Bhagavatapurana 2.9: atha navamo'dhyāyaḥ

2.9.1

/0 śrīśuka uvāca
ātmamāyām ṛte rājan parasyānubhavātmanaḥ /
na ghaṭetārthasambandhaḥ svapnadraṣṭurivāñjasā //

Śrī Śuka said: / Except through His own creative power, O King, for the supreme Soul consisting of direct experience, / a relation with objective reality would not occur directly, just as for a dreamer.

1. Sri Suka said:—O King, except through His own _Maya_, the relation of perceptible things to _Atman_ who is consciousness by nature, is not really possible, as it is not possible of the dreaming soul.

2.9.2

bahurūpa ivābhāti māyayā bahurūpayā /
ramamāṇo guṇeṣvasyā mamāham iti manyate //

He appears as multiform, as it were, through multiform creative power; / reveling in its qualities, He conceives: 'This is mine; I am this.'

2. Atman seems to be of many forms in association with _Maya_ of many forms, as he sports fascinated with her gunas, with the bodies and other conditions instituted by _Maya_ and he (Atman thus conditioned) thinks, (_i. e._, entertains the notions) of "_I and Mine._"

2.9.3

yarhi vāva mahimni sve parasmin kālamāyayoḥ /
rameta gatasammohastyaktvodāste tadobhayam //

When indeed he takes delight in his own supreme majesty, beyond time and creative power, / free from delusion, having discarded both, he then sits indifferent.

3. On the other hand when He is in the realisation of His own essential glory which is far beyond the sphere of time and Maya, (then) He is free from illusion (delusion) and remains in the unconcerned state, having eschewed both (the notions of I and mine).

2.9.4

ātmatattvaviśuddhyarthaṃ yadāha bhagavān ṛtam /
brahmaṇe darśayan rūpam avyalīkavratādṛtaḥ //

which the Lord, honored for His true vows,
revealing His form to Brahmā,
spoke as the truth for the clear realization of the truth of the self.

4. I shall describe to you that form of the Supreme Being, perfect in its intelligent essence, which He, pleased with Brahma for his guileless vows and worship, revealed to him for the purpose of imparting the knowledge of the truth of Atman.

2.9.5

sa ādidevo jagatāṃ paro guruḥ svadhiṣṇyam āsthāya sisṛkṣayaikṣata /
tāṃ nādhyagacchaddṛśam atra sammatāṃ prapañcanirmāṇavidhiryayā bhavet //

That primeval deity, the supreme teacher of the worlds, seated upon his own abode, looked out with the desire to create, / but he did not attain the vision recognized here by which the process of fashioning the cosmos might take place.

5. Brahma, the first of the gods and the highest preceptor of all the worlds took his seat in his abode of the lotus and, actuated by a desire to create, looked about (inquiringly as to how he should proceed); but he did not obtain the vision (inspiration) (of the plan) which was most suitable for the purpose, and by which the method and process of creating the world might be comprehended.

2.9.6

sa cintayan dvyakṣaram ekadāmbhasy upāśṛṇoddvirgaditaṃ vaco vibhuḥ /
sparśeṣu yat ṣoḍaśam ekaviṃśaṃ niṣkiñcanānāṃ nṛpa yaddhanaṃ viduḥ //

While contemplating thus in the waters, the lord once heard a two-syllable word spoken twice: / that which is the sixteenth and the twenty-first among the stop consonants, O king, which they know to be the wealth of the destitute.

6. While thus revolving thoughts regarding creation (while contemplating the methods of creation), Brahma the great master once heard (uttered) very near him a word of two syllables (_Tapa_) repeated twice over from under water; the two letters forming the word are the sixteenth and the twenty-first of the five classes of consonants—the word which is considered, O king, the wealth of those who possess no (have relinquished the) wealth of gold and silver.

2.9.7

niśamya tadvaktṛdidṛkṣayā diśo vilokya tatrānyadapaśyamānaḥ /
svadhiṣṇyam āsthāya vimṛśya taddhitaṃ tapasyupādiṣṭa ivādadhe manaḥ //

Hearing that, he looked in all directions wishing to see the speaker, but seeing nothing else there, / he took his seat on his abode, reflected on what was beneficial, and, as if instructed, fixed his mind upon tapas.

7. Hearing the word, Brahma looked about in all directions eager to know the speaker, and not seeing any one there, he again assumed his seat in his lotus abode, and taking that utterance as meant for his good he set his mind on _Tapas_, as if he were given precepts to that effect by some body.

