Manifestation of Brahma from Garbhodakashayi Vishnu

Verse 1 (bhagavata.3.8.1)

मैत्रेय उवाच सत्सेवनीयो बत पूरुवंशो यल्लोकपालो भगवत्प्रधानः । बभूविथेहाजितकीर्तिमालां पदे पदे नूतनयस्यभीक्ष्णम् ॥ 8.1 ॥

maitreya uvāca sat-sevanīyo bata pūru-vaṁśo yal loka-pālo bhagavat-pradhānaḥ babhūvithehājita-kīrti-mālāṁ pade pade nūtanayasy abhīkṣṇam

Shri Maitreya said: Ah, the dynasty of Puru is indeed worthy of the service of the pure, for its kings have almost always been foremost devotees of Bhagavan; you too were born in that very family, and it is wonderful indeed that, because of you, the garland of the unconquerable Lord's glories grows ever fresh at every step.

Verse 2 (bhagavata.3.8.2)

सोऽहं नृणां क्षुल्लसुखाय दुःखं महद्गतानां विरमाय तस्य । प्रवर्तये भागवतं पुराणं यदाह साक्षाद्भगवानृषिभ्यः ॥ 8.2 ॥

so ’haṁ nṛṇāṁ kṣulla-sukhāya duḥkhaṁ mahad gatānāṁ viramāya tasya pravartaye bhāgavataṁ purāṇaṁ yad āha sākṣād bhagavān ṛṣibhyaḥ

For the sake of men who, in pursuit of a trifling pleasure, have fallen into great suffering, and for the cessation of that very suffering, I now begin to speak this Bhagavata Purana, which Bhagavan Himself once spoke directly to the great sages.

Verse 3 (bhagavata.3.8.3)

आसीनमुर्व्यां भगवन्तमाद्यं सङ्कर्षणं देवमकुण्ठसत्त्वम् । विवित्सवस्तत्त्वमतः परस्य कुमारमुख्या मुनयोऽन्वपृच्छन् ॥ 8.3 ॥

āsīnam urvyāṁ bhagavantam ādyaṁ saṅkarṣaṇaṁ devam akuṇṭha-sattvam vivitsavas tattvam ataḥ parasya kumāra-mukhyā munayo ’nvapṛcchan

Once, desiring to know the truth of the Supreme, the sages headed by Sanat-kumara put just such a question to Bhagavan Sankarshana Himself — the original Lord, of undiminished pure being, seated at the base of the universe.

Verse 4 (bhagavata.3.8.4)

स्वमेव धिष्ण्यं बहु मानयन्तं यद्वासुदेवाभिधमामनन्ति । प्रत्यग्धृताक्षाम्बुजकोशमीष- दुन्मीलयन्तं विबुधोदयाय ॥ 8.4 ॥

svam eva dhiṣṇyaṁ bahu mānayantaṁ yad vāsudevābhidham āmananti pratyag-dhṛtākṣāmbuja-kośam īṣad unmīlayantaṁ vibudhodayāya

At that time He was absorbed in deep contemplation of His own supreme self, whom the learned know by the name Vasudeva; but for the very upliftment of those learned sages, He slightly opened His lotus eyes, which had till then been turned wholly inward.

Verse 5 (bhagavata.3.8.5)

स्वर्धुन्युदार्द्रैः स्वजटाकलापै- रुपस्पृशन्तश्चरणोपधानम् । पद्मं यदर्चन्त्यहिराजकन्याः सप्रेमनानाबलिभिर्वरार्थाः ॥ 8.5 ॥

svardhuny-udārdraiḥ sva-jaṭā-kalāpair upaspṛśantaś caraṇopadhānam padmaṁ yad arcanty ahi-rāja-kanyāḥ sa-prema nānā-balibhir varārthāḥ

With their matted locks still wet from the waters of the heavenly Ganga, they touched, again and again, that resting-place of His feet — those very lotus feet worshiped with such loving devotion, and with manifold offerings, by the serpent-king's own daughters, in their longing for a worthy husband.

