Bhagavatapurana 3.6: atha ṣaṣṭho'dhyāyaḥ

3.6.1

/0 ṛṣir uvāca
iti tāsāṃ sva-śaktīnāṃ satīnām asametya saḥ /
prasupta-loka-tantrāṇāṃ niśāmya gatim īśvaraḥ //

The sage said: / Perceiving the helpless condition of these, His own powers, / who were not yet combined and whose cosmic function was asleep, the Lord,

1 & 2. The Rishi said:—

On seeing that those Saktis (Tattvas) of His own were thus not united and that their power of creating the world lay dormant, the Supreme ruler of great and boundless activity, possessed of the divine Sakti (Prakriti) known as Kala, simultaneously entered into the group of the twenty-three Tattvas or Principles.

3.6.2

kāla-sañjñāṃ tadā devīṃ bibhrac-chaktim urukramaḥ /
trayoviṃśati tattvānāṃ gaṇaṃ yugapad āviśat //

bearing at that time His divine power named time, He of mighty strides / entered simultaneously into the assembly of the twenty-three cosmic principles.

3.6.3

so 'nupraviṣṭo bhagavāṃś ceṣṭārūpeṇa taṃ gaṇam /
bhinnaṃ saṃyojayām āsa suptaṃ karma prabodhayan //

Having entered that assembly in the form of activity, the Lord / united the separated elements, awakening their sleeping karma.

3. The Almighty Lord who thus entered into that group in the form of active power made them meet, rousing to activity the energy that lay dormant in them.

3.6.4

prabuddha-karma daivena trayoviṃśatiko gaṇaḥ /
prerito 'janayat svābhir mātrābhir adhipūruṣam //

Their karma awakened and impelled by destiny, the group of twenty-three [principles] / produced, through their own parts, the cosmic Person.

4. The group of the twenty-three whose activity was thus called forth by the Supreme Lord, under His guidance produced the body called Virat with their Amsas (parts).

3.6.5

pareṇa viśatā svasmin mātrayā viśva-sṛg-gaṇaḥ /
cukṣobhānyonyam āsādya yasmin lokāś carācarāḥ //

When the Supreme entered into it by His part, that assembly of world-creators / became agitated on meeting one another, within whom were the worlds of moving and unmoving beings.

5. By the entrance of the Supreme into it, the group of principles capable of creating the universe came into contact with one another and in part became agitated (fell into activity), and on this part the worlds consisting of mobile and immobile things depend (for their origin).

3.6.6

hiraṇmayaḥ sa puruṣaḥ sahasra-parivatsarān /
āṇḍa-kośa uvāsāpsu sarva-sattvopabṛṃhitaḥ //

That golden Person, endowed with the potency of all living beings, / dwelt within the cosmic egg in the causal waters for a thousand divine years.

6. The Virat Purusha of golden complexion along with all other beings dwelt a thousand long years under water in the

middle of the Aṇḍakośa (the interspace of the Universe which is in the form of an egg).

3.6.7

sa vai viśva-sṛjāṃ garbho deva-karmātma-śaktimān /
vibabhājātmanātmānam ekadhā daśadhā tridhā //

He, indeed the embryo of the world-creators, endowed with divine power, the power of action, and the power of the self, / divided Himself by Himself into one, ten, and three forms.

7. That Purusha who is indeed the child (product) of the principles of creation and who is possessed of the powers of divine knowledge, activity and spirit, displayed himself as one (the spiritual principle), as ten (in the form of Prāṇa), and as three in (the Adhyātma and other forms).

3.6.8

eṣa hy aśeṣa-sattvānām ātmāṃśaḥ paramātmanaḥ /
ādyo 'vatāro yatrāsau bhūta-grāmo vibhāvyate //

For He is the Self of all living beings, a portion of the Supreme Self, / the first incarnation in whom this assemblage of elements is conceived.

8. This Virāṭ Purusha is indeed the Ātman of all beings and is himself an Aṃśa of Paramātman and he is the first Avatāra in whom the whole world of created beings is seen to be.