2.9.8

divyaṃ sahasrābdam amoghadarśano jitānilātmā vijitobhayendriyaḥ /
atapyata smākhilalokatāpanaṃ tapastapīyāṃstapatāṃ samāhitaḥ //

For a thousand divine years, he of unfailing vision, with breath and mind controlled, both sets of senses subdued, / collected in mind, practiced severe tapas, scorching all the worlds, himself the foremost of ascetics.

8. Brahma whose view (understanding of the utterance) was not untrue, controlled his breaths and mind, restrained both organs (the sense organs and the physical organs) and in perfect serenity of mind for a period of a thousand years according to celestial measure, performed a Tapas which conferred on him (discovered to him) the light in which all the worlds were seen (the plan of the worlds was seen); for he is the foremost Tapasvin among those that perform Tapas.

2.9.9

tasmai svalokaṃ bhagavān sabhājitaḥ sandarśayām āsa paraṃ na yatparam /
vyapetasaṅkleśavimohasādhvasaṃ svadṛṣṭavadbhirpuruṣairabhiṣṭutam //

Pleased with him, the Lord showed him His own realm, the supreme beyond which there is none higher, / free from all affliction, delusion, and fear, praised by beings who have realized their own self.

9. The Glorious Lord being thus worshipped, showed him His abode, viz., Vaikuntha the highest place, than which there is nothing higher, where all afflictions, delusions and fears are ever absent, and which is highly sung by the gods and wise-men of extensive merit and possessed of self-realisation.

2.9.10

pravartate yatra rajastamastayoḥ sattvaṃ ca miśraṃ na ca kālavikramaḥ /
na yatra māyā kim utāpare harer anuvratā yatra surāsurārcitāḥ //

Where passion and darkness do not prevail, nor their mixture with purity, nor the power of Time, / where there is no creative power, what to speak of others? Where the followers of Hari are worshipped by gods and demons alike.

10. And in that Vaikuntha, Rajas and Tamas have no influence; nor has the Satva which is mixed with them; nor is the destructive power of time felt there; nor does Maya find a place in it. What need be said then of other things (love, hatred and the like which dominate the beings in Samsara)? And there the attendants of Hari are revered and worshipped by Suras and Asuras.

2.9.11

śyāmāvadātāḥ śatapatralocanāḥ piśaṅgavastrāḥ surucaḥ supeśasaḥ /
sarve caturbāhava unmiṣanmaṇi pravekaniṣkābharaṇāḥ suvarcasaḥ /
pravālavaidūryamṛṇālavarcasaḥ parisphuratkuṇḍalamaulimālinaḥ //

They are dark and lustrous, with lotus-petal eyes, clad in yellow garments, highly radiant and exquisitely handsome; / all have four arms, wearing ornaments of gleaming gold set with superior jewels, of brilliant luster, / shining like coral, lapis lazuli, and lotus stalks, adorned with sparkling earrings, crowns, and garlands.

11. These (attendants) are like brilliant emeralds in complexion, have eyes like the lotus of a hundred petals, and are clad in pitambaras; they are of exquisite beauty and of highly delicate, soft body; all have four arms, wear ornaments of gold set with the best of radiant gems; all are of glorious features; they are also of various complexions like the coral, cat's eyes or the lotus stalks, and wear brilliant earrings, crowns and garlands.

2.9.12

bhrājiṣṇubhiryaḥ parito virājate lasadvimānāvalibhirmahātmanām /
vidyotamānaḥ pramadottamādyubhiḥ savidyudabhrāvalibhiryathā nabhaḥ //

It shines all around with the radiant, gleaming rows of aerial chariots of exalted beings, / illuminated by the splendors of noble women, like the sky with clouds accompanied by lightning.

12. Vaikuntha is full of splendour with its rows of storeyed mansions of great beauty and effulgence, set apart for the great souls and with its lustrous gems of women, (just) as the sky is, with its clouds illumined by streaks of lightning.

2.9.13

śrīryatra rūpiṇyurugāyapādayoḥ karoti mānaṃ bahudhā vibhūtibhiḥ /
preṅkhaṃ śritā yā kusumākarānugair vigīyamānā priyakarma gāyatī //

Where the goddess of fortune personified pays homage to the feet of Urugāya in various ways through Her opulences, / seated upon a swing, praised by the attendants of Spring, singing the deeds of Her beloved.

