Bhagavatapurana 6.4: atha caturtho'dhyāyaḥ

6.4.1

/0 śrīrājovāca
devāsuranṛṇāṃ sargo nāgānāṃ mṛgapakṣiṇām /
sāmāsikastvayā prokto yastu svāyambhuve 'ntare //

The king said:
The creation of gods, asuras, humans, serpents, beasts, and birds
in the reign of Svāyambhuva Manu was spoken of by you in brief.

1. The king said:—Thou hast briefly described the creation of the gods, Asuras and mortals, of Nagas, beasts and birds during Svayambhuva Manu's time.

6.4.2

tasyaiva vyāsamicchāmi jñātuṃ te bhagavan yathā /
anusargaṃ yayā śaktyā sasarja bhagavān paraḥ //

I wish to know its detailed account from you, venerable sir:
by what power the supreme Lord produced the secondary creation.

2. From thee, O worshipful One, I wish to learn (fully) details of the same creation, how and with what power the Supreme and glorious Lord created the sequel to the grand creation, of the method or order and the power with which the Almighty Lord brought about that as well as the subsequent details thereof.

6.4.3

/0 śrīsūta uvāca
iti sampraśnamākarṇya rājarṣerbādarāyaṇiḥ /
pratinandya mahāyogī jagāda munisattamāḥ //

Sūta said:
Having heard this thorough inquiry of the royal sage, Bādarāyaṇi,
the great yogin, praised it and spoke, O best of sages.

3. Suta said:— On hearing the king's interesting enquiry, Badarayana (Sukacharya), the great Yogin and Sage, expressed his pleasure and said:

6.4.4

/0 śrīśuka uvāca
yadā pracetasaḥ putrā daśa prācīnabarhiṣaḥ /
antaḥsamudrādunmagnā dadṛśurgāṃ drumairvṛtām //

Śrī Śuka said:
When the Pracetases, the ten sons of Prācīnabarhis,
emerged from the depths of the ocean, they saw the earth covered with trees.

4. Sri Suka said:—When the ten Prachetasas, sons of Pracheenabarhis rose from the bowels of the sea, they saw the earth covered with trees.

6.4.5

drumebhyaḥ krudhyamānāste tapodīpitamanyavaḥ /
mukhato vāyumagniṃ ca sasṛjustaddidhakṣayā //

Becoming enraged at the trees, their anger inflamed by ascetic practice,
they emitted wind and fire from their mouths in their desire to burn them up.

5. They got enraged at the sight of the trees; their wrath was intensified by virtue of their tapas; they through the mouth breathed out wind and fire to burn down those trees.

6.4.6

tābhyāṃ nirdahyamānāṃstān upalabhya kurūdvaha /
rājovāca mahān somo manyuṃ praśamayanniva //

Observing that they were being incinerated by the two, O best of Kurus,
the great King Soma spoke, as if pacifying their wrath:

6. The great king Soma saw the trees being burnt by them (wind and fire), O best of Kurus, and addressed them, attempting to appease their anger.

6.4.7

na drumebhyo mahābhāgā dīnebhyo drogdhumarhatha /
vivardhayiṣavo yūyaṃ prajānāṃ patayaḥ smṛtāḥ //

'O fortunate ones, you ought not to harm the miserable trees;
desiring their flourishing, you have been designated lords of living beings.

7. O highly fortunate sages, it is not fit that you bring destruction on poor trees; for, you are considered the Lords of subject

beings whom you are intended to (or you should naturally wish to) increase and improve.

6.4.8

aho prajāpatipatirbhagavān hariravyayaḥ /
vanaspatīn oṣadhīśca sasarjorjamiṣaṃ vibhuḥ //

Ah, the Lord Hari, the imperishable sovereign of the progenitors of beings,
the all-pervading master, created trees and plants as nourishment and sustenance.

8. The imperishable Hari of unlimited powers, the Lord of progenitors, has created trees and plants as edibles and food (to all beings).

6.4.9

annaṃ carāṇāmacarā hy apadaḥ pādacāriṇām /
ahastā hastayuktānāṃ dvipadāṃ ca catuṣpadaḥ //

The immobile are food for moving creatures, the footless for footed beings,
the handless for those endowed with hands, and the four-footed for the two-footed.

