The Primordial Creation

Verse 1 (shiva.uma.29.1)

शौनक उवाच । श्रुतं मे महदाख्यानं यत्त्वया परिकीर्तितम् । सनत्कुमारकालेयसंवादं परमार्थदम्

śaunaka uvāca śrutaṁ me mahadākhyānaṁ yattvayā parikīrtitam sanatkumārakāleyasaṁvādaṁ paramārthadam

Shaunaka said: I have heard the great narrative that you have related — the dialogue between Sanatkumara and Kāleya, bestowing supreme truth.

Verse 2 (shiva.uma.29.2)

अतोऽहं श्रोतुमिच्छामि यथा सर्गस्तु ब्रह्मणः । समुत्पन्नं तु मे ब्रूहि यथा व्यासाच्च ते श्रुतम्

ato'haṁ śrotumicchāmi yathā sargastu brahmaṇaḥ samutpannaṁ tu me brūhi yathā vyāsācca te śrutam

Now I wish to hear how the creation of Brahma came about; tell me of it, as you heard it from Vyasa.

Verse 3 (shiva.uma.29.3)

सूत उवाच । मुने शृणु कथां दिव्यां सर्वपापप्रणाशिनीम् । कथ्यमानां मया चित्रां बह्वर्थां श्रुतविस्तराम्

sūta uvāca mune śṛṇu kathāṁ divyāṁ sarvapāpapraṇāśinīm kathyamānāṁ mayā citrāṁ bahvarthāṁ śrutavistarām

Suta said: O sage, hear this divine story, the destroyer of all sins, wondrous, rich in meaning, and vast in what has been heard, as I now relate it.

Verse 4 (shiva.uma.29.4)

यश्चैनां पाठयेत्तां च शृणुयाद्वाप्यभीक्ष्णशः । स्ववंशधारणं कृत्वा स्वर्गलोके महीयते

yaścaināṁ pāṭhayettāṁ ca śṛṇuyādvāpyabhīkṣṇaśaḥ svavaṁśadhāraṇaṁ kṛtvā svargaloke mahīyate

He who recites it, or repeatedly listens to it, sustains his own lineage and is honored in the world of heaven.

Verse 5 (shiva.uma.29.5)

प्रधानं पुरुषो यत्तन्नित्यं सदसदात्मकम् । प्रधानपुरुषो भूत्वा निर्ममे लोकभावनः

pradhānaṁ puruṣo yattannityaṁ sadasadātmakam pradhānapuruṣo bhūtvā nirmame lokabhāvanaḥ

That which is Prakriti and Purusha, eternal, having the nature of both being and non-being — becoming Prakriti-Purusha, it became the fashioner of the worlds.

Verse 6 (shiva.uma.29.6)

स्रष्टारं सर्वभूतानां नारायणपरायणम् । तं वै विद्धि मुनिश्रेष्ठ ब्रह्माणममितौजसम्

sraṣṭāraṁ sarvabhūtānāṁ nārāyaṇaparāyaṇam taṁ vai viddhi muniśreṣṭha brahmāṇamamitaujasam

Know him, O best of sages, to be Brahma, the creator of all beings, devoted to Narayana, of boundless splendor.

Verse 7 (shiva.uma.29.7)

यस्मादकल्पयत्कल्पाः समग्राः शुचयो यतः । भवन्ति मुनिशार्दूल नमस्तस्मै स्वयम्भुवे

yasmādakalpayatkalpāḥ samagrāḥ śucayo yataḥ bhavanti muniśārdūla namastasmai svayambhuve

From whom all the pure kalpas come to be fashioned, O tiger among sages — salutation to that self-born one.

Verse 8 (shiva.uma.29.8)

तस्मै हिरण्यगर्भाय पुरुषायेश्वराय च । नमस्कृत्य प्रवक्ष्यामि भूयः सर्गमनुत्तमम्

tasmai hiraṇyagarbhāya puruṣāyeśvarāya ca namaskṛtya pravakṣyāmi bhūyaḥ sargamanuttamam

Having bowed to him, Hiranyagarbha, the Supreme Person, the Lord, I shall now declare further the unsurpassed creation.

Verse 9 (shiva.uma.29.9)

ब्रह्मा स्रष्टा हरिः पाता संहर्ता च महेश्वरः । तस्य सर्गस्य नान्योऽस्ति काले काले तथा गते

brahmā sraṣṭā hariḥ pātā saṁhartā ca maheśvaraḥ tasya sargasya nānyo'sti kāle kāle tathā gate

Brahma is the creator, Hari the sustainer, and Maheshvara the destroyer; there is no other agent of this creation, as time passes, cycle after cycle.

