12.176
bharadvāja uvāca॥
Bharadvāja said.
prajāvisargaṃ vividhaṃ kathaṃ sa sṛjate prabhuḥ। merumadhye sthito brahmā tadbrūhi dvijasattama ॥12-176-1॥
O best of the twice-born, tell me how Brahmā, who is situated in the midst of Meru, creates the various kinds of beings.
bhṛguruvāca॥
Bhṛgu said.
prajāvisargaṃ vividhaṃ mānaso manasāsṛjat। sandhukṣaṇārthaṃ bhūtānāṃ sṛṣṭaṃ prathamato jalam ॥12-176-2॥
The mind created various kinds of progeny-emission by its own power. For the sustenance of beings, water was created first.
yatprāṇāḥ sarvabhūtānāṃ vardhante yena ca prajāḥ। parityaktāśca naśyanti tenedaṃ sarvamāvṛtam ॥12-176-3॥
That by which the vital energies of all beings grow, and by whom, when abandoned, creatures perish—by him, this entire universe is pervaded.
pṛthivī parvatā meghā mūrtimantaś ca ye pare। sarvaṃ tad vāruṇaṃ jñeyam āpas taḥ stambhire punaḥ॥12-176-4॥
The earth, mountains, clouds, and all embodied and transcendent beings—know all this as belonging to Varuṇa; the waters upheld everything once again.
bharadvāja uvāca॥
Bharadvāja said.
kathaṁ salilam utpannaṁ kathaṁ caiva agni-mārutau। kathaṁ ca medinī sṛṣṭi etatra me saṁśayaḥ mahān ॥12-176-5॥
How did water arise? How indeed did fire and wind come into being? How was the earth created? I have a great doubt about this.
bhṛguruvāca॥
Bhṛgu said.
brahmakalpe purā brahmanbrahmarṣīṇāṃ samāgame। lokasambhavasandehaḥ samutpanno mahātmanām ॥12-176-6॥
O Brahman, long ago in the age of Brahma, when the Brahmarṣis had assembled, a doubt about the origin of the worlds arose among those great souls.
te' tiṣṭhan dhyānam ālambya maunam āsthāya niścalāḥ। tyaktāhārāḥ pavanapā divyaṃ varṣaśataṃ dvijāḥ ॥12-176-7॥
The twice-born sages remained motionless, absorbed in meditation and silence, having given up food and subsisting on air, for a divine hundred years.
teṣāṃ dharmamayī vāṇī sarveṣāṃ śrotram āgamat। divyā sarasvatī tatra sambabhūva nabhastalāt ॥12-176-8॥
Their speech, filled with righteousness, reached everyone's ears. There, the divine Sarasvatī manifested from the sky.
purā stimitaniḥśabdam ākāśam acalopamam। naṣṭacandrārkapavanaṃ prasuptam iva sambabhau ॥12-176-9॥
Long ago, the sky appeared utterly still and silent, like a mountain, with the moon, sun, and wind vanished, as if everything was asleep.
tataḥ salilamutpannaṃ tamasīvāparaṃ tamaḥ। tasmācca salilotpīḍādudatiṣṭhata mārutaḥ ॥12-176-10॥
Then water came into being, and another darkness like the previous one appeared; from that, due to the pressure of the water, the wind arose.
yathā bhājanam-acchidraṃ niḥśabdam-iva lakṣyate। tac ca ambhasā pūryamāṇaṃ saśabdaṃ kurute'nilaḥ ॥12-176-11॥
Just as a vessel without a hole is silent, but when the wind fills it with water, it produces sound.
tathā salilasaṁruddhe nabhaso’nte nirantare। bhittvārṇavatalaṁ vāyuḥ samutpatati ghoṣavān ॥12-176-12॥
In the same way, when the sky is continuously blocked by water, at the farthest end, the wind, breaking through the surface of the ocean, rises up with a roar.
sa eṣa carate vāyur aṛṇavotpīḍasambhavaḥ। ākāśasthānam āsādya praśāntiṃ nādhigacchati ॥12-176-13॥
This wind, born from the pressure of the ocean, moves about; even after reaching the sky, it does not find peace.
tasmin vāyv-ambu-saṅgharṣe dīpta-tejā mahā-balaḥ। prādurbhavaty ūrdhva-śikhaḥ kṛtvā vitimiraṃ nabhaḥ ॥12-176-14॥
In that collision of wind and water, a blazing and powerful flame appears, rising upward and making the sky free from darkness.
agniḥ pavanasamyuktaḥ khātsamutpatate jalam। so'gnirmārutasaṃyogādghanatvamupapadyate ॥12-176-15॥
When fire, united with wind, rises from the sky, it becomes water. That fire, through its union with wind, attains the state of solidity.
tasyākāśe nipatitaḥ snehastiṣṭhati yo'paraḥ। sa saṅghātatvamāpanno bhūmitvamupagacchati ॥12-176-16॥
When oil that has fallen in the sky remains separate, it is different; but when it attains the state of aggregation, it becomes like earth.
rasānāṃ sarvagandhānāṃ snehānāṃ prāṇināṃ tathā। bhūmiryoniriha jñeyā yasyāṃ sarvaṃ prasūyate ॥12-176-17॥
Earth is to be understood here as the source in which all juices, all fragrances, all oils, and all living beings are produced.
