation is of nine kinds — that which is material (prākṛta) and that which is brought about by the modes (vaikṛta); and by time, matter and the qualities, its dissolution is threefold.

Verse 15 (bhagavata.3.10.15)

आद्यस्तु महतः सर्गो गुणवैषम्यमात्मनः । द्वितीयस्त्वहमो यत्र द्रव्यज्ञानक्रियोदयः ॥ १५ ॥

ādyas tu mahataḥ sargo guṇa-vaiṣamyam ātmanaḥ dvitīyas tv ahamo yatra dravya-jñāna-kriyodayaḥ

The first creation is that of the mahat-tattva, the imbalance of the modes within the nature of the Supreme Self; the second is that of false ego, wherein arise material ingredients, material knowledge and the awakening of activity.

Verse 16 (bhagavata.3.10.16)

भूतसर्गस्तृतीयस्तु तन्मात्रो द्रव्यशक्तिमान् । चतुर्थ ऐन्द्रियः सर्गो यस्तु ज्ञानक्रियात्मकः ॥ १६ ॥

bhūta-sargas tṛtīyas tu tan-mātro dravya-śaktimān caturtha aindriyaḥ sargo yas tu jñāna-kriyātmakaḥ

The third creation is that of the physical elements, the subtle sense-objects that empower matter; the fourth is the creation of the senses, which consists essentially of the powers of knowledge and action.

Verse 17 (bhagavata.3.10.17)

वैकारिको देवसर्गः पञ्चमो यन्मयं मनः । पष्ठस्तु तमसः सर्गो यस्त्वबुद्धिकृतः प्रभोः ॥ १७ ॥

vaikāriko deva-sargaḥ pañcamo yan-mayaṁ manaḥ ṣaṣṭhas tu tamasaḥ sargo yas tv abuddhi-kṛtaḥ prabhoḥ

The transformative creation of the demigods is the fifth, in which the mind, composed of that same substance, arises; the sixth is the creation of darkness, made of unintelligence, belonging to the Lord (Brahmā).

Verse 18 (bhagavata.3.10.18)

षडिमे प्राकृताः सर्गा वैकृतानपि मे शृणु । रजोभाजो भगवतो लीलेयं हरिमेधसः ॥ १८ ॥

ṣaḍ ime prākṛtāḥ sargā vaikṛtān api me śṛṇu rajo-bhājo bhagavato līleyaṁ hari-medhasaḥ

These six are the creations born of material nature; now hear from me of the secondary creations as well — this is the pastime of the greatly powerful lord who possesses the mind of Hari, he who partakes of the mode of passion.

Verse 19 (bhagavata.3.10.19)

सप्तमो मुख्यसर्गस्तु षङ्विधस्तस्थुषां च यः । वनस्पत्योषधिलतात्वक्सारा वीरुधो द्रुमाः ॥ १९ ॥

saptamo mukhya-sargas tu ṣaḍ-vidhas tasthuṣāṁ ca yaḥ vanaspaty-oṣadhi-latā- tvaksārā vīrudho drumāḥ

The seventh is the principal creation, that of the immobile beings, which is of six kinds: fruit-bearing trees without flowers, plants that exist until their fruit ripens, creepers, pipe-plants, unsupported creepers, and trees bearing both flowers and fruit.

Verse 20 (bhagavata.3.10.20)

उत्स्रोतसस्तमःप्राया अन्तःस्पर्शा विशेषिणः ॥ २० ॥

utsrotasas tamaḥ-prāyā antaḥ-sparśā viśeṣiṇaḥ

They seek their nourishment upward, are almost devoid of consciousness, feel sensation only within, and appear in manifold varieties.

Verse 21 (bhagavata.3.10.21)

तिरश्चामष्टमः सर्गः सोऽष्टाविंशद्विधो मतः । अविदो भूरितमसो घ्राणज्ञा ह्यद्यवेदिनः ॥ २१ ॥

tiraścām aṣṭamaḥ sargaḥ so ’ṣṭāviṁśad-vidho mataḥ avido bhūri-tamaso ghrāṇa-jñā hṛdy avedinaḥ

The eighth creation is that of the lower animals, considered to be of twenty-eight varieties; ignorant of the morrow, deeply covered in darkness, they know desirable things by smell, and retain almost nothing in the heart.

Verse 22 (bhagavata.3.10.22)

गौरजो महिषः कृष्णः सूकरो गवयो रुरुः । द्विशफाः पशवश्चेमे अविरुष्ट्रश्च सत्तम ॥ २२ ॥

gaur ajo mahiṣaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ sūkaro gavayo ruruḥ dvi-śaphāḥ paśavaś ceme avir uṣṭraś ca sattama

The cow, the goat, the buffalo, the stag, the hog, the gavaya, the deer — these, O purest one, are cloven-hoofed animals, along with the lamb and the camel.