Verse 10 (shiva.uma.29.10)

सोऽपि स्वयम्भूर्भगवान् सिसृक्षुर्विविधाः प्रजाः । अप एव ससर्जादौ तासु वीर्यमवासृजत्

so'pi svayambhūrbhagavān sisṛkṣurvividhāḥ prajāḥ apa eva sasarjādau tāsu vīryamavāsṛjat

That self-born Lord too, desiring to create manifold beings, first created the waters alone, and released his seed into them.

Verse 11 (shiva.uma.29.11)

आपो नारा इति प्रोक्ता आपो वै नरसूनवः । अयनं तस्य ताः पूर्वं तेन नारायणः स्मृतः

āpo nārā iti proktā āpo vai narasūnavaḥ ayanaṁ tasya tāḥ pūrvaṁ tena nārāyaṇaḥ smṛtaḥ

The waters are called 'nārāḥ,' for the waters are indeed the offspring of Nara; since they were formerly his abode, he is therefore remembered as Nārāyaṇa.

Verse 12 (shiva.uma.29.12)

हिरण्यवर्णमभवत्तदण्डमुदकेशयम् । तत्र जज्ञे स्वयं ब्रह्मा स्वयम्भूरिति विश्रुतः

hiraṇyavarṇamabhavattadaṇḍamudakeśayam tatra jajñe svayaṁ brahmā svayambhūriti viśrutaḥ

That egg, resting upon the waters, became golden in hue; therein Brahma himself was born, renowned as Svayambhu, the self-born.

Verse 13 (shiva.uma.29.13)

हिरण्यगर्भो भगवानुषित्वा परिवत्सरम् । तदण्डमकरोद् द्वैधं दिवं भूमिं च निर्ममे

hiraṇyagarbho bhagavānuṣitvā parivatsaram tadaṇḍamakarod dvaidhaṁ divaṁ bhūmiṁ ca nirmame

The Lord Hiranyagarbha, having dwelt within it for a full year, split that egg into two, and fashioned heaven and earth from it.

Verse 14 (shiva.uma.29.14)

अधोऽधोर्ध्वं प्रयुक्तानि भुवनानि चतुर्द्दश । तयोः शकलयोर्मध्य आकाशममृजत्प्रभुः

adho'dhordhvaṁ prayuktāni bhuvanāni caturddaśa tayoḥ śakalayormadhya ākāśamamṛjatprabhuḥ

Below and above, the fourteen worlds were established; and between those two halves, the Lord fashioned space.

Verse 15 (shiva.uma.29.15)

अप्सु परिप्लवां पृथ्वीं दिशश्च दशधा दधे । तत्र काले मनो वाचं कामक्रोधावथो रतिम्

apsu pariplavāṁ pṛthvīṁ diśaśca daśadhā dadhe tatra kāle mano vācaṁ kāmakrodhāvatho ratim

He set the earth afloat upon the waters, and established the ten directions; then, in time, he created mind, speech, desire and anger, and delight.

Verse 16 (shiva.uma.29.16)

मरीचिमत्र्यङ्गिरसौ पुलस्त्यं पुलहं क्रतुम् । वसिष्ठं तु महातेजाः सोऽसृजत्सप्त मानसान्

marīcimatryaṅgirasau pulastyaṁ pulahaṁ kratum vasiṣṭhaṁ tu mahātejāḥ so'sṛjatsapta mānasān

That being of great splendor created Marichi, Atri, Angiras, Pulastya, Pulaha, Kratu, and Vasishtha — the seven mind-born sons.

Verse 17 (shiva.uma.29.17)

सप्त बह्माण इत्येते पुराणे निश्चयं गताः । ततोऽसृजत्पुनर्ब्रह्मा रुद्रान् क्रोधसमुद्भवान्

sapta bahmāṇa ityete purāṇe niścayaṁ gatāḥ tato'sṛjatpunarbrahmā rudrān krodhasamudbhavān

These seven are known with certainty in the Puranas as the seven Brahmas; then Brahma again created the Rudras, born from his wrath.

Verse 18 (shiva.uma.29.18)

सनत्कुमारं च ऋषिं सर्वेषामपि पूर्वजम् । सप्त चैते प्रजायन्ते पश्चाद्रुद्राश्च सर्वतः

sanatkumāraṁ ca ṛṣiṁ sarveṣāmapi pūrvajam sapta caite prajāyante paścādrudrāśca sarvataḥ

And also the sage Sanatkumara, firstborn of all; these came into being, and afterward the Rudras appeared on every side.

Verse 19 (shiva.uma.29.19)

अतः सनत्कुमारस्तु तेजः सङ्क्षिप्य तिष्ठति । तेषां सप्त महावंशा दिव्या देवर्षिपूजिताः

ataḥ sanatkumārastu tejaḥ saṅkṣipya tiṣṭhati teṣāṁ sapta mahāvaṁśā divyā devarṣipūjitāḥ

Hence Sanatkumara remains ever with his radiance withdrawn, in perpetual chastity; from those seven sages come seven great, divine lineages, worshipped by gods and sages.