3.6.9

sādhyātmaḥ sādhidaivaś ca sādhibhūta iti tridhā /
virāṭ prāṇo daśa-vidha ekadhā hṛdayena ca //

He is threefold as the individual soul, the presiding deity, and the material element; / the universal form has breath tenfold, and He is single by virtue of the heart.

9. The Virāṭ Purusha assumed three forms as connected with the Adhyātma, the Adhidaiva, and the Adhibhūta, and the form of Prāṇa in ten manifestations and one form in relation to the heart.

3.6.10

smaran viśva-sṛjām īśo vijñāpitam adhokṣajaḥ /
virājam atapat svena tejasaiṣāṃ vivṛttaye //

Remembering the supplication of the world-creators, the Lord, Adhokṣaja, / heated the universal form with His own splendor for their manifestation.

Verse 9. _Virāṭ. V._ Here means the Four-faced, not Aniruddha, the context being the creation of Vyashṭi Jīva,—along with the host of भोक्तृ जीव 's in the Samashṭi form in his body. साध्यात्म—with Jīva called अध्यात्म—as dwelling in the body (Ātman). साधिभूत—with Śabda and other objects contained in the Bhūtas, taken all together. 10. Remembering the petition of the Principles of creation (the gods presiding over them) Adhokshaja, the Supreme Ruler, subjected Virat to the force of His thoughts by means of His Tejas (spiritual light) so that they might discharge their several functions.

3.6.11

atha tasyābhitaptasya katidhāyatanāni ha /
nirabhidyanta devānāṃ tāni me gadataḥ śṛṇu //

Then, as He was heated, how many abodes indeed of the gods / were cleft open—hear these from me as I speak.

11. Now listen to me as I tell you how many abodes of the Devas (Indriyas) came to be evolved and differentiated out of Virat subjected to the force of His thought.

3.6.12

tasyāgnir āsyaṃ nirbhinnaṃ loka-pālo 'viśat padam /
vācā svāṃśena vaktavyaṃ yayāsau pratipadyate //

His mouth being cleft open, Agni, guardian of the world, entered that abode / with speech, his own portion, by which this Person utters what is to be spoken.

12. The mouth of the Virat Purusha was formed, which, being his proper place, the god Agni, one of the protectors of the world, entered along with speech his own power, by virtue of which the world attains the power of utterance.

3.6.13

nirbhinnaṃ tālu varuṇo loka-pālo 'viśad dhareḥ /
jihvayāṃśena ca rasaṃ yayāsau pratipadyate //

When the palate of Hari was cleft open, Varuṇa, guardian of the world, entered / with the tongue, his portion, by which He perceives taste.

13. (Next, the palate of the Virat Purusha was evolved, which Varuna, (another) protector of the world entered along with his power, namely the tongue, the sense of taste, by which the world experiences taste (attains the power of taste).

3.6.14

nirbhinne aśvinau nāse viṣṇor āviśatāṃ padam /
ghrāṇenāṃśena gandhasya pratipattir yato bhavet //

When the two nostrils of Viṣṇu were cleft open, the two Aśvins entered that abode / with the sense of smell, their portion, whence comes the perception of odor.

14. Then the nostrils of Vishnu were evolved, which being their own place the twin gods Aswins entered along with the sense of smell, their power, by which the world attains the sense of smell (perceives smell).

3.6.15

nirbhinne akṣiṇī tvaṣṭā loka-pālo 'viśad vibhoḥ /
cakṣuṣāṃśena rūpāṇāṃ pratipattir yato bhavet //

When the two eyes of the all-pervading Lord were cleft open, Tvaṣṭṛ, guardian of the world, entered / with sight, his portion, whence comes the perception of visible forms.

15. Next were involved the two eyes of the Lord Virat, which Aditya (the sun) the protector of the world entered along with his power, the sense of sight, by which the world acquires the knowledge of colours.

3.6.16

nirbhinnāny asya carmāṇi loka-pālo 'nilo 'viśat /
prāṇenāṃśena saṃsparśaṃ yenāsau pratipadyate //

When His skins were cleft open, Anila, guardian of the world, entered / with the vital breath, his portion, by which He experiences touch.

16. In the next place were evolved His skins which Vayu the protector of the world entered along with His power of Prana, by which the world possesses the sense of Touch.

