"Creation of the Kumâras and Others"

 

 

 

 

Skandham-3.1

Chapter-12.

Slokam- 1 to 57.

Creation of the Kumâras and Others

(1) Maitreya said: 'Thus far I described to you, o Vidura, the glories of the Supersoul under the name of kâla, now just try to understand from me how the reservoir of the Veda's came into existence.

(2) First came about the sense of death, then anger upon frustration, next all the false sense of ownership with the sense objects and then there was the illusory conception of darkness as well as the nescience in one's engagements. (3) Seeing such a troublesome creation he [Brahmâ] did not feel much pleasure; he then, purified by meditating the Supreme Lord, found the mind for another term of creation. (4) To that the great self-born sages Sanaka, Sananda, Sanâtana and Sanat-kumâra found their existence who are free from all fruitive action and who are of the celibate ['whose seed goes upwards']. (5) He commissioned them, his sons, from within: 'O my sons, do procreate', but they did not desire that, pledged as they were to the principles of liberation in devotion for the Personality of Godhead. (6) He, thus disrespected by the sons who refused to follow the order, developed an anger which he could not show and to his best tried to put to an end. (7) In spite of controlling it by meditation, from between the eyebrows of the original father his anger, instantly a child was born of a colour mixed of red [for passion] and blue [for ignorance]. (8) That child loudly cried out to the father of all the gods: 'O Powerful one, o ruler of destiny, assign me my names and places of commitment, o teacher of the universe.'

(9) Being requested as the all-powerful one born from the lotus, he accepted the plea and gently pacified it with the words: 'Do not cry, I shall do as you desire. (10) O boy, chief of the demigods, because you were so anxiously crying out aloud, the people will address you by the name of Rudra. (11) The heart, the senses, the life air, the sky, the air, fire and water, earth and the sun, the moon and also austerity for sure are all the places that are already selected for you. (12) All your names are: Manyu, Manu, Mahinasa, Mahan, S'iva, Ritadhvaja, Ugraretâ, Bhava, Kâla, Vâmadeva and Dhritavrata. (13) Dhî, Dhriti, Rasalâ, Umâ, Niyut, Sarpi, Ilâ, Ambikâ, Irâvatî, Svadhâ and Dîkshâ are, o Rudra, your eleven wives. (14) Accept these different names and places and the wives belonging to them; generate progeny with them on a large scale, since you are the master of the living beings.' (15) Thus being ordered by his own spiritual master, the most powerful one of the mix of blue and red brought forth the generations who like himself were of the same strength, features and furious nature. (16) Seeing from the activities of the sons that were generated by Rudra that the unlimited number of them all together devoured the entire universe, the father of the living beings became afraid: (17) 'O best of the demigods' he said, 'It is not necessary, all that happens from your kind. The flames of their fiery eyes are burning from all sides and as well affect me. (18) Be situated in penance, that is auspicious for you. By penance only will the living entities find happiness and will you create a world to your liking as it was before. (19) Only by penance can a person fully know the supreme light of respect for the Supreme Lord beyond the senses who resides in the heart of everyone.'

(20) Maitreya said: 'Thus on the request of the self-born one, he [Rudra] circumambulated the master of the Veda's, that way confirming Him with mantra's, and entered for the sake of penance into the forest. (21) From these considerations about the creation, ten sons were begotten who regarding the Lord were empowered with the potency to cause the extend of the world population. (22) Thus Marîci, Atri, Angirâ, Pulastya, Pulaha, Kratu, Bhrigu, Vasishthha, Daksha and the tenth son, Nârada, were born. (23) Deliberating on transcendence Nârada came into being, Daksha came from the thumb, from the life-air Vasishthha saw the light, while Bhrigu came from his touch and the sage Kratu from his hand. (24) Pulaha generated from the navel, Pulastya from his ears, the great sage Angirâ from the mouth, from the eyes the sage Atri came forth and the sage Marîci appeared from the mind. (25) From the right side of the breast, where Nârâyana resides, religion manifested while irreligious, from which the world fears the horrors of death, appeared from his back. (26) From the heart lust manifested, from the eyebrows anger, from between his lips greed, from the mouth originated the drive to speak while from his penis the flood came and from the anus, the reservoir of all vices, the lowest activities. (27) From his shadow Kardama Muni, the husband of Devahuti, manifested. Thus this master of the body and the mind of the universe who dances the cosmic manifestation developed.

