Bhagavatapurana 3.20: atha viṃśo'dhyāyaḥ

3.20.1

/0 śaunaka uvāca
mahīṃ pratiṣṭhām adhyasya saute svāyambhuvo manuḥ /
kāny anvatiṣṭhad dvārāṇi mārgāyāvara-janmanām //

Śaunaka said:
Having placed the earth in its position, O son of Sūta, / what ways of life did Svāyambhuva Manu establish as a path for the later generations?

Saunaka said :—O son of Suta, after obtaining the earth for his seat, what ways (openings) did Swayambhuva Manu find for bringing forth the beings of later birth (of beings that lay withdrawn into Iswara.)

3.20.2

kṣattā mahā-bhāgavataḥ kṛṣṇasyaikāntikaḥ suhṛt /
yas tatyājāgrajaṃ kṛṣṇe sāpatyam aghavān iti //

The steward [Vidura] was an exalted devotee, a wholehearted friend of Kṛṣṇa, / who abandoned his elder brother along with his sons, knowing him to be sinful toward Kṛṣṇa.

2. Vidura who was the great Bhakta of Sri Krishna and His absolutely sincere (unswerving) friend, and who abandoned his elder brother along with his sons for the reason that he was unrighteous (in his conduct towards Krishna *i.e.* in having disregarded Sri Krishna's counsel.)

3.20.3

dvaipāyanād anavaro mahitve tasya dehajaḥ /
sarvātmanā śritaḥ kṛṣṇaṃ tat-parāṃś cāpy anuvrataḥ //

Born of the body of Dvaipāyana, he was not inferior to him in greatness; / he took refuge in Kṛṣṇa with all his heart and was devoted to those devoted to Him.

3. Vidura who was born of Dwaipayana and was not inferior to Him in glory (greatness), was devoted to Sri Krishna with all his heart, and (also) attached to those persons that were devoted to the Lord !

3.20.4

kim anvapṛcchan maitreyaṃ virajās tīrtha-sevayā /
upagamya kuśāvarta āsīnaṃ tattva-vittamam //

Having approached Maitreya, the foremost knower of truth, seated at Kuśāvarta, / what did he, purified by visiting sacred waters, ask?

4. What did Vidura cleansed of all sin by his ablutions in sacred waters ask Maitreya the foremost among those that know the truth, on meeting him (Maitreya) at Kusavarta (seated at Gangadwar) ?

3.20.5

tayoḥ saṃvadatoḥ sūta pravṛttā hy amalāḥ kathāḥ /
āpo gāṅgā ivāgha-ghnīr hareḥ pādāmbujāśrayāḥ //

As those two conversed, O Sūta, spotless discourses indeed took place, / which destroy sin like the waters of the Gaṅgā, taking refuge in Hari’s lotus feet.

5. When they conversed together (in the course of their conversation), O Suta, indeed there must have been told stories which are sacred like the waters of the Ganga as turning upon

(as relating to) the lotus-like feet of Sri Hari and capable of removing all (our) sin.

3.20.6

tā naḥ kīrtaya bhadraṃ te kīrtanyodāra-karmaṇaḥ /
rasajñaḥ ko nu tṛpyeta hari-līlāmṛtaṃ piban //

Recite those to us, may you be blessed, concerning Him whose noble deeds are worthy of praise; / who that knows aesthetic flavor could ever be sated drinking the nectar of Hari’s divine play?

6. May God bless thee! be thou pleased to tell us those stories of the glorious Lord whose deeds are great and fit to be sung! Who, able to appreciate what is excellent, will not find delight (satisfaction) in drinking the nectar of Sri Hari's Leelas?

3.20.7

evam ugraśravāḥ pṛṣṭa ṛṣibhir naimiṣāyanaiḥ /
bhagavaty arpitādhyātmas tān āha śrūyatām iti //

Thus questioned by the sages residing in Naimiṣa, Ugraśravas, / his inner self surrendered to the Lord, spoke to them, saying, “Listen!”