9. The immobile things form the food of the mobile creatures; the footless of those that have feet; the handless of those that are endowed with hands; the four-footed are the food of the bi-footed.

6.4.10

yūyaṃ ca pitrānvādiṣṭā devadevena cānaghāḥ /
prajāsargāya hi kathaṃ vṛkṣān nirdagdhumarhatha //

And you, sinless ones, were instructed by your father and the God of gods
for the creation of living beings. Why then do you burn down the trees?

10. Further you are commanded by your father as well as by the God of gods, O sinless ones, to add to population; how could you then proceed to burn the trees?

6.4.11

ātiṣṭhata satāṃ mārgaṃ kopaṃ yacchata dīpitam /
pitrā pitāmahenāpi juṣṭaṃ vaḥ prapitāmahaiḥ //

Take up the path of the virtuous; restrain your ignited anger,
a path favored by your father, grandfather, and great-grandfathers!

11. Be pleased to adopt the path of the righteous, to curb the rising anger; and to walk in the path trodden by your father, grandfather and great-grandfathers.

6.4.12

tokānāṃ pitarau bandhū dṛśaḥ pakṣma striyāḥ patiḥ /
patiḥ prajānāṃ bhikṣūṇāṃ gṛhy ajñānāṃ budhaḥ suhṛt //

Parents are the protectors of children; the eyelid is [the protector] of the eye; the husband of the wife;
the ruler of the subjects; the householder of mendicants; and the wise man is the friend of the ignorant.

12. Of the children, parents are the (true) friends; the eyelids are of the eyes; the husband is of the woman; the Lord (king) is of his subjects; the householder is the friend of ascetics and the wise man is the friend of the ignorant.

6.4.13

antardeheṣu bhūtānāmātmāste harirīśvaraḥ /
sarvaṃ taddhiṣṇyamīkṣadhvamevaṃ vastoṣito hy asau //

Within the bodies of living beings dwells Hari, the Lord and Self.
Behold all things as his abode, and thus he will indeed be pleased with you.

13. Within the body of every creature dwells Atman the Supreme Ruler Hari; do you see that everything is His abode; by this view you will certainly propitiate Him.

6.4.14

yaḥ samutpatitaṃ deha ākāśān manyumulbaṇam /
ātmajijñāsayā yacchet sa guṇān ativartate //

He who, through the desire to know the self, curbs the fierce anger
that arises in the body like a storm from the sky, transcends the gunas.

14. He, who (while) in this body controls the horrible anger that arises from akasa (nothing), by his earnest inquiry to know Atman-he overcomes the gunas (Prakriti).

6.4.15

alaṃ dagdhairdrumairdīnaiḥ khilānāṃ śivamastu vaḥ /
vārkṣī hy eṣā varā kanyā patnītve pratigṛhyatām //

Enough with burning the wretched trees! May there be welfare for the remainder of them.
Accept this excellent maiden born of the trees as your wife.'

15. Do you stop burning the helpless trees; leave the remaining safe through your mercy; here is Varkshi (their daughter), an excellent maid: do you accept her as your wife.

6.4.16

ity āmantrya varārohāṃ kanyāmāpsarasīṃ nṛpa /
somo rājā yayau dattvā te dharmeṇopayemire //

Having thus addressed them and given the slender-waisted maiden born of an apsaras, O King,
King Soma departed, and they married her according to dharma.

16. Having thus appeased them, O king, and offered them the beautiful daughter of Apsaras (Premlocha), king Soma retired (from the spot), and in the truly righteous manner they married her.

6.4.17

tebhyastasyāṃ samabhavaddakṣaḥ prācetasaḥ kila /
yasya prajāvisargeṇa lokā āpūritāstrayaḥ //

From them, through her, Dakṣa the son of the Pracetases was indeed born,
by whose emission of progeny the three worlds were filled.

17. Daksha, the well known Prachetasa, was born of her [Note. the son of all Prachetasas]; with the various races of creatures born of him the three worlds were completely filled.

6.4.18

yathā sasarja bhūtāni dakṣo duhitṛvatsalaḥ /
retasā manasā caiva tan mamāvahitaḥ śṛṇu //

How Dakṣa, affectionate toward his daughters, generated beings
by seed and by mind—listen attentively to that from me.

18. (Now) listen to me attentively as I tell thee how Daksha, affectionate to his daughters, both by his seed as well as his will, created the various races.