13. And there Sri the goddess of wealth, having a personality (having the most beautiful form) does honour to (worship)

the feet of the most praised Hari in various forms (ways) with various forms of splendour;—sitting on the swinging cot she sings the deeds of her beloved Lord, herself being sung in praise by bees, the attendants of Vasanta.

2.9.14

dadarśa tatrākhilasātvatāṃ patiṃ śriyaḥ patiṃ yajñapatiṃ jagatpatim /
sunandanandaprabalārhaṇādibhiḥ svapārṣadāgraiḥ parisevitaṃ vibhum //

There he saw the Lord of all Sātvatas, the Lord of Śrī, the Lord of sacrifice, the Lord of the universe, / the almighty Lord attended upon by Sunanda, Nanda, Prabala, Arhaṇa, and other foremost attendants of His own.

14. And there Brahma saw the Lord of Lakshmi (Sri), the Lord of *Satvatas*, of sacrifices, and of the world—the Omnipresent Lord who is worshipped and waited upon by the foremost among His attendants, namely, by Sunanda, Nanda, Prabala, Arhana and others.

2.9.15

bhṛtyaprasādābhimukhaṃ dṛgāsavaṃ prasannahāsāruṇalocanānanam /
kirīṭinaṃ kuṇḍalinaṃ caturbhujaṃ pītāṃśukaṃ vakṣasi lakṣitaṃ śriyā //

He was inclined to bestow grace upon His servants, intoxicating to the eyes, His face graced with a gentle smile and reddish eyes, / wearing a crown and earrings, four-armed, dressed in yellow garments, marked on His chest by Śrī.

15. He saw the Lord who is ready (eager) to confer blessings on His servants, whose looks are like wine to (gladden the heart of) His devotees whose face shines with gracious smiles and brilliant red eyes, who wears a crown and earrings, who has four arms and is clad in *pitambaras* and who is distinguished by the presence of Sri on His chest.

2.9.16

adhyarhaṇīyāsanam āsthitaṃ paraṃ vṛtaṃ catuḥṣoḍaśapañcaśaktibhiḥ /
yuktaṃ bhagaiḥ svairitaratra cādhruvaiḥ sva eva dhāman ramamāṇam īśvaram //

Seated upon a supreme, worshipful throne, surrounded by the four, sixteen, and five powers, / endowed with His own potencies, which elsewhere are unstable, the Ruler rejoicing in His very own abode.

16. (He saw) the Supreme Lord seated on a most worthy throne surrounded by the four, the sixteen and the five *saktis* (powers) and possessed of the eight powers (called Animadi Siddhis) by virtue of His own nature, which are His eternal attributes, and not acquired anew;—the Lord who is (was) in the enjoyment of His own essential bliss.

2.9.17

taddarśanāhlādapariplutāntaro hṛṣyattanuḥ premabharāśrulocanaḥ /
nanāma pādāmbujam asya viśvasṛg yat pāramahaṃsyena pathādhigamyate //

His inner being flooded with joy at that sight, his body thrilling, his eyes filled with tears from the weight of love, / the creator of the universe bowed to His lotus feet, which are reached through the path of the supreme ascetic.

17. (Then) Brahma the creator of all the world, whose heart was immersed in joy at the sight of the Lord, on whose person the hair stood on end, and whose eyes were full of tears on account of great love to him, bowed to His lotus-like feet which can be attained by the path pursued by *Paramahamsas* (by means of wisdom.)

2.9.18

taṃ prīyamāṇaṃ samupasthitaṃ kaviṃ prajāvisarge nijaśāsanārhaṇam /
babhāṣa īṣatsmitaśociṣā girā priyaḥ priyaṃ prītamanāḥ kare spṛśan //

Seeing the beloved sage standing before Him with delight, worthy to receive His instruction in the emanation of creatures, / the beloved Lord, His mind filled with love, touching him with His hand, spoke in words brightened with a gentle smile:

18. Being pleased with him, the beloved Lord took him by the hand and spoke in words, made brilliant by his gentle smile to the beloved Brahma who rejoiced in the sight of the Lord, standing in His presence, and who was then fit to receive His commands in respect of creating living beings.

2.9.19

/0 śrībhagavān uvāca
tvayāhaṃ toṣitaḥ samyag vedagarbha sisṛkṣayā /
ciraṃ bhṛtena tapasā dustoṣaḥ kūṭayoginām //

The Lord said:
I am thoroughly pleased by you, O womb of the Vedas, through the tapas / maintained for a long time with the desire to create, which is hard to be pleased for false yogins.