7. Thus requested by the sages and dwelling at Naimisha, Ugrasrava the son of Suta set his mind on the glorious Lord (i. e., contemplated Hari) and said to them, "You may listen to them, I shall relate."

3.20.8

/0 sūta uvāca
harer dhṛta-kroḍa-tanoḥ sva-māyayā niśamya gor uddharaṇaṃ rasātalāt /
līlāṃ hiraṇyākṣam avajñayā hataṃ sañjāta-harṣo munim āha bhārataḥ //

Sūta said:
Hearing of the retrieval of the earth from the nether world by Hari, who had assumed the form of a boar by His creative power, / and of the divine play in which Hiraṇyākṣa was effortlessly slain, the descendant of Bharata, filled with joy, spoke to the sage.

8. (Suta said):—Vidura rejoiced to hear of the lifting up of the earth from the bottom of the sea by Hari who through His own Maya assumed the form of Varaha and of His Leela in slaying Hiranyaksha without any effort, and spoke to the sage Maitreya (as follows):—

3.20.9

/0 vidura uvāca
prajāpati-patiḥ sṛṣṭvā prajā-sarge prajāpatīn /
kim ārabhata me brahman prabrūhy avyakta-mārga-vit //

Vidura said:
Having created the lords of progeny for the creation of progeny, / what did the lord of the lords of progeny begin, O brahmin? Tell me, you who know the unmanifest path.

9. Vidura said:—O Brahmin sage, as thou knowest the course of the manifest Lord, be pleased to explain to me what Brahma the lord of Prajapatis began to do after creating the Prajapatis for the purpose of creating beings in the world.

3.20.10

ye marīcy-ādayo viprā yas tu svāyambhuvo manuḥ /
te vai brahmaṇa ādeśāt katham etad abhāvayan //

Those brahmins headed by Marīci, and Svāyambhuva Manu— / how indeed did they bring this into being by Brahmā’s command?

10. How did Marichi and other Prajapatis endowed with divine wisdom, as well as Swayambuva Manu create this world under the command of Brahma?

3.20.11

sa-dvitīyāḥ kim asṛjan svatantrā uta karmasu /
āho svit saṃhatāḥ sarva idaṃ sma samakalpayan //

Did they create with their wives, or acting independently in their duties, / or did they all unite together to fashion this [creation]?

11. Please tell me whether they created it having wives (by living a married life,) or independently (by themselves) or whether they all jointly produced this (world of creatures.)

3.20.12

/0 maitreya uvāca
daivena durvitarkyeṇa pareṇānimiṣeṇa ca /
jāta-kṣobhād bhagavato mahān āsīd guṇa-trayāt //

Maitreya said:
From the agitation of the three qualities of the Lord, caused by the inconceivable, / supreme, and unblinking destiny, the principle of cosmic intellect arose.

12. Maitreya said:—By virtue of the Jiva's Adrishta which cannot be fully comprehended and explained, through the agency

of the Supreme Being presiding over Prakriti and by the force of Time, the Mahat Tattva was produced out of Prakriti consisting of the three gunas and thrown into agitation by an impetus from the glorious Lord.

3.20.13

rajaḥ-pradhānān mahatas tri-liṅgo daiva-coditāt /
jātaḥ sasarja bhūtādir viyad-ādīni pañcaśaḥ //

From the cosmic intellect dominated by passion, impelled by destiny, / the three-featured source of the elements was born, which created the ether and the rest in sets of five.

13. Out of the Mahat in which Rajas predominates and which is directed by the force of Daiva (the Jeevas' Adrishta), Bhutadi or the Ahankaratatva was produced having the three gunas (three characteristics) and that Bhutadi in its turn produced the sky and other things in groups of five (the five Bhuthas, the five objects of sense, the five senses, organs and the five organs of physical activity).