6.4.19

manasaivāsṛjat pūrvaṃ prajāpatirimāḥ prajāḥ /
devāsuramanuṣyādīn nabhaḥsthalajalaukasaḥ //

Formerly, the progenitor of beings created these creatures by mind alone:
gods, asuras, humans, and others dwelling in the sky, on land, and in water.

19. First only through his will he, the Prajapati, created these beings, viz., the Devas, Asuras, men and others inhabiting the sky, the earth and water.

6.4.20

tamabṛṃhitamālokya prajāsargaṃ prajāpatiḥ /
vindhyapādān upavrajya so 'caradduṣkaraṃ tapaḥ //

Seeing that creation of progeny unmultiplied, the Prajāpati
went to the foothills of the Vindhyas and performed severe ascetic penance.

20. Seeing that his creation of beings was not so full as it ought to be, the Prajapati went to the foot of the Vindhyas and performed very austere Tapas.

6.4.21

tatrāghamarṣaṇaṃ nāma tīrthaṃ pāpaharaṃ param /
upaspṛśyānusavanaṃ tapasātoṣayaddharim //

Bathing at each of the three daily ablutions in the supreme sacred ford named Aghamarṣaṇa, which wipes away sins,
he pleased Hari through ascetic penance.

21. There thrice a day he bathed in the pool of sacred waters (morning, midday and evening) called Aghamarshana, very powerful in removing sin; he tried to propitiate Hari by His Tapas.

6.4.22

astauṣīddhaṃsaguhyena bhagavantamadhokṣajam /
tubhyaṃ tadabhidhāsyāmi kasyātuṣyadyathā hariḥ //

He praised the Lord, Adhokṣaja, with the Haṃsaguhya prayer.
I shall recite to you that by which Hari was pleased.

22. By singing the hymn of Hamsaguhya he pleased the Almighty Hari who reveals Himself to those that subdue their senses (and passions): (now) I shall, for thy sake, read that hymn, for which Hari was pleased with Daksha.

6.4.23

/0 śrīprajāpatiruvāca
namaḥ parāyāvitathānubhūtaye guṇatrayābhāsanimittabandhave /
adṛṣṭadhāmne guṇatattvabuddhibhir nivṛttamānāya dadhe svayambhuve //

The venerable Prajāpati said:
Obeisance to the Supreme, whose realization is unerring, the relative of [all, who is] the cause for the appearance of the three modes of nature,
whose abode cannot be seen by minds fixed on material elements and modes, who is free from pride, the self-born!

23. Prajapati said:—I make my obeisance to the Highest (Purushothama) of true consciousness, the director of Jiva, mere reflection in the three gunas, the cause (maya), whose true nature is not realised by those that take the gunas for reality (Truth) and who is beyond (all) means of comprehension (and limit) and self-existent.

6.4.24

na yasya sakhyaṃ puruṣo 'vaiti sakhyuḥ sakhā vasan saṃvasataḥ pure 'smin /
guṇo yathā guṇino vyaktadṛṣṭes tasmai maheśāya namaskaromi //

The person living in this city [of the body] does not know the friendship of his friend dwelling alongside him,
just as a quality does not know the possessor of qualities whose sight is clear; to that Supreme Lord I bow.

24. To Him who is the friend dwelling in the same city, of whose friendly relation, the Jiva (body) His companion does not know, just as the object does not know the sense (to which it is related), to that great Ruler I make my obeisance.

6.4.25

deho 'savo 'kṣā manavo bhūtamātrām ātmānamanyaṃ ca viduḥ paraṃ yat /
sarvaṃ pumān veda guṇāṃśca tajjño na veda sarvajñamanantamīḍe //

The body, the vital breaths, the senses, the mental faculties, and the elements do not know
the self, another, or what is beyond; the person knows all, and knowing them, he knows the modes;
I praise the omniscient, endless Lord, whom [the person] does not know.

25. The body, the vital breaths (Pranas), the senses, the mental faculties, the five Bhutas, the five objects of the senses—do not know themselves or any other, and still what is higher (the gods). The jiva knows all this, those qualities, and though he knows them, he does not know the Omniscient Lord. I sing that Ananta (the Almighty Lord unlimited in every way).

