25 A golden egg appeared, resting on the waters. Brahmā hatched himself from it, and we’ve heard that that’s why he’s called self-born. 26 His holiness lived in it for a year as a golden embryo, and then he split the egg in two, into heaven and earth, 27 and between the two pieces he made space. The lord made the earth float on the waters, and he set up the ten directions,†28 and in them he put time, mind, speech, desire, anger, and also pleasure. That was the form in which he produced the creation.
Eager to emit a patriarch, 29 brilliant Brahmā emitted seven of them from his mind: Marīchi, Atri, Angiras, Pulastya, Pulaha, Kratu, and Vasishtha. 30 These are known in the old lore as the seven brahmins, and they understood that all seven of them had been born from Brahmā and shared Nārāyana’s very nature. 31 Brahmā also emitted Rudra, who was produced from the essence of fury, and the seer Sanatkumāra, who was produced even before the forebears. 32 These seven, with Rudra, Skanda, and Sanatkumāra, put their brilliance all together as one, Bhārata, and produced the creatures. 33 Their seven great lineages are divine, potent, and prolific, attended by celestial hosts and studded with great seers.
34 In the beginning he created lightning flashes, thunderclouds, curved and straight rainbows, and sea-monsters, and of course he created the rain. 35 For the success of the ritual he made the verses, chants, and formulae, and we hear that the seven brahmins used them to honour the Sādhya gods.
36 When the patriarch Āpava Vasishtha was creating the order of creatures, beings high and low were born from parts of his body. 37 He split his body in two, one half was male, one half female, and through her he created various children. He covered the sky and the earth with his majesty, and continued to do so.
38 Vishnu emitted Virāj, and Virāj emitted the cosmic person. You should know that the cosmic person is a Manu, and indeed that’s where the era of a Manu gets its name from. The era of a Manu is said to be Āpava’s other half! 39 The mighty cosmic person Vairāja, the son of Virāj, emitted an order of creatures—but he was the descendant of Nārāyana, and of course his children weren’t born from a womb.
40 This chapter is called the First Creation. A person who knows it becomes long-lived, famous, and fortunate, has children, and attains whatever state they desire.
2. Daksha’s Creation
1 Vaishampāyana said:
After creatures had been produced in this way, Āpava, the cosmic person and patriarch, found a wife, Shatarūpā of a Hundred Forms, who wasn’t born from a womb. 2 Āpava continued to cover the sky with his majesty, but Shatarūpā was born in an entirely lawful manner, your majesty, 3 and after performing the most difficult austerities for ten thousand years, she took the cosmic person of blazing austerities as her husband.
4 Truly, my boy, the son of self-born Brahmā is said to be a cosmic person and a Manu, and his era as a Manu in this world is said to last seventy-one ages. 5 By the cosmic person Vairāja, Shatarūpā of a Hundred Forms bore Vīra, and by Vīra, Kāmyā bore Uttānapāda and Priyavrata. 6 Kāmyā was the name of patriarch Kardama’s daughter, strong-armed king, and Samrāj, Kukshi, Virāj, and Prabhu were the four other sons of Kāmyā.
7 Patriarch Atri adopted Uttānapāda as his son, and Sūnritā produced four sons sired by Uttānapāda. 8 Sūnritā was the name of the daughter of Dharma the god of duty, born to Dharma from Vāch the goddess of speech. She was well-regarded, handsome, and broad in the hips, and she was the mother of Dhruva the Fixed.*9 Dhruva, Kīrtimat, Ayasmat, and Ayaspati were born to patriarch Uttānapāda from Sūnritā.
10 Bhārata, your majesty. In pursuit of supreme renown, Dhruva performed austerities for three thousand years of the gods, 11 and Brahmā the lord and patriarch was gratified, and gave him a residence that matched his own—an unmoving one, in the presence of the seven seers.†12 And after observing Dhruva’s pride, prosperity, and power, Ushanas, the teacher of the gods and demons, even sang a verse:
13 See the strength of his austerities! See his learning! See his vow! The seven seers stay fixed (dhruva) now that they’ve placed him before them.
14 Dhruva the Fixed sired Shlishti and Mānya, born from Shambhu. Born from Suchhāyā, Shlishti sired five faultless sons: Ripu, Ripunjaya, Vipra, Vrikala, and Vrikatejas. 15 Born from Brihatī, Ripu sired Chākshusha, who was all splendour. Chākshusha sired Manu, born from Pushkarinī Vairanī, 16 a daughter of the illustrious patriarch Vīrana. And Manu’s ten powerful sons were born from Nadvalā, the daughter of patriarch Vairāja, best of Bhāratas. 17 The powerful sons from Nadvalā were Ūru, Pūru, Shatadyumna, Tapasvin, Satyavit, Kavi, Agnishtut, Atirātra, and Sudyumna. That’s nine, and the tenth was Abhimanyu. 18 Then Ūru’s six splendid sons were born from a daughter of Agni the fire god: they were Anga, Sumanas, Svāti, Kratu, Āngirasa, and Shiva. 19 And by Anga, Sunīthā gave birth to a son: a certain Vena, whose bad behaviour caused severe fury.
20 The seers drilled Vena’s right hand for the sake of offspring, and a great seer sprang from his drilled hand. 21 Seeing him, the sages said: This splendid man will certainly make the people happy, and will attain great fame.
