Canto XLV - The Birth of Brahmā

Jaimini thanks the Birds for all the information they have given him, and asks about creation, the world, mankind &c.,—In reply they relate what Mārkaṇḍeya had taught Krauṣṭuki regarding all those matters, as follows.

Mārkaṇḍeya extols this Puraṇa as having emanated from Brahmā and having been handed down by eminent ṛṣis—Adoration is paid to Brahmā.

The identity of Pradhāna and Prakṛti is asserted—Brahmā alone existed at first—From him emanated Pradhāna, which is called the Imperceptible—Out of it issued Mahat (the Intellectual priciple) — And out of Mahat issued Ahaṅkāra (the principle of Individuality) with its three characters, the Evolving, the Modifying, and the Energizing—The Evolving Ahaṅkāra created sound, touch, form, taste and smell, and their corresponding elements, ether, air, light, water and earth—The Modifying Ahaṅkāra produced the eleven human organs—The characters of the elements are expounded.

Mahat and the other principles produced an egg, the composition of which is described—It was animated by Brahmā as the Sold, and it contained the universe, the gods, demons and mankind.

Jaimini spoke:

Ye have well related this to me, O noble brāhmans, both activity and inactivity, the two-fold deeds enjoined by the Veda. Ah, through your father’s favour, ye have such knowledge as this, by which ye have overcome folly although ye have descended to this animal state. Happy are ye in that your mind, steadfast in your pristine state towards the attainment of final emancipation, is not swayed by the bewilderments that spring from objects of sense. O joy that the wise lord Mārkaṇḍeya made you known to me as the dissipators of every doubt! For men who wander in this closely-thronged mundane existence there is available association with such as your honours; not for ascetics. If I after gaining association with you who have perspicacity in knowledge should not succeed in my object, then assuredly^[1] there can be no success for me elsewhere. Both in activity and in inactivity, in knowledge and deed, no one else has, I think, a mind so unsullied as your honours have.

If then your mind, O noble brāhmans, is favourable towards me, then deign to expound this completely;—How did this universe, both moveable and immoveable, come into existence? And how will it fall into dissolution at the proper time,. most excellent brāhmans? And how came the families^[2] that sprang from the gods, the ṛṣis, the pitṛs, created things &c.? And how did the Manvantaras occur? And what was the history of the families of old; and whatever creations and whatever dissolutions of the universe have occurred; and how the ages have been divided; and what the duration of the Manvantaras has been; and how the earth remains stable; and what is the size of the world; and what are the oceans, mountains and rivers and forests according to their situation; what is the number of the worlds, the bhūrloka, svarloka &c., including the lower regions; and what is the course of the sun, moon, and other planets, of the stars and heavenly bodies also. I wish to hear of all this which is destined to subversion;^[3] and what will be the end when this universe is dissolved.

The Birds spoke:

Unparalleled is this load of questions which thou hast asked, O brāhman: we will declare it to thee; listen to it here, O Jaimini, as Mārkaṇḍeya expounded it formerly to the calm and wise Krauṣṭuki, a young brāhman, who had completed his term of studentship. Krauṣṭuki asked the high-souled Mārkaṇḍeya, whom the brāhmans were waiting upon, what you have asked, my lord; and we will tell thee what the Muni, Bhṛgu’s son, told him with affection; listen, O brāhman, after having paid adoration to the Forefather Brahmā, the lord of the universe, the origin of the universe, who presided over creation, who in the form of Viṣṇu presides over its maintenance, and who in the form of the terrible Śiva destroys it at the dissolution.

Mārkaṇḍeya spoke:

Formerly as soon as Brahmā, whose origin is inscrutable, came into being, this Purāṇa and the Vedas issued^[4] from his mouths; and many paramarṣis composed the collections of the Purāṇas; and the Vedas were divided by them in a thousand ways. Righteousness and knowledge, passionlessness, and sovereignty—these four indeed were not perfected without instruction from him, the high-souled. His seven mind-born^[5] ṛṣis took the Vedas from him, and his mind-born ancient munis took the Purāṇa. Cyawana took it from Bhṛgu, and he declared it to the brāhmans; and this purāṇa was repeated by the high-souled ṛṣis to Dakṣa; and then Dakṣa repeated it to me. I will now tell it to thee: it destroys strife and sin. Hear all this from me with composure, illustrious Muni, as I formerly heard it when Dakṣa related it.