6.4.26

yadoparāmo manaso nāmarūpa rūpasya dṛṣṭasmṛtisampramoṣāt /
ya īyate kevalayā svasaṃsthayā haṃsāya tasmai śucisadmane namaḥ //

When there is cessation of the mind that consists of name and form, through the loss of perception and memory,
He who is realized by pristine resting in oneself—obeisance to that Haṃsa, who resides in the pure abode!

26. Unto Him who is perceived by nothing but self-consciousness, when the mind capable of comprehending the world of names and forms ceases to be active (in that diection), i.e., becomes steady in meditation, the knowledge arising through the senses as

well as memory being obliviated—unto Him who is the purest existence abiding in the purified mind I bow.

ually ceases to be with reference to perception and memory, He who is perceived to be the absolute Ruler of the different states is the supreme Lord and to that absolutely pure Ātman who is also in the form of our breath and who makes the pure Vāyu His special shrine I make my obeisance.

6.4.27

manīṣiṇo 'ntarhṛdi sanniveśitaṃ svaśaktibhirnavabhiśca trivṛdbhiḥ /
vahniṃ yathā dāruṇi pāñcadaśyaṃ manīṣayā niṣkarṣanti gūḍham //

Wise men, by their wisdom, draw out Him who is deposited within the heart
with His nine threefold powers, hidden like fire in the fifteen kinds of kindling wood.

27 & 28. V. The Lord is of His own accord present in the heart of the wise, with all His thrice-nine Śaktis or powers. The wise do, by their power of wisdom, discover the Lord so hidden in their heart, just as they extract the sacrificial fire from the sacrificial wood. He is the absolutely perfect realisation of His conscious and blissful nature, having distanced all Māyā. He is declared by every name. He is called Śarva (because everything named by words is a body of the Lord) and He is in the form of everything since he pervades everything that has a form, may that Lord of essential powers transcending all description be gracious unto me!

27 & 28. D. Wise men like sacrificers who evolve the sacrificial fire out of wood determine the nature and existence of the Lord present in the heart of the Jīvas judged from His nine Śaktis known as Vimalā, Utkarshaṇī, etc., exhibited in three forms as will, intellect and action and know Him to be destitute of all limitations and beyond the influence of Māyā and to be ever in the realisation of His spiritual and blissful nature.

6.4.28

sa vai mamāśeṣaviśeṣamāyā niṣedhanirvāṇasukhānubhūtiḥ /
sa sarvanāmā sa ca viśvarūpaḥ prasīdatāmaniruktātmaśaktiḥ //

May He be pleased with me—He whose nature is the bliss of liberation resulting from the cessation of all differentiated creative power,
He who possesses all names, He who has all forms, whose own power is ineffable.

6.4.29

yadyan niruktaṃ vacasā nirūpitaṃ dhiyākṣabhirvā manasota yasya /
mā bhūt svarūpaṃ guṇarūpaṃ hi tat tat sa vai guṇāpāyavisargalakṣaṇaḥ //

Whatever of His is expressed in speech, determined by intellect, senses, or mind,
let that not be His true form, for that is a form made of the modes; He is indeed characterized by the disappearance and manifestation of the modes.

29. *Last foot.* D. The only true definition is that the Lord is one in whom there is no touch of the three guṇas. 30. That is the Perfect Being (Brahman) which exists before everything else as the cause of all, the first cause of all other causes, without a second unlike or like itself, on whom everything depends, from whom everything originates, with whom everybody works, to whom everything is related, towards whom everything tends, who is the absolute Agent and who is made everything and in any manner.

6.4.30

yasmin yato yena ca yasya yasmai yadyo yathā kurute kāryate ca /
parāvareṣāṃ paramaṃ prāk prasiddhaṃ tadbrahma taddheturananyadekam //

In whom, from whom, by whom, whose, to whom, what, who, how, [one] acts and is made to act—
that is Brahman, the highest, known before all higher and lower beings, the cause of that, one without another.

6.4.31

yacchaktayo vadatāṃ vādināṃ vai vivādasaṃvādabhuvo bhavanti /
kurvanti caiṣāṃ muhurātmamohaṃ tasmai namo 'nantaguṇāya bhūmne //

His powers become the grounds for dispute and agreement among debating disputants,
and repeatedly cause delusion about the self to them; obeisance to Him, of boundless qualities, the infinite!