3.20.14

tāni caikaikaśaḥ sraṣṭum asamarthāni bhautikam /
saṃhatya daiva-yogena haimam aṇḍam avāsṛjan //

Being unable to create the material universe individually, / they united by the agency of destiny and produced the golden cosmic egg.

14. These things were separately powerless to produce the Brahmanda of the five Bhutas, and (when) joined together by the Lord's power, they brought into existence this golden Egg.

3.20.15

so 'śayiṣṭābdhi-salile āṇḍakośo nirātmakaḥ /
sāgraṃ vai varṣa-sāhasram anvavātsīt tam īśvaraḥ //

That lifeless cosmic shell lay in the waters of the ocean, / and the Lord dwelt within it for more than a thousand years.

15. That Egg lay on the waters of the sea destitute of Atman aud the Supreme ruler dwelt in it for over a thousand years.

3.20.16

tasya nābher abhūt padmaṃ sahasrārkoru-dīdhiti /
sarva-jīvanikāyauko yatra svayam abhūt svarāṭ //

From His navel arose a lotus with the vast radiance of a thousand suns, / the dwelling of all groups of living beings, wherein the self-born creator appeared by himself.

16. From the navel of this Iswara arose a lotus of dazzling splendour like a thousand suns, and on that lotus, the abode of all living beings, was Brahma shining by himself.

3.20.17

so 'nuviṣṭo bhagavatā yaḥ śete salilāśaye /
loka-saṃsthāṃ yathā pūrvaṃ nirmame saṃsthayā svayā //

He, entered by the Lord who reclined upon the reservoir of water, / fashioned the structure of the worlds as before, through his own structural arrangement.

17. Presided over (guided from within) by the Supreme Being who dwells on the garbhbodaka, Brahma brought out the well-arranged world as it had been before, (the several details of the creation having their own arrangement as regards name, form etc.)

3.20.18

sasarja cchāyayāvidyāṃ pañca-parvāṇam agrataḥ /
tāmisram andha-tāmisraṃ tamo moho mahā-tamaḥ //

From his shadow he first created five-branched ignorance: / darkness, deep darkness, gloom, delusion, and great delusion.

18. He first created Avidya of five degrees by means of (out of) shadow, (darkness the opposite of Light), namely, Tamisra Andha-Tamisra, Tamas, Moha, and Maha-Tamas.

3.20.19

visasarjātmanaḥ kāyaṃ nābhinandaṃs tamomayam /
jagṛhur yakṣa-rakṣāṃsi rātriṃ kṣut-tṛṭ-samudbhavām //

Taking no pleasure in that body full of darkness, he cast it off; / the Yakṣas and Rākṣasas seized that night, which was the origin of hunger and thirst.

19. He cast off that body of his, for he was not pleased with it, as it was full of Tamas. The body so cast off was in the form of Night, the source of hunger and thirst, and the Yakshas and Rakshasas took possession of it.

3.20.20

kṣut-tṛḍbhyām upasṛṣṭās te taṃ jagdhum abhidudruvuḥ /
mā rakṣatainaṃ jakṣadhvam ity ūcuḥ kṣut-tṛḍ-arditāḥ //

Overcome by hunger and thirst, they ran toward him to devour him, / crying out in torment from hunger and thirst: “Do not protect him! Devour him!”

20. Overcome with hunger and thirst they ran to eat it! and being distressed with hunger and thirst they said (to one another): “Do not spare him (out of mercy and love as our father), eat him up.”

3.20.21

devas tān āha saṃvigno mā māṃ jakṣata rakṣata /
aho me yakṣa-rakṣāṃsi prajā yūyaṃ babhūvitha //

The god, agitated, said to them: “Do not devour me! Protect me! / Ah, you have become my progeny, Yakṣas and Rākṣasas!”

21. Then the god Brahma in perplexity said to them, “Do not eat me, spare me, O Yakshas and Rakshasas, you are my children (you were born of me).”

