Vishnupurana 1.15.80-89
Viṣṇupurāṇa 1.15.80-89
- Language
- Sanskrit
1.15.80
eṣa me saṃśayo brahman sumahān hṛdi vartate
yad dauhitraś ca somasya punaḥ śvaśuratāṃ gataḥ //
MAITREYA.--Daksha, as I have formerly heard, was born from the right thumb of Brahmá: tell me, great Muni, how he was regenerate as the son of the Prachetasas. Considerable perplexity also arises in my mind, how he, who, as the son of Márishá, was the grandson of Soma, could be also his father-in-law.
1.15.81
parāśara uvāca:
utpattiś ca nirodhaś ca nityo bhūteṣu sattama
ṛṣayo 'tra na muhyanti ye cānye divyacakṣuṣaḥ //
PARÁŚARA.--Birth and death are constant in all creatures: Rishis and sages, possessing divine vision, are not perplexed by this. Daksha and the other eminent Munis are present in every age, and in the interval of destruction cease to be: of this the wise man entertains no doubt. Amongst them of old there was neither senior nor junior; rigorous penance and acquired power were the sole causes of any difference of degree amongst these more than human beings.
1.15.82
yuge yuge bhavanty ete dakṣādyā munisattama
punaś caiva niruddhyante vidvāṃs tatra na muhyati //
PARÁŚARA.--Birth and death are constant in all creatures: Rishis and sages, possessing divine vision, are not perplexed by this. Daksha and the other eminent Munis are present in every age, and in the interval of destruction cease to be: of this the wise man entertains no doubt. Amongst them of old there was neither senior nor junior; rigorous penance and acquired power were the sole causes of any difference of degree amongst these more than human beings.
1.15.83
kāniṣṭhyaṃ jyaiṣṭhyam apy eṣāṃ pūrvaṃ nābhūd dvijottama
tapa eva garīyo 'bhūt prabhāvaś caiva kāraṇam //
PARÁŚARA.--Birth and death are constant in all creatures: Rishis and sages, possessing divine vision, are not perplexed by this. Daksha and the other eminent Munis are present in every age, and in the interval of destruction cease to be: of this the wise man entertains no doubt. Amongst them of old there was neither senior nor junior; rigorous penance and acquired power were the sole causes of any difference of degree amongst these more than human beings.
1.15.84
maitreya uvāca:
devānāṃ dānavānāṃ ca gandharvoragarakṣasām
utpattiṃ vistareṇeha mama brahman prakīrtaya //
MAITREYA.--Narrate to me, venerable Brahman, at length, the birth of the gods, Titans, Gandharbas, serpents, and goblins.
1.15.85
parāśara uvāca:
prajāḥ sṛjeti vyādiṣṭaḥ pūrvaṃ dakṣaḥ svayaṃbhuvā
yathā sasarja bhūtāni tathā śṛṇu mahāmate //
PARÁŚARA.--In what manner Daksha created living creatures, as commanded by Brahmá, you shall hear. In the first place he willed into existence the deities, the Rishis, the quiristers of heaven, the Titans, and the snake-gods. Finding that his will-born progeny did not multiply themselves, he determined, in order to secure their increase, to establish sexual intercourse as the means of multiplication. For this purpose he espoused Asikní, the daughter of the patriarch Vírańa, a damsel addicted to devout practices, the eminent supportress of the world. By her the great father of mankind begot five thousand mighty sons, through whom he expected the world should be peopled. Nárada, the divine Rishi, observing them desirous to multiply posterity, approached them, and addressed them in a friendly tone: "Illustrious Haryaswas, it is evident that your intention is to beget posterity; but first consider this: why should you, who, like fools, know not the middle, the height, and depth of the world, propagate offspring? When your intellect is no more obstructed by interval, height, or depth, then how, fools, shall ye not all behold the term of the universe?" Having heard the words of Nárada, the sons of Daksha dispersed themselves through the regions, and to the present day have not returned; as rivers that lose themselves in the ocean come back no more.
1.15.86
manasā tv eva bhūtāni pūrvaṃ dakṣo 'sṛjat tadā
devān ṛṣīn sagandharvān asurān pannagāṃs tathā //
PARÁŚARA.--In what manner Daksha created living creatures, as commanded by Brahmá, you shall hear. In the first place he willed into existence the deities, the Rishis, the quiristers of heaven, the Titans, and the snake-gods. Finding that his will-born progeny did not multiply themselves, he determined, in order to secure their increase, to establish sexual intercourse as the means of multiplication. For this purpose he espoused Asikní, the daughter of the patriarch Vírańa, a damsel addicted to devout practices, the eminent supportress of the world. By her the great father of mankind begot five thousand mighty sons, through whom he expected the world should be peopled. Nárada, the divine Rishi, observing them desirous to multiply posterity, approached them, and addressed them in a friendly tone: "Illustrious Haryaswas, it is evident that your intention is to beget posterity; but first consider this: why should you, who, like fools, know not the middle, the height, and depth of the world, propagate offspring? When your intellect is no more obstructed by interval, height, or depth, then how, fools, shall ye not all behold the term of the universe?" Having heard the words of Nárada, the sons of Daksha dispersed themselves through the regions, and to the present day have not returned; as rivers that lose themselves in the ocean come back no more.