Verse 6 (bhagavata.3.8.6)

मुहुर्गृणन्तो वचसानुराग- स्खलत्पदेनास्य कृतानि तज्ज्ञाः । किरीटसाहस्रमणिप्रवेक- प्रद्योतितोद्दामफणासहस्रम् ॥ 8.6 ॥

muhur gṛṇanto vacasānurāga- skhalat-padenāsya kṛtāni taj-jñāḥ kirīṭa-sāhasra-maṇi-praveka- pradyotitoddāma-phaṇā-sahasram

Those sages, who knew well the Lord's own pastimes, glorified Him again and again in words faltering with love, and at that very moment His thousand raised hoods, blazing with the light of the choicest jewels set in a thousand crowns, shone forth all the more.

Verse 7 (bhagavata.3.8.7)

प्रोक्तं किलैतद्भगवत्तमेन निवृत्तिधर्माभिरताय तेन । सनत्कुमाराय स चाह पृष्टः सांख्यायनायाङ्ग धृतव्रताय ॥ 8.7 ॥

proktaṁ kilaitad bhagavattamena nivṛtti-dharmābhiratāya tena sanat-kumārāya sa cāha pṛṣṭaḥ sāṅkhyāyanāyāṅga dhṛta-vratāya

This very purport was spoken by that most exalted Lord Sankarshana to Sanat-kumara, who was devoted to the path of renunciation; and Sanat-kumara, my dear Vidura, in turn spoke it, when asked, to the sage Sankhyayana, firm in his own vow.

Verse 8 (bhagavata.3.8.8)

सांख्यायनः पारमहंस्यमुख्यो विवक्षमाणो भगवद्विभूतीः । जगाद सोऽस्मद्गुरवेऽन्विताय पराशरायाथ बृहस्पतेश्च ॥ 8.8 ॥

sāṅkhyāyanaḥ pāramahaṁsya-mukhyo vivakṣamāṇo bhagavad-vibhūtīḥ jagāda so ’smad-gurave ’nvitāya parāśarāyātha bṛhaspateś ca

The sage Sankhyayana, foremost among the paramahamsas, when he wished to expound the glories of the Lord, spoke this same account to my own guru Parashara, and, along with him, to Brihaspati as well.

Verse 9 (bhagavata.3.8.9)

प्रोवाच मह्यं स दयालुरुक्तो मुनिः पुलस्त्येन पुराणमाद्यम् । सोऽहं तवैतत्कथयामि वत्स श्रद्धालवे नित्यमनुव्रताय ॥ 8.9 ॥

provāca mahyaṁ sa dayālur ukto muniḥ pulastyena purāṇam ādyam so ’haṁ tavaitat kathayāmi vatsa śraddhālave nityam anuvratāya

That compassionate sage Parashara had himself received this foremost of Puranas at the word of the sage Pulastya, and he then spoke it to me; and that very same account, my dear child, since you have always been my faithful and devoted follower, I now tell to you.

Verse 10 (bhagavata.3.8.10)

उदाप्लुतं विश्वमिदं तदासीद् यन्निद्रयामीलितदृङ् न्यमीलयत् । अहीन्द्रतल्पेऽधिशयान एकः कृतक्षणः स्वात्मरतौ निरीहः ॥ 8.10 ॥

udāplutaṁ viśvam idaṁ tadāsīd yan nidrayāmīlita-dṛṅ nyamīlayat ahīndra-talpe ’dhiśayāna ekaḥ kṛta-kṣaṇaḥ svātma-ratau nirīhaḥ

At that time this entire universe lay submerged in water, and the Lord, alone, lying upon the couch of the great serpent Ananta, though His eyes seemed closed as if in sleep, had not truly closed them at all — He rested wholly free of outward action, delighting in His own Self, awaiting that appointed hour.

Verse 11 (bhagavata.3.8.11)

सोऽन्तःशरीरेऽर्पितभूतसूक्ष्मः कालात्मिकां शक्तिमुदीरयाणः । उवास तस्मिन् सलिले पदे स्वे यथानलो दारुणि रुद्धवीर्यः ॥ 8.11 ॥

so ’ntaḥ śarīre ’rpita-bhūta-sūkṣmaḥ kālātmikāṁ śaktim udīrayāṇaḥ uvāsa tasmin salile pade sve yathānalo dāruṇi ruddha-vīryaḥ

Holding within His own body the subtle elements of all beings, and keeping ever alert that power of His known as time, He dwelt thus within that water, just as fire lies hidden, its force held in check, within a piece of wood.