31. I bow down unto that Perfect Being of endless attributes, whose powers become the ground of dispute, as to their being admissible or inadmissible, for various eloquent theorists (philosophers) and often cast them in delusion in respect of Atman.

6.4.32

astīti nāstīti ca vastuniṣṭhayor ekasthayorbhinnaviruddhadharmaṇoḥ /
avekṣitaṃ kiñcana yogasāṅkhyayoḥ samaṃ paraṃ hy anukūlaṃ bṛhat tat //

Concerning the single entity that is maintained as 'it is' and 'it is not,'
possessing distinct and contradictory attributes, what is perceived in Yoga and Sāṅkhya alike is the transcendent, favorable, great [Brahman].

32. That great thing, the ground of all dispute or discussion is Brahman (some one Thing) which is Supreme and equal (common subject), noticed in the two sastras, Yoga and Sankhya, with reference to two distinct and mutually exclusive attributes in relation to one and the same real thing as "It is" and "It is not".

6.4.33

yo 'nugrahārthaṃ bhajatāṃ pādamūlam anāmarūpo bhagavān anantaḥ /
nāmāni rūpāṇi ca janmakarmabhir bheje sa mahyaṃ paramaḥ prasīdatu //

Though devoid of name and form, the infinite Lord, out of grace toward those who worship the base of His feet,
assumed names and forms through His births and deeds; may that Supreme Lord be gracious to me!

33. May that Almighty and unlimited Supreme Being who has no name or form pertaining to Prakriti, (but) assumes names and forms by His births (revealing Himself to the world) and by His works for the purpose of bestowing His grace on those that worship His feet,—may that Lord be gracious unto me.!

6.4.34

yaḥ prākṛtairjñānapathairjanānāṃ yathāśayaṃ dehagato vibhāti /
yathānilaḥ pārthivamāśrito guṇaṃ sa īśvaro me kurutāṃ manoratham //

He who shines, seated in the bodies of people, through ordinary paths of knowledge according to their mental disposition,
just as wind partakes of the qualities of the earth it relies upon—may that Lord fulfill my desire!

D. _Note_. The dispute referred to in the previous verse is explained here. Some say there is Iswara different from Me; some say He is not different from Me. Both these views cannot be predicated of one and the same thing with regard to its essential nature, something which is not of the nature of the world, which is one and the same, that is to be recognised as the bestower of the fruits of Guna and Karma, as the most beloved of all rewarding each according to his desert and as one absolutely perfect. 34. May that Supreme Ruler grant my wish who abides in the body as Antaryamin and still appears in different forms to those that contemplate Him, following the order of the courses of devotion determined by their past tendencies, just as the wind bears different smell or form according to its association with the quality of _Prithivi_ (various flowers or dust)!

6.4.35

/0 śrīśuka uvāca
iti stutaḥ saṃstuvataḥ sa tasminnaghamarṣaṇe /
prādurāsīt kuruśreṣṭha bhagavān bhaktavatsalaḥ //

Śrī Śuka said:
Thus praised by him who was singing his hymns at that Aghamarṣaṇa ford, O best of the Kurus,
the Lord, affectionate to devotees, appeared.

35. Sri Suka said:— While he was thus praying to Him (with hymns) in that sacred pool of Aghamarshana, the glorious Lord, affectionate to His votaries (when thus prayed to), revealed Himself to Daksha, O foremost one among the Kurus.

6.4.36

kṛtapādaḥ suparṇāṃse pralambāṣṭamahābhujaḥ /
cakraśaṅkhāsicarmeṣu dhanuḥpāśagadādharaḥ //

Placing His feet on the shoulders of Suparṇa, with eight long, mighty arms,
holding a discus, conch, sword, shield, bow, arrows, noose, and mace;

36. Riding on the shoulders of Garuda, having eight long arms, holding a _Chakra_, a _Sankha_, a sword, a shield, arrows, a bow, cords and _Gada_;

6.4.37

pītavāsā ghanaśyāmaḥ prasannavadanekṣaṇaḥ /
vanamālānivītāṅgo lasacchrīvatsakaustubhaḥ //

Dressed in yellow garments, dark like a raincloud, with a gracious face and eyes,
His body draped with a forest garland, adorned with the glittering Śrīvatsa and Kaustubha;