1.15.87
yadāsya sṛjamānasya na vyavardhanta tāḥ prajāḥ
tataḥ saṃcintya bahuśaḥ sṛṣṭihetoḥ prajāpatiḥ //
PARÁŚARA.--In what manner Daksha created living creatures, as commanded by Brahmá, you shall hear. In the first place he willed into existence the deities, the Rishis, the quiristers of heaven, the Titans, and the snake-gods. Finding that his will-born progeny did not multiply themselves, he determined, in order to secure their increase, to establish sexual intercourse as the means of multiplication. For this purpose he espoused Asikní, the daughter of the patriarch Vírańa, a damsel addicted to devout practices, the eminent supportress of the world. By her the great father of mankind begot five thousand mighty sons, through whom he expected the world should be peopled. Nárada, the divine Rishi, observing them desirous to multiply posterity, approached them, and addressed them in a friendly tone: "Illustrious Haryaswas, it is evident that your intention is to beget posterity; but first consider this: why should you, who, like fools, know not the middle, the height, and depth of the world, propagate offspring? When your intellect is no more obstructed by interval, height, or depth, then how, fools, shall ye not all behold the term of the universe?" Having heard the words of Nárada, the sons of Daksha dispersed themselves through the regions, and to the present day have not returned; as rivers that lose themselves in the ocean come back no more.
1.15.88
maithunenaiva dharmeṇa sisṛkṣur vividhāḥ prajāḥ
asiknīm āvahat kanyāṃ vīraṇasya prajāpateḥ
sutāṃ sutapasā yuktāṃ mahatīṃ lokadhāriṇīm //
PARÁŚARA.--In what manner Daksha created living creatures, as commanded by Brahmá, you shall hear. In the first place he willed into existence the deities, the Rishis, the quiristers of heaven, the Titans, and the snake-gods. Finding that his will-born progeny did not multiply themselves, he determined, in order to secure their increase, to establish sexual intercourse as the means of multiplication. For this purpose he espoused Asikní, the daughter of the patriarch Vírańa, a damsel addicted to devout practices, the eminent supportress of the world. By her the great father of mankind begot five thousand mighty sons, through whom he expected the world should be peopled. Nárada, the divine Rishi, observing them desirous to multiply posterity, approached them, and addressed them in a friendly tone: "Illustrious Haryaswas, it is evident that your intention is to beget posterity; but first consider this: why should you, who, like fools, know not the middle, the height, and depth of the world, propagate offspring? When your intellect is no more obstructed by interval, height, or depth, then how, fools, shall ye not all behold the term of the universe?" Having heard the words of Nárada, the sons of Daksha dispersed themselves through the regions, and to the present day have not returned; as rivers that lose themselves in the ocean come back no more.
1.15.89
atha putrasahasrāṇi vairiṇyāṃ pañca vīryavān
asiknyāṃ janayām āsa sargahetoḥ prajāpatiḥ //
PARÁŚARA.--In what manner Daksha created living creatures, as commanded by Brahmá, you shall hear. In the first place he willed into existence the deities, the Rishis, the quiristers of heaven, the Titans, and the snake-gods. Finding that his will-born progeny did not multiply themselves, he determined, in order to secure their increase, to establish sexual intercourse as the means of multiplication. For this purpose he espoused Asikní, the daughter of the patriarch Vírańa, a damsel addicted to devout practices, the eminent supportress of the world. By her the great father of mankind begot five thousand mighty sons, through whom he expected the world should be peopled. Nárada, the divine Rishi, observing them desirous to multiply posterity, approached them, and addressed them in a friendly tone: "Illustrious Haryaswas, it is evident that your intention is to beget posterity; but first consider this: why should you, who, like fools, know not the middle, the height, and depth of the world, propagate offspring? When your intellect is no more obstructed by interval, height, or depth, then how, fools, shall ye not all behold the term of the universe?" Having heard the words of Nárada, the sons of Daksha dispersed themselves through the regions, and to the present day have not returned; as rivers that lose themselves in the ocean come back no more.
Translations (2)
- The Vishnu Purana: A System of Hindu Mythology and Tradition — Horace Hayman Wilson 1840, English
- A Prose English Translation of Vishnupuranam — Manmatha Nath Dutt 1896, English
Other recensions (1)
- Viṣṇupurāṇa (vulgate) — Sanskrit
Linked texts (6)
- Critical edition (BORI) — Sanskrit
- Brahmapurāṇa — Vyāsa, Sanskrit
- Kūrmapurāṇa — Vyāsa, Sanskrit
- Matsyapurāṇa — Vyāsa, Sanskrit
- Narasiṃhapurāṇa — Sanskrit
- Ṭoḍarānanda — Ṭoḍaramalla 1564, Sanskrit