Verse 12 (bhagavata.3.8.12)

चतुर्युगानां च सहस्रमप्सु स्वपन् स्वयोदीरितया स्वशक्त्या । कालाख्ययासादितकर्मतन्त्रो लोकानपीतान्ददृशे स्वदेहे ॥ 8.12 ॥

catur-yugānāṁ ca sahasram apsu svapan svayodīritayā sva-śaktyā kālākhyayāsādita-karma-tantro lokān apītān dadṛśe sva-dehe

For a thousand cycles of the four yugas He thus rested upon that water, seemingly asleep though His own power remained awake within Him, directing through that principle called time the web of the living beings' karma, and He beheld within His own body all those submerged worlds.

Verse 13 (bhagavata.3.8.13)

तस्यार्थसूक्ष्माभिनिविष्टदृष्टे- रन्तर्गतोऽर्थो रजसा तनीयान् । गुणेन कालानुगतेन विद्धः सूष्यंस्तदाभिद्यत नाभिदेशात् ॥ 8.13 ॥

tasyārtha-sūkṣmābhiniviṣṭa-dṛṣṭer antar-gato ’rtho rajasā tanīyān guṇena kālānugatena viddhaḥ sūṣyaṁs tadābhidyata nābhi-deśāt

That subtlest of purposes, fixed within His gaze upon the fine essence of creation, agitated now by the mode of passion working through time, grew ready to be born, and pierced forth from His navel.

Verse 14 (bhagavata.3.8.14)

स पद्मकोशः सहसोदतिष्ठत् कालेन कर्मप्रतिबोधनेन । स्वरोचिषा तत्सलिलं विशालं विद्योतयन्नर्क इवात्मयोनिः ॥ 8.14 ॥

sa padma-kośaḥ sahasodatiṣṭhat kālena karma-pratibodhanena sva-rociṣā tat salilaṁ viśālaṁ vidyotayann arka ivātma-yoniḥ

By the power of that time which awakens karma, the bud of that lotus rose up all at once and, like a sun born of itself, began to light up with its own radiance the whole vast expanse of water.

Verse 15 (bhagavata.3.8.15)

तल्लोकपद्मं स उ एव विष्णुः प्रावीविशत्सर्वगुणावभासम् । तस्मिन् स्वयं वेदमयो विधाता स्वयम्भुवं यं स्म वदन्ति सोऽभूत् ॥ 8.15 ॥

tal loka-padmaṁ sa u eva viṣṇuḥ prāvīviśat sarva-guṇāvabhāsam tasmin svayaṁ vedamayo vidhātā svayambhuvaṁ yaṁ sma vadanti so ’bhūt

Into that universal lotus, Vishnu Himself, the very source of light for all the gunas, then entered, and within it there came into being the personification of the Veda itself — the one whom they call the self-born.

Verse 16 (bhagavata.3.8.16)

तस्यां स चाम्भोरुहकर्णिकाया- मवस्थितो लोकमपश्यमानः । परिक्रमन् व्योम्नि विवृत्तनेत्र- श्चत्वारि लेभेऽनुदिशं मुखानि ॥ 8.16 ॥

tasyāṁ sa cāmbho-ruha-karṇikāyām avasthito lokam apaśyamānaḥ parikraman vyomni vivṛtta-netraś catvāri lebhe ’nudiśaṁ mukhāni

Though seated in the very whorl of that lotus, Brahma could see no world at all; and so, circling about in that space, turning his eyes toward every quarter, he came to acquire four faces, one for each of the directions.

Verse 17 (bhagavata.3.8.17)

तस्माद्युगान्तश्वसनावघूर्ण- जलोर्मिचक्रात्सलिलाद्विरूढम् । उपाश्रितः कञ्जमु लोकतत्त्वं नात्मानमद्धाविददादिदेवः ॥ 8.17 ॥

tasmād yugānta-śvasanāvaghūrṇa- jalormi-cakrāt salilād virūḍham upāśritaḥ kañjam u loka-tattvaṁ nātmānam addhāvidad ādi-devaḥ

Though he had arisen from the very swirl of those water-waves stirred by the fierce wind of the end of the age, that first of gods, Brahma, could truly understand neither the essential nature of that creation nor even his own self.