19. The Glorious Lord said:—O Vedagarbha, by means of the *Tapas*, which you performed for a very long time for the

purpose of creating the world thou hast very much delighted me who is not easily pleased by the hypocritical yogins.

2.9.20

varaṃ varaya bhadraṃ te vareśaṃ mābhivāñchitam /
brahmañ chreyaḥpariśrāmaḥ puṃsāṃ maddarśanāvadhiḥ //

Choose a boon—may it be well with you—from Me, the lord of boons, whatever you desire; / O Brahman, the toil for the highest good of men finds its culmination in seeing Me.

20. O Brahman, do thou ask for the desired thing (boon) from Me the Lord who confers all blessings; may success betide thee; for the labour involved in working towards the highest good on the part of man ends only when I am seen.

2.9.21

manīṣitānubhāvo 'yaṃ mama lokāvalokanam /
yadupaśrutya rahasi cakartha paramaṃ tapaḥ //

This sight of My realm is the realization of your longing, / because having heard [the word] in secret, you performed supreme tapas.

21. It is by virtue of My wish that you have seen this world of Mine, since you have performed the best Tapas after having heard that utterance of Mine.

2.9.22

pratyādiṣṭaṃ mayā tatra tvayi karmavimohite /
tapo me hṛdayaṃ sākṣādātmāhaṃ tapaso 'nagha //

It was commanded by Me there when you were bewildered about your task; / tapas is My very heart, and I am the soul of tapas, O sinless one.

22. Then, as thou wast at a loss to proceed, that (word) was uttered by Myself; Tapas is my heart and directly I am the soul of Tapas (I am essentially Tapas itself).

2.9.23

sṛjāmi tapasaivedaṃ grasāmi tapasā punaḥ /
bibharmi tapasā viśvaṃ vīryaṃ me duścaraṃ tapaḥ //

By tapas alone I create this [universe], by tapas I swallow it again, / by tapas I sustain the universe; My power is tapas, difficult to perform.

23. And it is by dint of Tapas alone I create all this world and I again devour it only by the force of Tapas; I support the whole world by means of Tapas; and My strength consists in Tapas which is hard to practise.

2.9.24

/0 brahmovāca
bhagavan sarvabhūtānām adhyakṣo 'vasthito guhām /
veda hyapratiruddhena prajñānena cikīrṣitam //

Brahmā said:
O Lord, overseer of all beings, residing in the heart's cave, / You know what is wished to be done by unobstructed understanding.

24. Brahma said:—O Almighty Lord, Thou art the great master of all beings and Thou dwellest in the cave (in the heart of men) and Thou certainly knowest by Thy unlimited wisdom what any one wishes to do (what I wish to do.)

2.9.25

tathāpi nāthamānasya nātha nāthaya nāthitam /
parāvare yathā rūpejānīyāṃ te tvarūpiṇaḥ //

Nevertheless, O Lord, grant what is asked to me who begs: / so that I may know Your higher and lower forms, though You are formless.

25. Still, O Lord, bestow on me Thy suppliant what I seek for, so that I may know the subtle as well as the gross form which Thou, though formless, assumest.

2.9.26

yathātmamāyāyogena nānāśaktyupabṛṃhitam /
vilumpan visṛjan gṛhṇan bibhradātmānam ātmanā //

And how, through connection with Your creative power, enriched with diverse energies, / destroying, emitting, receiving, and sustaining the self by the Self,

26—27. Since Thou by the power of Thine own Maya and of Thine own accord assumest various forms of self (as Brahma, Rudra, etc.) for the purposes of creating, preserving and destroying the world which is constituted of and devolped with various powers, and since Thou displayest Thy sportful ways according to Thy resistless will, just as the spider weaves a web round itself, may Thou be pleased, O Madhava, to put into me the sense (understanding) necessary to comprehend them (Thy ways).

2.9.27

krīḍasyamoghasaṅkalpa ūrṇanābhiryathorṇute /
tathā tadviṣayāṃ dhehi manīṣāṃ mayi mādhava //

You play, You of unfailing resolve, just as a spider weaves [its web]— / establish in me that understanding concerning this, O Mādhava.