(28) O Vidura, we have heard that the daughter Vak that was born from his body distracted the mind of Brahmâ and brought him desire and although he wasn't sexually inclined, he thus developed a sexual preference. (29) The sons, the sages headed by Marîci, who thus saw that the mind to him had lost its sense of duty, with due respect submitted themselves as follows: (30) 'Never before such a thing was done by you, nor would that be done by anyone else what you entertain towards your daughter, without controlling the sexual urge, o master. (31) Certainly such an attitude does not befit the most powerful one whose good behavior and character, o master of the universe, the world surely is following in its choice of prosperity. (32) Let us offer our obeisances to the Supreme Lord who situated in Himself from His own effulgence has the goodness to manifest the proper sense of duty for our protection.' (33) Thus seeing all the sons before him addressing him, the father of all fathers of mankind, at that moment ashamed quited the body accepting the blame about the fog that in all directions is [still] known as darkness. (34) When there was once the contemplation on how he would create himself all these worlds as they were composed in the past, from the four mouths of Brahmâ the vedic literature manifested. (35) Thus the four functions of action [the offer, the performer, the fire and the offering itself] and the supplements of the Veda with their logical conclusions along with the four principles of religion [truth, purity, austerity and compassion] came about and following that also the social orders and the divisions of vocation became manifest.'

(36) Vidura said: 'Please explain to me, o wealth of renunciation, how and with the help of what divinity the Veda's which came from the mouth were established by Him who is the controller of the universe that was created.'

(37) Maitreya said: 'The four Vedas named Rig, Yajur, Sâma and Atharva, came from the mouth beginning from the front, one after another establishing the scriptural discussions, the rituals, the recitation material and the prayers of transcendental activity. (38) Also beginning from the front were the science of medicine, military science, the art of music and the know-how of building, all from the Veda's respectively created from the mouths. (39) The histories, the purânas or the fifth Veda came for sure all of them forth from the mouths of him who can see all of time all around. (40) The various types of fire-sacrifice called sodasî, uktha, purîsh, agnishthoma, âptoryamâ, atirâtra, vâjapeya and gosava manifested from the eastern mouth[s]. (41) Education, charity, penance and truth are the four legs of religion as is also true for the number of the orders of life [students, married people, withdrawn people and the renuciates] and the vocations [the laborers, the traders, the rulers and the intellectuals]. (42) Then there was the initiation [the ceremony of the sacred thread] for the twice-born, the rule of loyalty for one year, the culture of sexual abstinence and the subsistence according the rules and duties of maintaining a livelihood by taking what is left over without asking further even though one is of a householders life. (43) Those who retired and cook modestly, those who gave up keeping stock, those who accept what they find on their way, and those who live in retreat on what falls in their lap, are the ones who live withdrawn, while the renounced order consists of those who from the beginning lived unattached within a family, those who gave up all material interest always being engaged in transcendental activities, those who are complete in their absorption in transcendental knowledge and those who gave up acting all together. (44) From his heart thus logic, the three goals of life [religion, economy and liberation and the regulation of sense-gratification], law and order and the moral codes, came into existence along with the hymns of earth, mind and heaven as surely also the pranava [aum-mantra]. (45) From the hair of his body ushnik [a meter of poetry] was generated, from the skin of the mighty one came the gâyatrî [the great purification mantra], trishthup [another metre] came from his flesh, from the veins came anushthu and from the bones of the father of the living beings was jagatî generated [two other meters]. (46) From the marrow of his bones was manifested pankti itself while brihatî, generated from the life breath [two types of verse]. (47) The individual soul of the father of beings manifested itself as the touch alphabets [ka to ma], his body expressed the vowels [a, a, i, i, u, u, r, r, l, e, ai, o, au], the sibilant alphabets [sa-types and ha] are called his senses, his strength was manifested as the intermediate alphabets [ya , ra, la and va] and the activities of his senses as the seven notes of music. [*] (48) The transcendental sound of His Soul, that is beyond the conception of manifestation or the unmanifest, is the source from which the Absolute [of Brahmâ] completely manifested that is invested with multifarious energies.

(49) Having accepted another body he thereafter paid attention to the matter of procreation. (50) O son of the Kuru's, knowing that in spite of the earthly potential of the great sages the population did not extend, he again in his heart started to consider this: (51) 'Alas, how surprising is it that although one is always very busy for me, the generation of life is uncertain; this drawback must be destined.' (52) While contemplating and observing his divinity thus, at that time after his image two others manifested of which one says that they are his body. (53) His form with them being divided then perfectly engaged in a sexual relation. (54) The one of them who was the male became the fully independent father of manhood [the Manu] called Svâyambhuva and the one who was the woman was known as S'atarûpâ; she was the queen to the great soul that he was. (55) From that time, from the sexual life according the rules of religion, for sure the increase of the generations took place. (56) In due course of time he begot from S'atarûpâ five children: Priyavrata and Uttânapâda and three daughters, o son of Bharata, Âkûti, Devahûti and Prasûti, o best of all. (57) The one named Âkûti he handed over to the sage Ruci, the sage Kardama he gave the middle one [Devahûti] and Daksha was handed over Prasûti. From this the whole world became populated.

*: The seven vedic notes are: sa, ri, ga, ma, pa, dha and ni,   [resp. c, d, e, f, g, a, bes]