3.6.17

karṇāv asya vinirbhinnau dhiṣṇyaṃ svaṃ viviśur diśaḥ /
śrotreṇāṃśena śabdasya siddhiṃ yena prapadyate //

When His two ears were cleft open, the directions entered their own abode / with the faculty of hearing, their portion, by which He achieves the perception of sound.

17. Then were formed His ears which, being their own place, the Dig-devatas entered along with their power, viz.,

the sense of hearing, by which the apprehension of sound is obtained.

3.6.18

tvacam asya vinirbhinnāṃ viviśur dhiṣṇyam oṣadhīḥ /
aṃśena romabhiḥ kaṇḍūṃ yair asau pratipadyate //

When His skin was cleft open, the plants entered that abode / with the bodily hairs, their portion, by which He experiences itching.

18. Then His Tvak (त्वक्) the place of herbs and plants, being evolved, these entered it along with their power in the form of hairs, by which the world is alive to the feeling of itching.

3.6.19

meḍhraṃ tasya vinirbhinnaṃ sva-dhiṣṇyaṃ ka upāviśat /
retasāṃśena yenāsāv ānandaṃ pratipadyate //

When His generative organ was cleft open, Ka entered his own abode / with semen, his portion, by which He experiences pleasure.

19. His organ of generation was (then) evolved, and Prajapati entered it as it is his abode, along with his power Retas (seed), by which (organ) this world finds pleasure.

3.6.20

gudaṃ puṃso vinirbhinnaṃ mitro lokeśa āviśat /
pāyunāṃśena yenāsau visargaṃ pratipadyate //

When the anus of the Person was cleft open, Mitra, guardian of the world, entered / with the organ of excretion, his portion, by which He discharges waste.

20. The anus of the Virat Purusha was (next) evolved, and Mitra, the protector of the world, entered it along with his function *Payu*, by which the world obtains the means (organ) of excretion.

3.6.21

hastāv asya vinirbhinnāv indraḥ svar-patir āviśat /
vārtayāṃśena puruṣo yayā vṛttiṃ prapadyate //

When His two hands were cleft open, Indra, lord of heaven, entered / with the capacity for work, his portion, by which the Person procures livelihood.

21. His hands were then evolved and Indra the Lord of Swarga entered it along with the function of buying and selling, by which the world makes its living.

3.6.22

pādāv asya vinirbhinnau lokeśo viṣṇur āviśat /
gatyā svāṃśena puruṣo yayā prāpyaṃ prapadyate //

When His two feet were cleft open, Viṣṇu, lord of the world, entered / with movement, his own portion, by which the Person reaches that which is to be attained.

22. His feet (limbs) were (then) evolved, and Vishnu, the Lord of the world, entered them along with his function of motion, by which man reaches what he wishes to reach.

3.6.23

buddhiṃ cāsya vinirbhinnāṃ vāg-īśo dhiṣṇyam āviśat /
bodhenāṃśena boddhavyam pratipattir yato bhavet //

And when His intellect was cleft open, Brahmā, lord of speech, entered that abode / with comprehension, his portion, whence comes the perception of what is to be known.

23. His Buddhi being evolved, the Lord of Vach (Brahma) entered it as his abode, along with his faculty of understanding, whence comes the power of apprehending what should be understood.

3.6.24

hṛdayaṃ cāsya nirbhinnaṃ candramā dhiṣṇyam āviśat /
manasāṃśena yenāsau vikriyāṃ pratipadyate //

And when His heart was cleft open, the moon-god entered that abode / with the mind, his portion, by which He experiences emotional transformation.

Verse 24. हृदयं—*V.* the heart which is like a lotus and is His own abode. D. that in which the faculty of mind is located. विक्रिया *V.* along with the states of mind known as understanding, a liking to objects, &c. 24. His heart was (next) evolved and Chandramas (the moon god) entered it along with his faculty of mind (thinking) by which the world experiences (is able to experience) the change (of thoughts).