37. Clad in pitambara, of azure complexion like clouds, with face and eyes beaming with grace, with His whole person encompassed by the _Vanamala_, adorned with the brilliant _Srivatsa_ and _Kausthubha_;

6.4.38

mahākirīṭakaṭakaḥ sphuranmakarakuṇḍalaḥ /
kāñcyaṅgulīyavalaya nūpurāṅgadabhūṣitaḥ //

Wearing a grand diadem and bracelets, with flashing shark-shaped earrings,
adorned with a girdle, rings, bangles, anklets, and armlets;

38. Adorned with a most valuable crown and bracelets, with radiant earings, zones, rings, braces, anklets and angadas;

6.4.39

trailokyamohanaṃ rūpaṃ bibhrat tribhuvaneśvaraḥ /
vṛto nāradanandādyaiḥ pārṣadaiḥ surayūthapaiḥ //

Bearing a form that enchants the three worlds, the Lord of the three realms
was surrounded by attendants such as Nārada and Nanda, and by the leaders of the hosts of gods.

39. With a beautiful person that captivates the three worlds, surrounded by Narada, Nanda and other attendants. and the great gods;

6.4.40

stūyamāno 'nugāyadbhiḥ siddhagandharvacāraṇaiḥ /
rūpaṃ tan mahadāścaryaṃ vicakṣyāgatasādhvasaḥ //

Being praised by the Siddhas, Gandharvas, and Cāraṇas who sang in accompaniment,
[the Prajāpati,] seeing that wondrous, magnificent form, was overcome with awe.

40. & 41. Sung by the singing Siddhas, Gandharvas and Charanas, the glorious Lord appeared unto Him. On seeing that most wonderful form Daksha fell into a consternation; at the same time with a joyous heart he fell prostrate on the ground and bowed to Him. Owing to overpowering joy that filled his heart and senses, like rivers with full mountain-rills pouring into them, he could not utter anything.

6.4.41

nanāma daṇḍavadbhūmau prahṛṣṭātmā prajāpatiḥ /
na kiñcanodīrayitumaśakat tīvrayā mudā /
āpūritamanodvārairhradinya iva nirjharaiḥ //

Delighted in heart, the Prajāpati bowed down like a staff upon the ground;
he was unable to utter anything because of intense joy,
as pools are filled to the brim by cascading torrents [flooding] the portals of the mind.

6.4.42

taṃ tathāvanataṃ bhaktaṃ prajākāmaṃ prajāpatim /
cittajñaḥ sarvabhūtānāmidamāha janārdanaḥ //

To that devotee, the Prajāpati who desired offspring, bowed down in that manner,
Janārdana, who knows the heart of all beings, spoke this:

42. To Daksha the Prajapati who had fallen at His feet in devotion and was eager for securing progeny, Janardana who knows the mind of all beings said:—

6.4.43

/0 śrībhagavān uvāca
prācetasa mahābhāga saṃsiddhastapasā bhavān /
yac chraddhayā matparayā mayi bhāvaṃ paraṃ gataḥ //

The Lord said:
O Prācetasa, highly fortunate one, you have attained perfection through ascetic penance,
because with supreme faith directed toward Me you have reached highest devotional emotion toward Me.

43. The glorious Lord said:— O fortunate son of Prachetasas, thou hast accomplished thy _tapas_, with intense faith, since thou hast cherished a great devotion to Me.

6.4.44

prīto 'haṃ te prajānātha yat te 'syodbṛṃhaṇaṃ tapaḥ /
mamaiṣa kāmo bhūtānāṃ yadbhūyāsurvibhūtayaḥ //

I am pleased with you, O lord of progeny, because your ascetic penance is for the increase of this [creation];
this is My desire: that there should be opulences of living beings.

44. I am pleased with thee, O Prajapati, since thy _tapas_ is intended to make this world full; for it is My will that the extent of creatures may grow in all directions.

6.4.45

brahmā bhavo bhavantaśca manavo vibudheśvarāḥ /
vibhūtayo mama hy etā bhūtānāṃ bhūtihetavaḥ //

Brahmā, Bhava, yourselves, the Manus, and the rulers of the gods
are indeed My opulences, the causes for the prosperity of beings.

45. Brahma, Siva, all of you, Manus, and the great gods are all My own various forms and they are the cause of increase and prosperity of creatures.