Verse 23 (bhagavata.3.10.23)

खरोऽश्वोऽश्वतरो गौरः शरभश्चमरी तथा । एते चैकशफाः क्षत्तः शृणु पञ्चनखान् पशून् ॥ २३ ॥

kharo ’śvo ’śvataro gauraḥ śarabhaś camarī tathā ete caika-śaphāḥ kṣattaḥ śṛṇu pañca-nakhān paśūn

The ass, the horse, the mule, the white deer, the śarabha, and the wild cow — these, O Vidura, all have a single hoof; now hear of the five-nailed animals.

Verse 24 (bhagavata.3.10.24)

श्वा सृगालो वृको व्याघ्रो मार्जारः शशशल्लकौ । सिंहः कपिर्गजः कूर्मो गोधा च मकरादयः ॥ २४ ॥

śvā sṛgālo vṛko vyāghro mārjāraḥ śaśa-śallakau siṁhaḥ kapir gajaḥ kūrmo godhā ca makarādayaḥ

The dog, the jackal, the fox, the tiger, the cat, the rabbit, the porcupine, the lion, the monkey, the elephant, the tortoise, the godhā lizard, and the alligator and others.

Verse 25 (bhagavata.3.10.25)

कङ्कगृधबकश्येनभासभल्लूकबर्हिणः । हंससारसचक्राह्वकाकोलूकादयः खगाः ॥ २५ ॥

kaṅka-gṛdhra-baka-śyena- bhāsa-bhallūka-barhiṇaḥ haṁsa-sārasa-cakrāhva- kākolūkādayaḥ khagāḥ

The heron, the vulture, the crane, the hawk, the bhāsa, the bhallūka, the peacock, the swan, the sārasa, the cakravāka, the crow, the owl and others — these are the birds.

Verse 26 (bhagavata.3.10.26)

अर्वाक्स्रोतस्तु नवमः क्षत्तरेकविधो नृणाम् । रजोऽधिकाः कर्मपरा दुःखे च सुखमानिनः ॥ २६ ॥

arvāk-srotas tu navamaḥ kṣattar eka-vidho nṛṇām rajo ’dhikāḥ karma-parā duḥkhe ca sukha-māninaḥ

The ninth creation, O Vidura, in which the passage of food runs downward, is of a single kind — that of human beings, in whom the mode of passion predominates, who are devoted to work, and who consider themselves happy even amid misery.

Verse 27 (bhagavata.3.10.27)

वैकृतास्रय एवैते देवसर्गश्च सत्तम । वैकारिकस्तु यः प्रोक्तः कौमारस्तूभयात्मकः ॥ २७ ॥

vaikṛtās traya evaite deva-sargaś ca sattama vaikārikas tu yaḥ proktaḥ kaumāras tūbhayātmakaḥ

These three, O most virtuous one, together with the creation of the demigods, are the secondary (vaikṛta) creations; that which was described before is the vaikārika, while the creation of the four Kumāras partakes of both kinds.

Verse 28 (bhagavata.3.10.28)

देवसर्गश्चाष्टविधो विबुधाः पितरोऽसुराः । गन्धर्वाप्सरसः सिद्धा यक्षरक्षांसि चारणाः ॥ २८ ॥

deva-sargaś cāṣṭa-vidho vibudhāḥ pitaro ’surāḥ gandharvāpsarasaḥ siddhā yakṣa-rakṣāṁsi cāraṇāḥ

The creation of the demigods too is of eight kinds — the demigods themselves, the forefathers, the demons, the Gandharvas and Apsaras, the Siddhas, the Yakṣas and Rākṣasas, and the Cāraṇas,

Verse 29 (bhagavata.3.10.29)

भूतप्रेतपिशाचाश्च विद्याध्राः किन्नरादयः । दशैते विदुराख्याताः सर्गास्ते विश्वसृक्कृताः ॥ २९ ॥

bhūta-preta-piśācāś ca vidyādhrāḥ kinnarādayaḥ daśaite vidurākhyātāḥ sargās te viśva-sṛk-kṛtāḥ

along with the ghosts, evil spirits and demons, and the Vidyādharas, Kinnaras and the like. These ten creations, O Vidura, have thus been described to you, all wrought by the creator of the universe.

Verse 30 (bhagavata.3.10.30)

अतः परं प्रवक्ष्यामि वंशान्मन्वन्तराणि च । एवं रजःप्लुतः स्रष्टा कल्पादिष्वात्मभूर्हरिः । सृजत्यमोघसङ्कल्प आत्मैवात्मानमात्मना ॥ ३० ॥

ataḥ paraṁ pravakṣyāmi vaṁśān manvantarāṇi ca evaṁ rajaḥ-plutaḥ sraṣṭā kalpādiṣv ātmabhūr hariḥ sṛjaty amogha-saṅkalpa ātmaivātmānam ātmanā

Hereafter I shall describe the dynasties and the periods of the Manus; thus the self-born creator, infused with the mode of passion, Hari of unfailing resolve, in each successive millennium creates Himself, by Himself, out of Himself.