2.9.28

bhagavacchikṣitam ahaṃ karavāṇi hyatandritaḥ /
nehamānaḥ prajāsargaṃ badhyeyaṃ yadanugrahāt //

May I, unwearied, carry out what is instructed by the Lord; / and engaging in the creation of creatures, may I not be bound, by Your grace.

28. O Lord, let me do what Thou instructest me to do without giving myself to indolence, and through the grace of Thy instruction may I not be subject to the bondage of Karma when I proceed to create (various) living beings.

2.9.29

yāvat sakhā sakhyuriveśa te kṛtaḥ prajāvisarge vibhajāmi bho janam /
aviklavaste parikarmaṇi sthito mā me samunnaddhamado ñja māninaḥ //

O Lord, made like a friend to a friend, as I distribute people in the creation of living beings, / engaged in Your service without distress, may puffed-up pride never instantly seize me, making me conceited.

29. O Lord, let me not like a friend towards his friend become puffed up with pride, thinking myself to be the unborn and absolute maker, while in creating the beings I am so favoured by Thee and continue in Thy service with an unclouded heart.

2.9.30

/0 śrībhagavān uvāca
jñānaṃ paramaguhyaṃ me yadvijñānasamanvitam /
sarahasyaṃ tadaṅgaṃ ca gṛhāṇa gaditaṃ mayā //

The Lord said:
This supreme, secret knowledge of Mine, endowed with experiential wisdom, / along with its mystery and its practical means, as spoken by Me, receive.

30. The Almighty Lord said:—Do thou receive the knowledge imparted by Me, which is the highest secret, along with special knowledge, with all the secrets about them and with all that may be accessory to them

2.9.31

yāvān ahaṃ yathābhāvo yadrūpaguṇakarmakaḥ /
tathaiva tattvavijñānam astu te madanugrahāt //

How great I am, what My nature is, of what form, qualities, and activities I am, / just so may the realization of the truth be yours, by My grace.

31. Through My grace thou shalt have a true and comprehensive knowledge of Myself, what I am by extent, what I am by nature, from qualities and action, and (also have a knowledge of the principles with which the world is to be created).

2.9.32

aham evāsam evāgre nānyadyat sadasat param /
paścādahaṃ yadetac ca yo 'vaśiṣyeta so 'smyaham //

I alone existed in the beginning, nothing else that is gross, subtle, or beyond; / what exists afterward is I, this [universe] is I, and whatever remains, that am I.

32. In the beginning, truly I alone was in existence; nothing else; neither the subtle nor the gross things; nor their cause Prakriti; afterwards (i.e., after creation), what exists is Myself; it is Myself that exists; all this world is Myself; what remains after Pralaya is Myself.

2.9.33

ṛte 'rthaṃ yat pratīyeta na pratīyeta cātmani /
tadvidyādātmano māyāṃ yathābhāso yathā tamaḥ //

That which appears without reality, and does not appear in the self, / know that to be the creative power of the Self, like a reflection, like darkness.

33. Know that to be My Maya, by virtue of which there is an appearance of existence in the absence of any real thing, Atman being the object of such misapprehension, and even the really

existing thing does not appear to be, as it is the case in false appearances, and as Tamas (Rahu) is not perceived to be though he exists.

2.9.34

yathā mahānti bhūtāni bhūteṣūccāvaceṣvanu /
praviṣṭānyapraviṣṭāni tathā teṣu na teṣvaham //

Just as the great elements enter after into higher and lower beings / and yet have not entered, so am I in them and not in them.

34. Just as the great Bhutas (the principles of material cause) may be said to have entered and not to have entered into created things, great and small, after creation (in the created form), so also I am in them as well as not in them.

2.9.35

etāvadeva jijñāsyaṃ tattvajijñāsunātmanaḥ /
anvayavyatirekābhyāṃ yat syāt sarvatra sarvadā //

Only this much is to be inquired into by one desiring to know the truth of the Self: / that which exists everywhere and at all times through direct presence and absence.

35. By one who is intent upon knowing the truth of Atman, only this much is necessary to be enquired into and understood that Atman is the thing which exists at all places and in all times, as being connected with all effected things as their cause and as being different from them in the causal state, or as being a witness in the states of wakefulness, dreaming and sleep, and as unconnected with anything else in samadhi and other higher states [by positive and negative arguments or rather relations.]

2.9.36

etan mataṃ samātiṣṭha parameṇa samādhinā /
bhavān kalpavikalpeṣu na vimuhyati karhicit //

Hold fast to this conclusion with supreme absorption; / you will never be bewildered during the great and minor cosmic cycles.