3.20.22

devatāḥ prabhayā yā yā dīvyan pramukhato 'sṛjat /
te ahārṣur devayanto visṛṣṭāṃ tāṃ prabhām ahaḥ //

The shining gods he created foremost from his radiance; / worshipping the gods, they took that cast-off radiance, the day.

22. Endowed with glorious brilliancy Brahma chiefly created the gods and sporting in the light (thus) shed by him—the light which became day—the gods appropriated it (the day time) to themselves.

3.20.23

devo 'devāñ jaghanataḥ sṛjati smātilolupān /
ta enaṃ lolupatayā maithunāyābhipedire //

From his buttocks the god created the demons, excessively lustful; / out of desire, they approached him for sexual union.

23. Out of his lower limbs (जघन), Brahma the god created the Asuras (the opponents of the gods) who were full of passion for women. Being (thus) full of passion, they came up to him for its satisfaction.

3.20.24

tato hasan sa bhagavān asurair nirapatrapaiḥ /
anvīyamānas tarasā kruddho bhītaḥ parāpatat //

Then the Lord, laughing at first, pursued vehemently / by the shameless asuras, fled away in fear and anger.

24. Then the worshipful Brahma laughed, and when quickly pursued by the shameless Asuras, he became (at once) angry and fearful, and ran away in great haste.

3.20.25

sa upavrajya varadaṃ prapannārti-haraṃ harim /
anugrahāya bhaktānām anurūpātma-darśanam //

He approached Hari, the giver of boons, who removes the distress of the surrendered, / who reveals his own form in accordance with the desire of his devotees to bestow grace upon them:

25. Brahma approached Hari who removes the distress of those that resort to Him and bestows blessings upon them and who shows Himself to His Bhaktas in the desired form in order to do them good.

3.20.26

pāhi māṃ paramātmaṃs te preṣaṇenāsṛjaṃ prajāḥ /
tā imā yabhituṃ pāpā upākrāmanti māṃ prabho //

“Protect me, O Supreme Self! By your command I created offspring; / now these sinful ones are coming upon me to violate me, O Lord!

26. And he prayed to Him thus:—O Paramatman, protect me. By Thy commands I created these beings, and, O Lord, these wicked creatures are coming to seize me and gratify their passion upon me.

3.20.27

tvam ekaḥ kila lokānāṃ kliṣṭānāṃ kleśa-nāśanaḥ /
tvam ekaḥ kleśadas teṣām anāsanna-padāṃ tava //

You alone, indeed, are the destroyer of the distress of suffering worlds; / you alone bring distress to those who do not approach your feet.”

27. Thou art indeed the only One capable of removing all the afflictions of the distressed, and Thou art the only One able to send affliction to those that do not resort to Thy feet (for shelter.)

3.20.28

so 'vadhāryāsya kārpaṇyaṃ viviktādhyātma-darśanaḥ /
vimuñcātma-tanuṃ ghorām ity ukto vimumoca ha //

Perceiving his distress, [the Lord], whose sight discerns the inner self, / said, “Cast off your terrible body.” And he indeed cast it off.

28. Maitreya said:—The supreme Lord Hari who distinctly sees the mind of other beings perceived the pitiable condition of Brahma and said to him, "Cast off this horrible body"; thus commanded, he cast it off. [And the body thus cast off became the evening time (when the day and the night meet) characterised by the kindling of passion (the desire for women.)]

3.20.29

tāṃ kvaṇac-caraṇāmbhojāṃ mada-vihvala-locanām /
kāñcī-kalāpa-vilasad- dukūla-cchanna-rodhasam //

With jingling lotus-feet, eyes bewildered by intoxication, / and hips veiled in fine silk resplendent with a girdle of bells,

29 to 31. They (the Asuras) found this evening to be a damsel and were infatuated with a passion for her whose lotus-like feet resounded with ornaments, whose eyes were wild with intoxication, whose middle was hidden in bright silks adorned with ornamental belts, whose bosom was completely occupied by high breasts which met each other, who had a shapely nose, and beautiful (rows of) teeth, whose smiles were fascinating and whose sportful looks were charming, who out of shyness withdrew herself from view, and whose head was beautiful with dark locks of curly hair.

