"Chapter- 20 : The beings created from Brahmâ

 

 

 

 

 

Skandham-3.2,

The Status Quo:

Chapter- 20 : The beings created from Brahmâ

Slokam-1 to 53.

 

(1) Saunaka said: "Having restored the position of the earth, o Sûta, what did Svayambhuva Manu (see 2.7:2, 3.12:54, 3.13:2 ) do to show those to be born the path? (2) Vidura, the great unalloyed devotee and intimate friend of Lord Krishna, was abandoned by his elder brother [Dhritarâstra] who was thus, along with his hundred sons, a great offender of Krishna. (3) Born from the body of Vyâsa and in no way inferior to him in greatness, he with all his heart took shelter of Lord Krishna and followed those devoted to Him. (4) What did this hero of purity visiting the holy places ask Maitreya, the foremost knower of the spiritual life, whom he had met at Kusavarta [Hardwar] where he resided? (5) When the two had their conversation, o Sûta, did verily the spotless narrations arise that like the waters of the Ganges vanquish all sins once one has taken shelter of the Lord His lotusfeet. (6) Tell us about those talks of greatness worth reciting and may all good come to you! Drinking the nectar of the Lord His pastimes a devotee who relates with Him would verily find satisfaction."

 

(7) Sûta, thus being asked by the sages assembled in the Naimisâranya forest, with his mind dedicated to the Lord then said to them: "Just listen to this".

 

(8) Sûta said: "Vidura, having heard about the Lord assuming the body of a boar, who through His own potency uplifted the earth from the bottom of the ocean and sportively killed the negligent Hiranyâksa, was overjoyed and addressed the sage. (9) Vidura said: 'O holy sage, knower of that which is beyond our scope, please tell me what Brahmâ began after bringing forth the Prajapatis, the progenitors of mankind. (10) How did the learned ones headed by Marîci indeed live up to the brahminical order of Svayambhuva Manu and how did they develop this world? (11) Did they operate married, did they remain independent or did all of them work together as they brought this all about?'

 

(12) Maitreya said: ' Ordained by the divine and beyond doubt did Maha-Vishnu by the power of eternal time, through the three modes of nature, bring about the agitation of the equilibrium of the complete of matter of the Supreme Lord. (13) Impelled by the divine was born the threefold of the complete reality in which passion dominated. The identification with matter [false ego], then led to the fivefold [to the elements of water, fire, air, earth and ether]beginning with the ether. (14) Those elements, which on themselves could not produce the material universe, having combined with the union of the divine produced a globe that shone like gold. (15) It lay in the waters of the causal Ocean as an egg in an unconscious state for a rainy season of in fact quite a bit longer than a thousand years before the Lord [as Garbhodakasayi Visnu] entered it. (16) Of the Lord his navel sprouted up the lotus of a thousand and more suns with a dazzling splendor [the galaxy, see 2.2.24-25 ] which altogether was a resting place for the conditioned souls where he himself, the self-born one [Lord Brahmâ, the Creator] came about. (17) When the Lord, who was sleeping in the Causal Ocean, entered Brahma's heart, was the universe as before created by his own intelligence.

 

(18) First of all was with his shadow ignorance created in five varieties called tamisra [forgetfulness], andha tamisra [the illusion of death], tama [not knowing oneself], moha [the illusion of being matter ] and mahamoha [mad after matter, craving] [compare 3.12:2]. (19) Dissatisfied did Brahmâ throw of this body of ignorance which was then taken hold of by Yaksas [evil spirits] and Raksasas [wild men, demons] to be the darkness, the source of hunger and thirst. (20) Overcome by that hunger and thirst they hunted to eat him saying in their affliction: 'Do not spare him !' (21) God then anxiously told them : 'Do not eat me, but protect me, as you Raksasas and Yaksas are my sons!'