Verse 18 (bhagavata.3.8.18)

क एष योऽसावहमब्जपृष्ठ एतत्कुतो वाब्जमनन्यदप्सु । अस्ति ह्यधस्तादिह किञ्चनैत- दधिष्ठितं यत्र सता नु भाव्यम् ॥ 8.18 ॥

ka eṣa yo ’sāv aham abja-pṛṣṭha etat kuto vābjam ananyad apsu asti hy adhastād iha kiñcanaitad adhiṣṭhitaṁ yatra satā nu bhāvyam

He began to think: Who indeed am I, seated here atop this lotus? And whence has this lotus itself arisen? Surely there must be something below, within this very water, on which all this rests.

Verse 19 (bhagavata.3.8.19)

स इत्थमुद्वीक्ष्य तदब्जनाल- नाडीभिरन्तर्जलमाविवेश । नार्वाग्गतस्तत्खरनालनाल- नाभिं विचिन्वंस्तदविन्दताजः ॥ 8.19 ॥

sa ittham udvīkṣya tad-abja-nāla- nāḍībhir antar-jalam āviveśa nārvāg-gatas tat-khara-nāla-nāla- nābhiṁ vicinvaṁs tad avindatājaḥ

Thinking thus, he made his way down into the water through the very channel of the lotus stalk; yet, though he pressed on through that slender stem, searching for its root, the unborn Brahma could not, for all his searching, find it.

Verse 20 (bhagavata.3.8.20)

तमस्यपारे विदुरात्मसर्गं विचिन्वतोऽभूत्सुमहांस्त्रिणेमिः । यो देहभाजां भयमीरयाणः परिक्षिणोत्यायुरजस्य हेतिः ॥ 8.20 ॥

tamasy apāre vidurātma-sargaṁ vicinvato ’bhūt sumahāṁs tri-ṇemiḥ yo deha-bhājāṁ bhayam īrayāṇaḥ parikṣiṇoty āyur ajasya hetiḥ

O Vidura, as he searched in that boundless darkness for the source of his own being, Brahma came upon that vast three-rimmed wheel — eternal time itself, borne in the Lord's own hand — which, striking fear into every embodied being, wears away their span of life.

Verse 21 (bhagavata.3.8.21)

ततो निवृत्तोऽप्रतिलब्धकामः स्वधिष्ण्यमासाद्य पुनः स देवः । शनैर्जितश्वासनिवृत्तचित्तो न्यषीददारूढसमाधियोगः ॥ 8.21 ॥

tato nivṛtto ’pratilabdha-kāmaḥ sva-dhiṣṇyam āsādya punaḥ sa devaḥ śanair jita-śvāsa-nivṛtta-citto nyaṣīdad ārūḍha-samādhi-yogaḥ

At last, unable to attain what he sought, that god ceased his search and returned once more to his own seat; and gradually, mastering his breath and stilling his mind, he settled himself into deep and steady meditation.

Verse 22 (bhagavata.3.8.22)

कालेन सोऽजः पुरुषायुषाभि- प्रवृत्तयोगेन विरूढबोधः । स्वयं तदन्तर्हृदयेऽवभात- मपश्यतापश्यत यन्न पूर्वम् ॥ 8.22 ॥

kālena so ’jaḥ puruṣāyuṣābhi- pravṛtta-yogena virūḍha-bodhaḥ svayaṁ tad antar-hṛdaye ’vabhātam apaśyatāpaśyata yan na pūrvam

In this way, over a long course of time, absorbed in yoga for the whole span of his own age, that unborn one's understanding ripened, and within his very own heart he beheld, made manifest, that same Lord whom he had failed to see before, for all his efforts.