Having paid adoration to the origin of the universe, unborn, changeless, the asylum, the upholder of the moveable and immoveable universe, the supreme object, Brahmā, the first male,—the cause which, itself unbegotten,^[6] works in production , maintenance and dissolution, wherein everything is established—having paid adoration to him, Hiraṇyagarbha, the framework of the world, the wise, I will duly tell of the multitude of created things, matchless, great, primeval, formed for special ends, various in shape, possessing characteristics, ascertainable by the five standards of measure, possessing the five streams of life, governed by the soul, existent as if perpetual and temporary—listen thereto with sublime composure, illustrious Sir!

Pradhāna is the cause, which is designated the Imperceptible, and which the great ṛṣis call the subtle, permanent Prakṛti, composed of good and evil. Brahmā at first existed certain, imperishable, undecaying, immeasurable, self-dependent, destitute of odour, form, and taste, devoid of sound and touch, without beginning or end, the origin of the universe, unchanged^[7] by the power of the three qualities, not modern,^[8] unknowable. Subsequent to the dissolution, all this universe was pervaded by him completely.

Then from him, in whom the three qualities existed in equipoise, and in whom the Soul^[9] became prevalent, O Muni; and next from the coming into existence of the qualities which were being created, at the time of creation the first principle Pradhāna came into existence. It enveloped Mahat;^[10] as the seed is enveloped by its rind, even so Mahat was enveloped by the Imperceptible. It is three-fold, that characterized by goodness, that by passion, and that by ignorance. Then from it was evolved Ahaṅkāra,^[11] which is three-fold, the Modifying,^[12] the Energizing,^[13] and the Evolving^[14] which is characterized by darkness. And it was enveloped by Mahat, just as Mahat was by the Imperceptible.

Now the Evolving Ahaṅkāra, modifying itself, created the subtle element^[15] of sound^[16] next. From the subtle element of sound came the Ether, which has the property of sound; now ether is the sound-element, and the evolving Ahaṅkāra enveloped it then. The subtle element of touch is indeed born next without doubt; the mighty Air is born, its property of touch is well known. And the air, modifying itself, created the subtle element of form; Light was produced from the air; it is said to have the property of form; the air which is the element of touch enveloped the element of form. And light, modifying itself created the subtle element of taste; therefrom indeed water also was produced; it has the property of taste; now the element of form enveloped the water^[17] which is the element of taste. And the water, modifying itself, created the subtle element of smell; therefrom Solid Matter^[18] is produced; smell is well known to be its property. Now in each element resides its peculiar subtle element; thereby its possession of that subtle element is a well-established fact. And hence those elements are uniform, inasmuch as no difference can be predicated. They are all neither calm, nor terrible, nor crass.^[19] This is the creation of the elements and the subtle elements from Ahaṅkāra when it is characterized by darkness.

From Ahaṅkāra in its Modifying character, which is distinguished by goodness and possesses goodness in excess, the modificatory creation began at once.

The five organs of the intellect,^[20] and the five organs of action, men call these the energetic^[21] organs; they are the ten Vaikārika deities. The mind^[22] is the eleventh organ among them. Such are the Vaikārika deities known to be. The ear, the skin, the pair of eyes, the tongue, and fifthly the nose; men say^[23] these are the organs connected with the intellect for the purpose of perceiving sound and the other impressions. The pair of feet, the anus, the organ of generation, the pair of hands, and the voice may rank as fifth with them; walking, evacuation, sexual delight, manual work and speech—that is the work for each of these organs respectively.