6.4.46

tapo me hṛdayaṃ brahmaṃstanurvidyā kriyākṛtiḥ /
aṅgāni kratavo jātā dharma ātmāsavaḥ surāḥ //

Ascetic penance is My heart, O priest; sacred learning is My body; ritual action is My form;
the sacrifices are born as My limbs; dharma is My self; the gods are My vital breaths.

46. O great Progenitor, tapas is My heart, learning is My body, action is My form, the various sacrifices are the members of My body, righteousness is My mind and the Gods are My breaths.

6.4.47

ahamevāsamevāgre nānyat kiñcāntaraṃ bahiḥ /
saṃjñānamātramavyaktaṃ prasuptamiva viśvataḥ //

I alone existed in the beginning, and nothing else, inside or outside,
only pure consciousness, unmanifest, as if asleep everywhere.

47. I alone existed in the beginning (without any activity); there was nothing else within (as the knower) and there was nothing else outside (as the known); it was mere consciousness, unmanifest, as if there were a sleep everywhere.

6.4.48

mayy anantaguṇe 'nante guṇato guṇavigrahaḥ /
yadāsīt tata evādyaḥ svayambhūḥ samabhūdajaḥ //

When in Me, possessing endless qualities and boundless, the embodiment of the modes appeared through the modes,
then from that arose the first, the unborn Svayambhū.

48. When there arose Brahmanda, the embodiment of the gunas through the agency of Guna (Maya) supported on My unlimited self of unlimited qualities, the first person Swayambhu born of no other came into existence.

6.4.49

sa vai yadā mahādevo mama vīryopabṛṃhitaḥ /
mene khilamivātmānamudyataḥ svargakarmaṇi //

When that Mahādeva [Brahmā], strengthened by My power,
undertook the work of creation, he considered himself as if incapacitated.

D. _Reading_. On Me, _i. e._, from the lotus that rose from the navel of Myself who am of innumerable excellent attributes of infinite nature and of infinite forms, the first Person etc., 49. When, though imbued with My energy, that great God Brahma, proceeded to do the work of creation, he felt himself incapable of it.

6.4.50

atha me 'bhihito devastapo 'tapyata dāruṇam /
nava viśvasṛjo yuṣmān yenādāvasṛjadvibhuḥ //

Then, instructed by Me, that deity performed dreadful ascetic penance,
by which that mighty one created at first the nine creators of the universe, you all.

50. Then that God, instructed by Me, performed austere tapas, by virtue of which the lordly Brahma first created you all, the nine progenitors of the world.

6.4.51

eṣā pañcajanasyāṅga duhitā vai prajāpateḥ /
asiknī nāma patnītve prajeśa pratigṛhyatām //

Here, dear one, is the daughter of Prajāpati Pañcajana,
named Asiknī; O ruler of progeny, accept her as your wife!

51. O Son, here is Asikni the daughter of Panchajana; accept her as thy wife, O lord of creatures.

6.4.52

mithunavyavāyadharmastvaṃ prajāsargamimaṃ punaḥ /
mithunavyavāyadharmiṇyāṃ bhūriśo bhāvayiṣyasi //

Having the duty of sexual union as a couple, you shall bring forth this creation of offspring
in abundant measure once again through her, who also has the duty of sexual union as a couple.

52. Thou art now to observe the righteous duty of finding pleasure in married life; and by her who has also the same duty to observe, thou wilt again proceed to add to the creation of beings in great numbers.

6.4.53

tvatto 'dhastāt prajāḥ sarvā mithunībhūya māyayā /
madīyayā bhaviṣyanti hariṣyanti ca me balim //

After you, all creatures, uniting in pairs through My creative power,
shall come to be and shall offer tribute to Me.

53. Imitating thee all beings will (in future) under My Maya lead a married life and offer their worship to Me.

6.4.54

/0 śrīśuka uvāca
ity uktvā miṣatastasya bhagavān viśvabhāvanaḥ /
svapnopalabdhārtha iva tatraivāntardadhe hariḥ //

Śrī Śuka said:
Having spoken thus, while he was looking on, the Lord, the originator of the universe,
Hari, vanished right there like an object perceived in a dream.

54. Sri Suka said:— Having spoken to him thus the glorious Hari, the cause of the Universe, vanished from his view at that very spot like an object seen in a dream.