Verse 23 (bhagavata.3.8.23)

मृणालगौरायतशेषभोग- पर्यङ्क एकं पुरुषं शयानम् । फणातपत्रायुतमूर्धरत्न- द्युभिर्हतध्वान्तयुगान्ततोये ॥ 8.23 ॥

mṛṇāla-gaurāyata-śeṣa-bhoga- paryaṅka ekaṁ puruṣaṁ śayānam phaṇātapatrāyuta-mūrdha-ratna- dyubhir hata-dhvānta-yugānta-toye

He saw that upon a couch made of the vast, pale form of Sheshanaga, its hue like the fiber of a lotus stalk, there in the water of dissolution, the darkness driven away by the radiance of the jewels crowning that serpent's countless hoods, that Supreme Person lay alone.

Verse 24 (bhagavata.3.8.24)

प्रेक्षां क्षिपन्तं हरितोपलाद्रेः सन्ध्याभ्रनीवेरुरुरुक्ममूर्ध्नः । रत्नोदधारौषधिसौमनस्य वनस्रजो वेणुभुजाङ्घ्रि पाङ्घ्रेः ॥ 8.24 ॥

prekṣāṁ kṣipantaṁ haritopalādreḥ sandhyābhra-nīver uru-rukma-mūrdhnaḥ ratnodadhārauṣadhi-saumanasya vana-srajo veṇu-bhujāṅghripāṅghreḥ

That transcendental form of the Lord seemed to mock even the beauty of a green coral mountain — its evening-cloud-like robe, its gold-crowned summit, its jewels and cascades and herbs and garlands of flowers all outshone by His splendor, He whose arms and legs stood like towering trees.

Verse 25 (bhagavata.3.8.25)

आयामतो विस्तरतः स्वमान- देहेन लोकत्रयसंग्रहेण । विचित्रदिव्याभरणांशुकानां कृतश्रियापाश्रितवेषदेहम् ॥ 8.25 ॥

āyāmato vistarataḥ sva-māna- dehena loka-traya-saṅgraheṇa vicitra-divyābharaṇāṁśukānāṁ kṛta-śriyāpāśrita-veṣa-deham

That vast form, measured only by its own scale, embracing within itself all three planetary systems in its length and breadth, was clothed in a beauty born of the radiance of its own manifold, transcendental ornaments and garments.

Verse 26 (bhagavata.3.8.26)

पुंसां स्वकामाय विविक्तमार्गै- रभ्यर्चतां कामुदुघाङ्घ्रि पद्मम् । प्रदर्शयन्तं कृपया नखेन्दु- मयूखभिन्नाङ्गुलिचारुपत्रम् ॥ 8.26 ॥

puṁsāṁ sva-kāmāya vivikta-mārgair abhyarcatāṁ kāma-dughāṅghri-padmam pradarśayantaṁ kṛpayā nakhendu- mayūkha-bhinnāṅguli-cāru-patram

He revealed those lotus feet of His, which grant every desire of those who worship Him along the pure path of devotion, graciously displaying toes as lovely as flower petals, each finger divided by the moonlike glow of its own nail.

Verse 27 (bhagavata.3.8.27)

मुखेन लोकार्तिहरस्मितेन परिस्फुरत्कुण्डलमण्डितेन । शोणायितेनाधरबिम्बभासा प्रत्यर्हयन्तं सुनसेन सुभ्र्वा ॥ 8.27 ॥

mukhena lokārti-hara-smitena parisphurat-kuṇḍala-maṇḍitena śoṇāyitenādhara-bimba-bhāsā pratyarhayantaṁ sunasena subhrvā

His face, graced with a smile that dispels the sorrow of all beings, adorned with softly gleaming earrings, its crimson glow reflected from His lips and set off by His shapely nose and eyebrows, seemed itself to be acknowledging the service of His devotees.

Verse 28 (bhagavata.3.8.28)

कदम्बकिञ्जल्कपिशङ्गवाससा स्वलंकृतं मेखलया नितम्बे । हारेण चानन्तधनेन वत्स श्रीवत्सवक्षःस्थलवल्लभेन ॥ 8.28 ॥

kadamba-kiñjalka-piśaṅga-vāsasā svalaṅkṛtaṁ mekhalayā nitambe hāreṇa cānanta-dhanena vatsa śrīvatsa-vakṣaḥ-sthala-vallabhena

My dear child, He was beautifully adorned with a garment yellow as the pollen of the kadamba flower, His waist encircled by a fine girdle, and His chest graced by that priceless necklace so fond, as it were, of resting beside the mark of Shrivatsa.