3.20.30

anyonya-śleṣayottuṅga- nirantara-payodharām /
sunāsāṃ sudvijāṃ snigdha- hāsa-līlāvalokanām //

with high, contiguous breasts closely embracing each other, / a shapely nose, beautiful teeth, and a playful glance with an affectionate smile,

3.20.31

gūhantīṃ vrīḍayātmānaṃ nīlālaka-varūthinīm /
upalabhyāsurā dharma sarve sammumuhuḥ striyam //

hiding herself out of modesty, with a multitude of dark curls, / when all the asuras beheld this woman, O Vidura, they were completely infatuated.

3.20.32

aho rūpam aho dhairyam aho asyā navaṃ vayaḥ /
madhye kāmayamānānām akāmeva visarpati //

“Ah, what beauty! Ah, what poise! Ah, her fresh youth! / In the midst of those who desire her, she walks as if devoid of desire!”

32. They all wondered thus, "What beauty is this, what boldness! what charming prime of youth it is! she is moving about like one untouched by passion in the midst of us who are stricken with passion."

3.20.33

vitarkayanto bahudhā tāṃ sandhyāṃ pramadākṛtim /
abhisambhāvya viśrambhāt paryapṛcchan kumedhasaḥ //

Conjecturing in many ways about that twilight in the form of a woman, / the foolish ones approached her with confidence and asked:

33. Thus indulging various thoughts regarding Sandhya in the form of a damsel, the Asuras of wicked mind courtesied to her, and, urged by their passion, enquired of her without any hesitation (thus):—

3.20.34

kāsi kasyāsi rambhoru ko vārthas te 'tra bhāmini /
rūpa-draviṇa-paṇyena durbhagān no vibādhase //

“Who are you? Whose are you, O slender-waisted lady? What is your purpose here, O passionate one? / You torment us, the unfortunate, with the commodity of your beauty's wealth!

34. O beautiful one, who art thou (by birth), who is thy father, (whose daughter art thou) ? O brilliant lady, what purpose dost thou seek here ? Thou afflictest our unfortunate selves with the inestimable wealth of thy beauty.

3.20.35

yā vā kācit tvam abale diṣṭyā sandarśanaṃ tava /
utsunoṣīkṣamāṇānāṃ kanduka-krīḍayā manaḥ //

Whoever you may be, O slender woman, by good fortune we behold you; / you stir the minds of onlookers as you play with your ball.

35. Whosoever thou mayst be, we have the fortune of seeing thee ; but thou tossest like balls the heart and mind of those that see thee.

3.20.35.p1

naikatra te jayati śālini pāda-padmaṃ $ ghnantyā muhuḥ kara-talena patat-pataṅgam &

Your lotus-foot, O lovely lady, does not stay in one place / as you strike again and again with your palm the falling ball;

36. O brilliant one, thy lotus-like feet shine at no one place (are nowhere firm and steady), they are most attractive on account of thy sportful gait, while thou frequently beatest down with thy hand the falling ball ; and thy middle is fearful from thy heavy and full breasts and thy clear vision appears serene and thy braided hair is captivating.

3.20.36

madhyaṃ viṣīdati bṛhat-stana-bhāra-bhītaṃ % śānteva dṛṣṭir amalā suśikhā-samūhaḥ //

your waist falters, weighed down by the burden of heavy breasts; / your clear gaze seems exhausted, as does your mass of fine locks.”

3.20.37

iti sāyantanīṃ sandhyām asurāḥ pramadāyatīm /
pralobhayantīṃ jagṛhur matvā mūḍha-dhiyaḥ striyam //

Thinking the evening twilight acting as a young woman / and alluring them to be a woman, the asuras, deluded in mind, seized her.