3.6.25

ātmānaṃ cāsya nirbhinnam abhimāno 'viśat padam /
karmaṇāṃśena yenāsau kartavyaṃ pratipadyate //

And when His ego was cleft open, the principle of egotism entered that abode / with action, its portion, by which He undertakes what ought to be done.

25. (Then) His Atman (Ahamkara) became evolved, and Abhimana (Rudra) entered it as his place, along with his function of Karma (i.e., with the sense or principle of activity,) charged with the idea of ("I do, or it is done by me"), by which the world knows what should be done.

3.6.26

sattvaṃ cāsya vinirbhinnaṃ mahān dhiṣṇyam upāviśat /
cittenāṃśena yenāsau vijñānaṃ pratipadyate //

And when His pure consciousness was cleft open, the Mahat-tattva entered that abode / with the citta, its portion, by which He attains discernment.

26. Then was evolved His Satva (Buddhi or Chitta) and Mahat (Brahma) entered it along with the faculty of intellection, and by means of this organ the world attains the power of realisation.

3.6.27

śīrṣṇo 'sya dyaur dharā padbhyāṃ khaṃ nābher udapadyata /
guṇānāṃ vṛttayo yeṣu pratīyante surādayaḥ //

From His head arose the sky, from His feet the earth, and from His navel the atmosphere, / wherein the gods and others, the functions of the material qualities, are perceived.

27. Out of His head issued the celestial region, from His feet the earth; from His navel the sky; in which regions are to be seen the modifications of the gunas in the form of the gods and other beings.

3.6.28

ātyantikena sattvena divaṃ devāḥ prapedire /
dharāṃ rajaḥ-svabhāvena paṇayo ye ca tān anu //

By predominance of purity, the gods attained heaven; / by the nature of passion, human beings and those who follow them attained the earth;

28. By means of the firm Satva the gods attained the Celestial region; by virtue of Rajas men (called Panayah because they deal with the gods by means of Yagas) and those that belong to them (cows, etc.) obtained the earth as their abode.

3.6.29

tārtīyena svabhāvena bhagavan-nābhim āśritāḥ /
ubhayor antaraṃ vyoma ye rudra-pārṣadāṃ gaṇāḥ //

by the third nature [of darkness], the hosts of attendants of Rudra, / dwelling in the sky between the two, took shelter in the Lord’s navel.

29. By virtue of the third Guna (Tamas), the groups of Rudra's servants (attendants) have occupied the Almighty Lord's navel, viz., the sky which is midway between the aforesaid two regions (of the gods and of men).

3.6.30

mukhato 'vartata brahma puruṣasya kurūdvaha /
yas tūnmukhatvād varṇānāṃ mukhyo 'bhūd brāhmaṇo guruḥ //

From the mouth of the Puruṣa, O leader of the Kurus, arose the brāhmaṇa, / who, because of being born from the face, became the foremost of the social classes, the spiritual teacher.

30. O best of Kurus, out of the face (mouth) of the Virat Purusha issued Brahman (the Veda); as well as the Brahmin who (like letters), as issuing from the mouth, became

the foremost among all the Varnas (worthy of being esteemed and worshipped by all the Varnas).

3.6.31

bāhubhyo 'vartata kṣatraṃ kṣatriyas tad anuvrataḥ /
yo jātas trāyate varṇān pauruṣaḥ kaṇṭaka-kṣatāt //

From His two arms arose the kṣatriya class, devoted to that duty, / which, born from the Puruṣa, protects the classes from injury by thorns.

31. From His arms was born the Power of protection, as also the Kshatriya who is devoted to that duty; for the Kshatriya born as the Amsa of the Purusha protects the Varnas from the affliction caused by thieves and others (lit. who are the thorn in the side of the world).

3.6.32

viśo 'vartanta tasyorvor loka-vṛttikarīr vibhoḥ /
vaiśyas tad-udbhavo vārtāṃ nṛṇāṃ yaḥ samavartayat //

From the thighs of the all-pervading Lord arose the mercantile class, provider of livelihood for the worlds; / the vaiśya, born therefrom, maintains the means of living for humanity.

32. Agricultural occupations and trades which are the means of living for the world, were produced from the thighs of the Almighty Virat Purusha; and the Vaisya born of the same limb has followed the same pursuit among men.