Verse 29 (bhagavata.3.8.29)

परार्ध्यकेयूरमणिप्रवेक- पर्यस्तदोर्दण्डसहस्रशाखम् । अव्यक्तमूलं भुवनाङ्घ्रि पेन्द्र- महीन्द्रभोगैरधिवीतवल्शम् ॥ 8.29 ॥

parārdhya-keyūra-maṇi-praveka- paryasta-dordaṇḍa-sahasra-śākham avyakta-mūlaṁ bhuvanāṅghripendram ahīndra-bhogair adhivīta-valśam

His thousand arms, adorned with priceless armlets set with the choicest jewels, spread out like the countless branches of some great tree, a tree whose root remained unmanifest and whose stem was wrapped about by the coils of the great serpent Ananta.

Verse 30 (bhagavata.3.8.30)

चराचरौको भगवन्महीध्र- महीन्द्रबन्धुं सलिलोपगूढम् । किरीटसाहस्रहिरण्यशृङ्ग- माविर्भवत्कौस्तुभरत्नगर्भम् ॥ 8.30 ॥

carācarauko bhagavan-mahīdhram ahīndra-bandhuṁ salilopagūḍham kirīṭa-sāhasra-hiraṇya-śṛṅgam āvirbhavat kaustubha-ratna-garbham

The Lord, the shelter of all beings both moving and unmoving, appeared like some great mountain — a friend, as it were, to the serpent-lord, submerged in the water, crowned with a thousand golden peaks, and bearing within his own breast the jewel called Kaustubha.

Verse 31 (bhagavata.3.8.31)

निवीतमाम्नायमधुव्रतश्रिया स्वकीर्तिमय्या वनमालया हरिम् । सूर्येन्दुवाय्वग्न्यगमं त्रिधामभिः परिक्रमत्प्राधनिकैर्दुरासदम् ॥ 8.31 ॥

nivītam āmnāya-madhu-vrata-śriyā sva-kīrti-mayyā vana-mālayā harim sūryendu-vāyv-agny-agamaṁ tri-dhāmabhiḥ parikramat-prādhanikair durāsadam

Wearing a forest garland woven, as it were, of His own glory, humming with the sweetness of Vedic hymns, that Hari — unapproachable even by sun, moon, wind, and fire — stood surrounded by the weapons of all three worlds circling Him for battle, utterly beyond ordinary reach.

Verse 32 (bhagavata.3.8.32)

तर्ह्येव तन्नाभिसरःसरोज- मात्मामम्भः श्वसनं वियच्च । ददर्श देवो जगतो विधाता नातः परं लोकविसर्गदृष्टिः ॥ 8.32 ॥

tarhy eva tan-nābhi-saraḥ-sarojam ātmānam ambhaḥ śvasanaṁ viyac ca dadarśa devo jagato vidhātā nātaḥ paraṁ loka-visarga-dṛṣṭiḥ

At that very moment, Brahma, the ordainer of the universe, beheld the lake and lotus at His navel, and the water, the air, and the sky besides — for beyond this there remained nothing further for the vision that beholds all creation to see.

Verse 33 (bhagavata.3.8.33)

स कर्मबीजं रजसोपरक्तः प्रजाः सिसृक्षन्नियदेव दृष्ट्वा । अस्तौद्विसर्गाभिमुखस्तमीड्य- मव्यक्तवर्त्मन्यभिवेशितात्मा ॥ 8.33 ॥

sa karma-bījaṁ rajasoparaktaḥ prajāḥ sisṛkṣann iyad eva dṛṣṭvā astaud visargābhimukhas tam īḍyam avyakta-vartmany abhiveśitātmā

Now touched by the mode of passion and eager to bring forth living beings, Brahma, having seen all these very causes of creation, turned his mind toward that work of creation and began, his heart fixed upon that unmanifest path, to offer praise to that worshipable Lord.