37. Thus the Asuras of clouded understanding took for a woman Sandhyā (evening) who showed herself so and took their heart captive so that they seized her.

3.20.38

prahasya bhāva-gambhīraṃ jighrantyātmānam ātmanā /
kāntyā sasarja bhagavān gandharvāpsarasāṃ gaṇān //

Laughing with deep intent, smelling himself with himself, / the Lord created the hosts of Gandharvas and Apsarases with his charm.

38. With a laugh of deep significance, the glorious lord (the worshipful one) created the races of Gandharvas and of Apsaras women by means of his radiant beauty which seemed to admire itself.

3.20.39

visasarja tanuṃ tāṃ vai jyotsnāṃ kāntimatīṃ priyām /
ta eva cādaduḥ prītyā viśvāvasu-purogamāḥ //

He cast off that body, indeed, which was the lovely, beloved moonlight; / and led by Viśvāvasu, they joyfully took it.

39. Then he cast off that brilliant and lovely body of moonlight, of which the same Gandharvas and Apsaras headed by Viśvavasu and others gladly took possession.

3.20.40

sṛṣṭvā bhūta-piśācāṃś ca bhagavān ātma-tandriṇā /
dig-vāsaso mukta-keśān vīkṣya cāmīlayad dṛśau //

And having created the Bhūtas and Piśācas from his indolence, / the Lord closed his eyes on seeing them naked with disheveled hair.

40. Out of his laziness he created the Bhūtas and Piśāchas and seeing them stand naked with their hair dishevelled, he shut his eyes.

3.20.41

jagṛhus tad-visṛṣṭāṃ tāṃ jṛmbhaṇākhyāṃ tanuṃ prabhoḥ /
nidrām indriya-vikledo yayā bhūteṣu dṛśyate /
yenocchiṣṭān dharṣayanti tam unmādaṃ pracakṣate //

They seized that body cast off by the Lord, known as yawning, / which is sleep, through which discharge of the senses is seen in creatures, / and by which they defile the impure; it is called madness.

41. They took possession of this body created by him, which is said to be his yawning ; (and) the wise call that (state) sleep in which, among living-beings, the seed (the vital energy) is

observed to be wasted, and they call it madness under which a person unhesitatingly meddles with offal.

3.20.42

ūrjasvantaṃ manyamāna ātmānaṃ bhagavān ajaḥ /
sādhyān gaṇān pitṛ-gaṇān parokṣeṇāsṛjat prabhuḥ //

Considering himself vigorous, the unborn Lord, the master, / invisibly created the hosts of Sādhyas and the hosts of Pitṛs.

42. The worshipful Brahma realising himself as one endowed with great power and strength and possessed of the necessary ability created the races of the Saddhyas and the Pitris when he remained in an invisible form.

3.20.43

ta ātma-sargaṃ taṃ kāyaṃ pitaraḥ pratipedire /
sādhyebhyaś ca pitṛbhyaś ca kavayo yad vitanvate //

The ancestors took that body, which was their own origin; / through it the wise offer oblations to the Sādhyas and the Pitṛs.

43. The Pitris resorted to that body from which they were created and by means of which wise men offer to the Saddhyas and the Pitris (the portions due to them of Havya and Kavya, *i.e.*, of offerings in sacrifices and other religious ceremonies.)

3.20.44

siddhān vidyādharāṃś caiva tirodhānena so 'sṛjat /
tebhyo 'dadāt tam ātmānam antardhānākhyam adbhutam //

Then, through disappearance, he created the Siddhas and Vidyādharas, / and gave them that wonderful form called invisibility.

44. By his power to remain unperceived he created the Siddhas and Vidyadharas and he gave them that wonderful body which is known as the invisible (Antardhana).

3.20.45

sa kinnarān kimpuruṣān pratyātmyenāsṛjat prabhuḥ /
mānayann ātmanātmānam ātmābhāsaṃ vilokayan //

The master created the Kinnaras and Kimpuruṣas from his own reflection, / honoring himself by himself as he looked upon his own image.