Verse 20 (shiva.uma.29.20)

प्रजायन्ते क्रियावन्तो महर्षिभिरलङ्कृताः । विद्युतोऽशनिमेघांश्च रोहितेन्द्रधनूंषि च

prajāyante kriyāvanto maharṣibhiralaṅkṛtāḥ vidyuto'śanimeghāṁśca rohitendradhanūṁṣi ca

They are born endowed with ritual action, adorned by great sages; and he also created lightning, thunderbolts, clouds, the red glow of dawn, and rainbows.

Verse 21 (shiva.uma.29.21)

पयांसि च ससर्जादौ पर्जन्यं च ससर्ज ह । ऋचो यजूंषि सामानि निर्ममे यज्ञसिद्धये

payāṁsi ca sasarjādau parjanyaṁ ca sasarja ha ṛco yajūṁṣi sāmāni nirmame yajñasiddhaye

And in the beginning he created the celestial waters, and he created the rain-cloud; he fashioned the Rig, Yajur, and Sama for the accomplishment of sacrifice.

Verse 22 (shiva.uma.29.22)

पूज्यांस्तैरयजन्देवानित्येवमनुशुश्रुम । मुखाद्देवानजनयत्पितॄंश्चैवाथ वक्षसः । प्रजनाच्च मनुष्यान्वै जघनान्निर्ममेऽसुरान्

pūjyāṁstairayajandevānityevamanuśuśruma mukhāddevānajanayatpitṝṁścaivātha vakṣasaḥ prajanācca manuṣyānvai jaghanānnirmame'surān

With these Vedas they worshipped the venerable gods — thus have we heard. From his mouth he brought forth the gods, and from his breast the ancestors; from his generative organ he created human beings, and from his hips the demons.

Verse 23 (shiva.uma.29.23)

उच्चावचानि भूतानि गात्रेभ्यस्तस्य जज्ञिरे । आपवस्य प्रजासर्गं सृजतो हि प्रजापतेः

uccāvacāni bhūtāni gātrebhyastasya jajñire āpavasya prajāsargaṁ sṛjato hi prajāpateḥ

From the various limbs of the Lord, as Prajapati created the progeny of creatures, high and low kinds of beings were born.

Verse 24 (shiva.uma.29.24)

सृज्यमानाः प्रजाश्चैव नावर्धन्त यदा तदा । द्विधा कृत्वात्मनो देहं स्त्री चैव पुरुषोऽभवत्

sṛjyamānāḥ prajāścaiva nāvardhanta yadā tadā dvidhā kṛtvātmano dehaṁ strī caiva puruṣo'bhavat

When the creatures being created did not multiply, then, having divided his own body into two, he became both woman and man.

Verse 25 (shiva.uma.29.25)

ससृजेऽथ प्रजाः सर्वा महिम्ना व्याप्य विश्वतः । विराजमसृजद्विष्णुः स सृष्टः पुरुषं विराट्

sasṛje'tha prajāḥ sarvā mahimnā vyāpya viśvataḥ virājamasṛjadviṣṇuḥ sa sṛṣṭaḥ puruṣaṁ virāṭ

Then he created all creatures, pervading the universe with his majesty; Vishnu created Viraj, and that created being became the cosmic Purusha, Viraj.

Verse 26 (shiva.uma.29.26)

द्वितीयं तं मनुं विद्धि मनोरन्तरमेव च । स वैराजः प्रजाः सर्वाः ससर्ज पुरुषः प्रभुः

dvitīyaṁ taṁ manuṁ viddhi manorantarameva ca sa vairājaḥ prajāḥ sarvāḥ sasarja puruṣaḥ prabhuḥ

Know him to be the second Manu, and indeed the beginning of a Manvantara; that lord Purusha, born of Viraj, created all creatures.

Verse 27 (shiva.uma.29.27)

नारायणविसर्गस्य प्रजास्तस्याप्ययोनिजः । आयुष्मान् कीर्तिमान्धन्यः प्रजावांश्चाभवत्ततः

nārāyaṇavisargasya prajāstasyāpyayonijaḥ āyuṣmān kīrtimāndhanyaḥ prajāvāṁścābhavattataḥ

The creation issuing from Narayana, though itself not born of a womb, thereafter produced offspring possessed of long life, fame, blessedness, and abundant progeny.

Verse 28 (shiva.uma.29.28)

इत्येवमादिसर्गस्ते वर्णितो मुनिसत्तम । आदिसर्गं विदित्वैवं यथेष्टां प्राप्नुयाद्गतिम्

ityevamādisargaste varṇito munisattama ādisargaṁ viditvaivaṁ yatheṣṭāṁ prāpnuyādgatim

Thus, O best of sages, has the primordial creation been described to you; having known this primordial creation, one attains whatever goal one desires.