3.6.33

padbhyāṃ bhagavato jajñe śuśrūṣā dharma-siddhaye /
tasyāṃ jātaḥ purā śūdro yad-vṛttyā tuṣyate hariḥ //

From the feet of the Lord service was born for the accomplishment of dharma; / born of that in ancient times was the śūdra, by whose service Hari is pleased.

33. From the feet of the glorious Lord, service was born (which is useful) for the acquisition of virtue or righteousness, and in the beginning the Sudra was born of it (service), by means of which Hari is propitiated.

3.6.34

ete varṇāḥ sva-dharmeṇa yajanti sva-guruṃ harim /
śraddhayātma-viśuddhy-arthaṃ yaj-jātāḥ saha vṛttibhiḥ //

These social classes, through their own dharma, worship their spiritual teacher, Hari, / with faith, for their own purification, from whom they were born along with their occupations.

34. These Varnas worship Hari their father by means of their several duties discharged with faith for the purpose of purifying themselves, since they are born of Him, along with their powers and duties.

3.6.35

etat kṣattar bhagavato daiva-karmātma-rūpiṇaḥ /
kaḥ śraddadhyād upākartuṃ yogamāyā-balodayam //

O Vidura, who could presume to describe fully / this manifestation of the power of yogamāyā / belonging to the Lord, whose form comprises destiny, action, and the self?

35. O Vidura, who could with confidence think of fully describing this vast world brought into existence by the strength of the Yogamaya of the Virat Purusha who, being the Almighty Lord, works in the form of Kala, Karma and Swabhava?

3.6.36

tathāpi kīrtayāmy aṅga yathā-mati yathā-śrutam /
kīrtiṃ hareḥ svāṃ sat-kartuṃ giram anyābhidhāsatīm //

Even so, my dear one, according to my intellect and as I have heard, / I glorify the renown of Hari in order to purify my own speech, which had described other, unreal things.

36. Still, O beloved Vidura, I shall describe the glory of Hari as I have learnt it, to the extent of my understanding, in order to purify my speech that has been rendered foul by talking about other names and things.

3.6.37

ekānta-lābhaṃ vacaso nu puṃsāṃ suśloka-mauler guṇa-vādam āhuḥ /
śruteś ca vidvadbhir upākṛtāyāṃ kathā-sudhāyām upasamprayogam //

The ultimate gain of speech for men, indeed, they declare to be the recitation of the qualities of the crest-jewel of the renowned, / and the ultimate gain of the ear is its employment in the nectar of His narrations offered by the wise.

37. The wise say that the supreme benefit to be derived by men from the power of speech consists in describing the excellent attributes of Hari who is at the head of all those who are praise-

worthy, and that the greatest pleasure is given to the ear when the wise offer the nectar of His stories.

3.6.38

ātmano 'vasito vatsa mahimā kavinādinā /
saṃvatsara-sahasrānte dhiyā yoga-vipakkayā //

His own greatness, my child, was ascertained by the first poet [Brahmā] / at the end of a thousand years, with an intellect fully matured through yoga.

38. O son, was the glory of Paramatman exhaustively realised even by Brahma, the First of all wise beings, (even) at the end of a thousand years of contemplation in his mind full ripe (as it was) with Yoga (concentration) ?

3.6.39

ato bhagavato māyā māyinām api mohinī /
yat svayaṃ cātma-vartmātmā na veda kim utāpare //

Therefore, the creative power of the Lord deludes even the masters of illusion; / when he who holds the course of the self does not know it himself, what to say of others?

39. Therefore the Maya of the Almighty Lord is such as deludes even the Mayins ; for He Himself does not know the end of His course ; what need then be said of others ?

3.6.40

yato 'prāpya nyavartanta vācaś ca manasā saha /
ahaṃ cānya ime devās tasmai bhagavate namaḥ //

Failing to reach whom, words together with the mind turned back, / as did I and these other gods—to that Lord, reverence!

40. To that glorious Lord, without reaching whom the powers of speech and the mind (Rudra presiding over Ahankara,) and these other gods presiding over the Indriyas have returned (without completely realising His glories),—to Him I make my salutation.