Ether has the element^[24] of sound only. When the element of touch accrued, Air comes into existence with two properties^[25]; touch is known to he its peculiar property. Moreover, when to form accrued both the properties, sound and touch, then Eire also came into existence with its three^[26] properties; it has sound and touch and form. Sound, and touch and form,—when the element of taste accrued to them, then Water wūth its four properties came into existence; it is to he known as being characterized by taste. Sound and touch and form and taste, when smell accrued, they consolidated with the element of smell enclosed this Earth; hence earth has five properties; it is seen to be the gross one among created things.

Calm and terrible and crass^[27] are their distinguishing marks; thereby they are known: they contain one another through their mutual interpenetration. Within the earth is contained all this^[28] visible and invisible world firmly enclosed. And those distinguishing marks are perceptible by the organs of sense, and are recollected by reason of their permanency. They take each successive one the property of its preceding one. These seven principles when Uncombined are distinct and have various energies: they could not have created mankind, unless they had united. And meeting in mutual combination, they become mutually dependent; and when they all unite into one, they have the marks of a single complex body.

By reason of their being governed by the Soul^[29] and also through the favour of the Imperceptible, Mahat and the other principles, which have different limits, cause an egg to come into existence. There like a bubble on water, the egg gradually increased by means of the things that existed, O Sage most intelligent! In its enlarged state it lay on the water. The Soul,^[30] having increased inside the egg sprung from Prakṛti, took the name Brahmā; it indeed was the first corporeal being, it indeed is called Puruṣa. And Brahmā existed first, the original maker of created beings. That egg enclosed all these three worlds with all that they contain moveable and immoveable. Meru was born from it, and as the after-birth were born the mountains; the oceans were the fluid contained within that egg which held the great Soul. Within that egg was all this world, with the gods and demons and mankind, and the continents and other lands, the mountains and oceans, and the throng of luminous worlds.

Then the egg was enveloped by water, air, fire and ether and by the evolving Ahaṅkāra externally, ten times over by each of them. It was then surrounded^[31] by Mahat which I have mentioned, which had the same magnitude. Mahat together with them all was enveloped by the Imperceptible. With these seven coverings formed from Prakṛti was the egg enveloped. Enveloping one another the eight Prakṛtis existed. This very Prakṛti is permanent; and that Puruṣa is limited by it.

Hear thou, moreover, briefly of him who is spoken of by the name Brahmā. Just as one sunk in water, on emerging from it, seems to be born from water^[32] and flings the water away, so Brahmā is both Prakṛti and the Soul.^[33] The Imperceptible is declared to be his sphere of action;^[34] hence Brahmā is called Kṣetra-jña, the Soul. A man should know all these characteristics of the Soul and its sphere of action.

Such was this creation from Prakṛti; and it is governed by the Soul; the first stage of creation was preceded by non-intelligence, it became manifest like the lightning.

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

For nyūnam read nūnam.

[2]:

For vaṃśād read vaṃśā?

[3]:

Āhūta-samplava.

[4]:

Anuviniḥsṛta, not in the dictionary.

[5]:

Mānasa.

[6]:

Anaurasya; not in the dictionary.

[7]:

For -prabhavāpyayam read prabhavāvyayam?

[8]:

A-sāmprata.

[9]:

Kṣetra-jña.

[10]:

The great Intellectual principle.

[11]:

The principle of Individuality.

[12]:

Vaikārika.

[13]:

Taijasa.

[14]:

Bhūtādi.

[15]:

Tan-mātra.

[16]:

For śabdas tanmātrakam read śabda-tanmātrakam?

[17]:

For āpo read apo; for the water was enveloped by the light which preceded it; bnt the change spoils the metre.

[18]:

Saṅghāta.

[19]:

Mūdha.

[20]:

Buddhi.

[21]:

Taijasa.

[22]:

Manas.

[23]:

For vakṣyate read cakṣate?

[24]:

Mātra.

[25]:

Mūdha.

[26]:

Guṇa.

[27]:

For imam read idam?

[28]:

For dvi-guṇas read tri-guṇas?

[29]:

Puruṣa.

[30]:

Kṣetra-jña.

[31]:

For veṣṭitaḥ read veṣṭitam?

[32]:

For jala-sambhavam read jala-sambhavaḥ?

[33]:

Tibha,

[34]:

Kṣotra.