45. The powerful Brahma created the Kinnaras and Kimpurushas as his reflection (out of his shadow) and looking at his own image he (admired) his own person.

3.20.46

te tu taj jagṛhū rūpaṃ tyaktaṃ yat parameṣṭhinā /
mithunī-bhūya gāyantas tam evoṣasi karmabhiḥ //

They took that form discarded by the supreme Lord, / and uniting in pairs, they sing of him and his deeds at dawn.

46. And they also took possession of that form (body) which had been cast off by Brahma and of which they, each with a companion, sing praises at dawn, referring to his great deeds.

3.20.47

dehena vai bhogavatā śayāno bahu-cintayā /
sarge 'nupacite krodhād utsasarja ha tad vapuḥ //

Lying down with a body that still had enjoyment, filled with much worry / because creation was not expanding, he cast off that form in anger.

47. Lying with his extensive body (body of vast dimensions), and with many a thought, and seeing that the creation was not sufficiently prolific, he cast off the body characterised by extent and anger (and such other qualities).

3.20.48

ye 'hīyantāmutaḥ keśā ahayas te 'ṅga jajñire /
sarpāḥ prasarpataḥ krūrā nāgā bhogoru-kandharāḥ //

The hairs that fell from it, my dear, became the ahis, / the crawling, cruel serpents, and the nāgas with broad, hooded necks.

48. O beloved one, the blades of hair which dropped from his body were born as serpents; and from his body while moving (from one place to another) the fierce Nagas were born with hoods and long necks.

3.20.49

sa ātmānaṃ manyamānaḥ kṛta-kṛtyam ivātmabhūḥ /
tadā manūn sasarjānte manasā loka-bhāvanān //

Considering himself to have accomplished his work, the self-born one / then at last created from his mind the Manus, who foster the world.

49. When Brahma thought he had accomplished his purpose (completed his work) he created the Manus, the supporters of the world, out of his mind.

3.20.50

tebhyaḥ so 'sṛjat svīyaṃ puraṃ puruṣam ātmavān /
tān dṛṣṭvā ye purā sṛṣṭāḥ praśaśaṃsuḥ prajāpatim //

To them the self-possessed one gave his own form, the human body; / seeing them, those created before praised the lord of progeny:

50. To these Manus Brahma possessed of self-realisation gave his own body in the human form; and on seeing them (Manus), those who had been first created highly praised Brahma, the Lord of beings.

3.20.51

aho etaj jagat-sraṣṭaḥ sukṛtaṃ bata te kṛtam /
pratiṣṭhitāḥ kriyā yasmin sākam annam adāma he //

“Ah, Creator of the world, well done indeed! / In whom religious rites are established, and together with whom we shall eat food!”

51. O creator of this world, we are glad (to see) what thou hast done is done well: and in this world, the sacrificial courses are well established and all of us eat our food (in the form of offerings) together.

3.20.52

tapasā vidyayā yukto yogena susamādhinā /
ṛṣīn ṛṣir hṛṣīkeśaḥ sasarjābhimatāḥ prajāḥ //

Endowed with austerity, knowledge, yoga, and deep absorption, / the seer, Hṛṣīkeśa, created the seers, his beloved offspring.

52. Possessed of Tapas and the power of meditation, of Yoga (in respect of posture etc.) with intense power of concentration (joined to renunciation and other virtues), and also possessed of perfect control over his senses, the sage Brahma created the Rishis, creatures most beloved of him.

3.20.53

tebhyaś caikaikaśaḥ svasya dehasyāṃśam adād ajaḥ /
yat tat samādhi-yogarddhi- tapo-vidyā-viraktimat //

To each of them the unborn gave a portion of his own body / that was endowed with meditative absorption, the powers of yoga, austerity, knowledge, and dispassion.

53. And to these severally Brahma gave a portion of his body which is characterised by meditation, Yoga, great power, Tapas, knowledge and renunciation.