Chapter 38 - Creation of Brahmā

Śailādi said:

1. When lord Siva had gone, lord Viṣṇu, the origin of Brahmā, bowed down in that direction and said to the lotus-born deity.

Śrī Viṣṇu said:

2. The supreme god Śiva, the lord of the universe, is omnipresent. He is the lord and refuge of us both as well as of the entire universe.

3. O Brahmā, I am born of the left side of Siva the supreme soul. You are born of his right side.

4. The sages observe me and say that I am Pradhāna, the Prakṛti, the Avyakta (unmanifest) and the Aja (unborn). They call you Puruṣa.

5. They call the supreme lord the cause of us both, as lord of the universe. He is the unchanging lord Īśvara.

6. At the instance of the lord of the immortals, the lotus-born deity eulogised and bowed to Rudra the most excellent one and the bestower of boons.

7. Then Viṣṇu assumed the form of a Boar and lifted up the earth submerged under the water. He re-established it as it was originally.

8. With great effort he made the earth even, without ups and downs. The lord created the rivulets, rivers and the oceans as before.

9. The lord having the form of a boar^[1] the uplifter of the earth, gathered all the mountains together. As before he created the four worlds beginning with Bhūḥ.

10. The lord who was the most excellent of all intelligent persons became inclined to create the chief creation, the animal creation, and then the divine and human creations.

11-16. With the intellect free from wretchedness the lord at the outset created Sananda, Sanaka and Sanātana the most excellent among the good. All these practised Naiṣkarmya and attained the greatest being. By his yogic learning he created Marīci, Bhṛgu, Aṅgiras, Pulastya, Pulaha, Kratu, Dakṣa, Atri, Vasiṣṭha, Saṅkalpa, Dharma and Adharma. Thus there are twelve sons to Brahmā born of the unmanifest.

At the outset the eternal lord had created Ṛbhu and Sanatkumāra. These two fresh born sons had sublimated their sexuality, and were divine expounders of Brahman. They were bachelors, omniscient, conceivers of everything and equal to Brahmā himself. After creating the sargas—Mukhya etc. O Śilāśana, the lotus-born deity, the creator of the universe, evolved all the special characteristics of the different ages.

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

bhūdharākṛti—in the person of King Pṛthu, son of Vena. Bhāga. ascribes the levelling of the earth to King Pṛthu.—[cūrṇayan svadhanuṣkoṭyā girikūṭāni rājarāṭ | bhūmaṇḍalamidaṃ vainyaḥ prāyaścakre samaṃ vibhuḥ]—cited in st. which offers also another interpretation:—[yadvā bhūdharā ākṛtiryasyāsau mahāvarāhasvarūpa ityarthaḥ]—in the form of boar, uplifting the earth submerged in waters.