36. With perfect concentration follow this doctrine and thou wilt never lose thy sense and become proud in all the creations of the kalpas.

2.9.37

/0 śrīśuka uvāca
sampradiśyaivam ajano janānāṃ parameṣṭhinam /
paśyatastasya tadrūpam ātmano nyaruṇaddhariḥ //

Śrī Śuka said:
Having thus instructed the supreme progenitor of beings, Hari, the unborn Lord, / withdrew that form of His own while he was still looking on.

37. Sri Suka said:—Having thus imparted knowledge to Brahma who is at the head of all created beings, the unborn Lord Sri Hari withdrew His visible form, while Brahma was gazing (Brahma standing with his eyes wide open).

2.9.38

antarhitendriyārthāya haraye vihitāñjaliḥ /
sarvabhūtamayo viśvaṃ sasarjedaṃ sa pūrvavat //

With folded hands toward Hari, whose object of the senses had vanished, / he, composed of all beings, created this universe just as before.

38. (Then) Brahma who is an embodiment of all creation joined his hands in reverence to Hari who had withdrawn His visible form and he (Brahma) created this world as it was before, (in the previous kalpa).

2.9.39

prajāpatirdharmapatirekadā niyamān yamān /
bhadraṃ prajānām anvicchann ātiṣṭhat svārthakāmyayā //

Once, the lord of creatures, the lord of dharma, seeking the welfare of living beings / and desiring his own highest aim, observed the restraints and observances.

39. Once Brahma the Lord of created beings and protector of righteousness practised yama and niyama intent upon the good of beings as well as the attainment of his own purpose (with the desire of achieving it as if it were his own purpose).

2.9.40

taṃ nāradaḥ priyatamo rikthādānām anuvrataḥ /
śuśrūṣamāṇaḥ śīlena praśrayeṇa damena ca //

Nārada, the dearest of his heirs, devoted to him, / serving him with good conduct, humility, and self-restraint,

40—41. Narada the most beloved of his sons (heirs to his property) was devoted to his father and did all service to him; and, being a great Bhakta (devotee) of the Lord, O King, the great sage pleased his father by his commendable habits and modesty and his control over the senses, being eager to know from him of the Maya (wonderful powers) of Vishnu, the Lord of Maya.

2.9.41

māyāṃ vividiṣan viṣṇormāyeśasya mahāmuniḥ /
mahābhāgavato rājan pitaraṃ paryatoṣayat //

wishing to know the creative power of Viṣṇu, the master of creative power, that great sage, / the exalted devotee, pleased his father, O king.

2.9.42

tuṣṭaṃ niśāmya pitaraṃ lokānāṃ prapitāmaham /
devarṣiḥ paripapraccha bhavān yan mānupṛcchati //

Seeing his father, the great-grandfather of the worlds, pleased, / the divine seer inquired about the very thing you are asking me.

42. On seeing that his father, the grandfather of all the worlds, was pleased with him, the wise sage enquired of him about the very thing you enquire of me.

2.9.43

tasmā idaṃ bhāgavataṃ purāṇaṃ daśalakṣaṇam /
proktaṃ bhagavatā prāha prītaḥ putrāya bhūtakṛt //

To him, his son, the creator of beings, well-pleased, spoke this Bhāgavata Purāṇa / possessed of ten characteristics, which had been declared by the Lord.

43. The creator of beings was very much pleased and taught his son this Purana called the Bhagavatam which was revealed by the Lord Himself and which has ten characteristics.

2.9.44

nāradaḥ prāha munaye sarasvatyāstaṭe nṛpa /
dhyāyate brahma paramaṃ vyāsāyāmitatejase //

Nārada, O king, spoke it to the sage Vyāsa of immeasurable splendor, / who was meditating on the supreme Brahman on the bank of the Sarasvatī.

45. O king, Narada imparted it to the sage Vyasa of boundless glory, while he was meditating on the supreme Brahman on the banks of the Sarasvati.

2.9.45

yadutāhaṃ tvayā pṛṣṭo vairājāt puruṣādidam /
yathāsīt tadupākhyāste praśnān anyāṃśca kṛtsnaśaḥ //

As you questioned me about how this [universe] came to be / from the cosmic person, so I shall narrate that to you, as well as all your other questions in full.

45. I shall in repeating the same Bhagavata be answering the question you (have) put me how all this world came to be produced from the Virat Purusha, as well as all other questions.