 

(22) The demigods who are shining with the glory of God-fear were brought about separately, chiefly to take hold of the activities in the effulgent form of the daytime. (23) God then from the gross gave birth to the godless who fond of sex approach the Creator in lust for copulation. (24) It first made the worshipful Lord laugh to be followed by the shameless ones of darkness, but then terrified he, irritated, hurried to get away. (25) He turned to the bestower of all boons whose feet are sought, the Lord who dispels distress, to take shelter for having Him showing mercy to His devotees by manifesting Himself in a suitable form: (26) 'Protect me O Supersoul, by Your order I created those sinful living beings who approach me for having sex, o Master. (27) Only You can verily relieve the people afflicted with misery of their hindrances; only You can stop those who do not take shelter of Your feet. '

 

(28) He who without fail can see into each soul, seeing the distress of Lord Brahmâ, then told him: 'Cast off your impure body' and thus commanded he cast it off. (29) That body was intoxicating with tinkling ankle bells, adorable feet and overwhelming eyes, a gold-ornamented girdle and had hips covered by fine shining cloth. (30) The breasts were, closely pressed together, highly raised, the nose was well formed, the teeth beautiful, the smile lovely and the glance sportive. (31) She hid herself out of shyness and, o Vidura, in fancying the tresses of her dark hair, were all the godless ones captivated by the woman: (32) 'O what a beauty, what a grace; o what a budding youth; that she walks with us, who so long for her; as if she's free from passion!' (33) Indulging in speculations of all kind on the evening twilight [of their passion] that had taken the form of a young woman, did the wicked-minded ones full of respect fondly question her: (34) Who are you? Whom do you belong to, o pretty one? Why have you come here, o passionate lady? You are tantalizing us, unfortunate ones, with the priceless commodity of your beauty! (35) Whosoever you may be, o beautiful girl, by the fortune of seeing you is the mind of us, the onlookers you agite, a ball to play with. (36) By your moving your lotusfeet about, o beautiful woman, you bounce that ball with the palm of your hand; the weight of your full grown breasts must be tiresome for that waist of yours; you look as if you're tired, loosen the binding of your hair!'

 

(37) This way was the twilight of the evening by the godless seen in an alluring wanton form and bewildered thinking it to be a woman, they seized her. (38) With a smile of deep significance, the worshipful lord then, by the sweetness of himself by himself, created the hosts of celestial musicians and dancing girls [Gandhava's and Apsara's]. (39) That beloved form of in fact the shining moonlight he gave up and the Gandharva's headed by Visvavasu gladly took possession of it. (40) When Lord Brahmâ, having created ghosts and evil spirits from laziness, saw them naked and with disorderly hair, he closed his two eyes. (41) The body known as yawning that the master of creation threw off and of which one sees the living beings drooling in their sleep in an unclean state, is the bewilderment of which one speaks as insanity. (42) Recognizing himselves full of energy did the worshipful Brahmâ, the master of all beings, from his invisible form create the hosts of Sâdhyas and Pitâs [the invisible demigods and departed souls] . (43) They, the Pitâs, accepted that body, the source of their existence. Through that body do those well versed in the rituals, their oblations [called sraddha] to these Sadhyâs and Pitâs. (44) The Siddhas [the ones of special powers] and also the Vidyâdharas [the knowledgeable spirits] were created by his faculty of remaining hidden from vision. To them he gave that wonderful form of himself known as Antardhana [of being present but remaining unseen]. (45) From admiring himself seeing his reflection in the water the master created by himself the Kinnâra's and Kimpurusas. (46) They took possession of the form of the shadow he left behind, for the reason of which they only at daybreak gathering with their spouses praise his exploits in song. (47) Once fully stretching his body lying down he with great concern saw that the creation lacked in progress and then out of anger he gave up that body also. (48) From the hairs that dropped out from that body were they, the limbless created, o Vidura, that took birth as snakes from whose crawling bodies the ferocious cobra's big hoods of their necks are seen.

 

(49) Considering with himself as if he had accomplished the object of his life, at last then from his mind came about the Manus for promoting the welfare of the world. (50) Them he gave the form of his own personal self-possessed body, upon the sight of which those earlier created, celebrated the Prajapati [father of mankind] in welcome: (51) 'O Creator of the Universe, how well you did produce and, oh, how soundly did you establish all the ritualistic customs with which we shall share in the sacrificial oblations! (52) By penance, worship, connected in yogic discipline and in the finest absorption, did the first seer, the controller of the senses, evolve the sages, his beloved sons. (53) To each of them did he, the unborn one, give a part of his own body carrying the deep meditation, yogic union, supernatural ability, penance, knowledge and renunciation.'