22 Born with bow and armour, and all but blazing with splendour, Prithu Vainya, the first kshatriya, looked after this lady earth. 23 He was the ruler of the jewel-bearing earth and the first to be consecrated at a rājasūya rite, and the skilful storytellers and praise-singers came into being because of him. 24 Bhārata, your majesty. Seeking livelihoods for his subjects, he milked this cow the earth for grains. And the gods and the companies of seers milked her too, 25 as did the ancestors, the Dānavas, the light-elves together with the companies of celestial nymphs, the snakes, the ogres, the plants, and the mountains. 26 As she was being milked into this bucket and that bucket, the jewel-bearing earth provided whatever milk was desired, and they all kept themselves alive with it.*
27 Sons were born to Prithu: Antardhāna and Pālin, and both of them knew what was proper. By Antardhāna, Shikhandinī bore Havirdhāna, the Ritual Ground. 28 Then Dhishanā, a daughter of Agni the fire god, had six sons by Havirdhāna: they were Prāchīnabarhis, Shukra, Gaya, Krishna, Vraja, and Ajina.
29 Thanks to Havirdhāna, Lord Prāchīnabarhis was a great patriarch who nurtured his subjects, your majesty. 30 When Prāchīnabarhis travelled over the plains of the land, the kusha grass on his land pointed to the east (prāchīna), Janamejaya.
31 After completing great austerities, that mighty king married Savarnā, the daughter of the ocean. 32 Savarnā of the ocean bore Prāchīnabarhis’s ten sons. They were called the Prachetases, and they all mastered the martial arts. 33 They did their duty together. They performed great austerities, lying in the waters of the ocean for ten thousand years.
34 While the Prachetases were performing austerities and the earth wasn’t being looked after, the things that grew out of the earth imprisoned her. Creatures were destroyed. 35 The wind was unable to blow, the sky was blocked out by trees, and for ten thousand years no creatures could survive. 36 When all the Prachetases engaged in their austerities came to hear about it, they became angry, and they discharged wind and fire from their mouths. 37 The wind uprooted the trees and dried them out, and the terrible fire burned them. And so the trees were destroyed.
38 Majestic King Soma noticed the destruction of the trees, and now, when only a few trees remained, he went up to the Prachetases and said:
39 All you sons of Prāchīnabarhis! Keep your rage under control, princes. The earth’s been stripped of trees, so you can stop the fire and the wind. 40 Here, like a jewel, is a beautiful daughter of the trees. I knew what was going to happen, my boys, so I kept her safe within me. 41 Created by the trees, this momentous woman is called by the name of Mārishā, and she must be your wife, to further the lunar lineage. 42 Half as a result of your potency and half as a result of mine, she’ll give birth to a wise patriarch named Daksha the Capable. 43 The earth was almost burned by the fire that your fiery energy made, and so that man will be like fire, and will grant her offspring once more.
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p; 44 So, obedient to Soma’s words, the Prachetases set aside their rage against the trees, and they took Mārishā as their wife in the proper fashion. 45 And the brilliant patriarch Daksha the Capable was born to Mārishā by the ten Prachetases as Soma’s share, Bhārata. 46 He later had children who prospered the lunar lineage—children both mobile and immobile, including two-legged and four-legged ones. 47 Daksha created them from his mind, and afterwards he created females. That master gave ten daughters to Dharma the god of duty, thirteen to Kashyapa, and gave the rest, who are known as the constellations, to King Soma. 48 From those daughters the gods, birds, cows, snakes, Daityas, Dānavas, light-elves, and celestial nymphs were born, and other species too. 49 And from then on, supreme king, creatures originated from sex. The creation of those who came before that was said to be by will, by sight, or by touch.
50 Janamejaya said:
You’ve already narrated the origins of gods, Dānavas, light-elves, snakes, and monsters, and of the great Daksha.*51 But blameless brahmin, you said that Daksha was born from Brahmā’s thumb.† So how did that great ascetic also get to be the son of the Prachetases? 52 I’m not clear about this, brahmin, so you must now explain it. And also, how was it that Soma’s daughter’s son Daksha became Soma’s father-in-law?
53 Vaishampāyana said:
Creatures keep on arising and passing away, Bhārata. The seers aren’t confused about this, and nor are those people who know what’s what. 54 All the creatures from Daksha onwards come into being again and again, your majesty, and they’re also destroyed. A knowledgeable person isn’t confused by this.
55 At first there was no sense of superiority or inferiority among them, lord of the people. There was just severe asceticism, dignity, and industry.
56 This chapter is called Daksha’s Creation, and it includes everything that moves and everything that doesn’t. A person who knows it is blessed with descendants, and will be glorified in heaven after completing a long life.
3. The Creation of Beings
1 Janamejaya said:
Vaishampāyana. Relate the origins of the gods, Dānavas, light-elves, snakes, and monsters, in detail.
2 Vaishampāyana said:
It started when self-born Brahmā instructed Daksha the Capable to produce creatures. Listen to how he produced beings, your majesty.
3 At the very beginning, Lord Daksha created beings using just his mind: seers, gods, light-elves, demons, and monsters. 4 But when the self-controlled patriarch’s children failed to multiply, he had second thoughts about how children are made. 5 He wanted to produce the various creatures properly, using sex, and so he took as his wife Asiknī the Night, the preserver of the world, a noble and self-disciplined daughter of patriarch Vīrana. 6 Then that virile man had five thousand sons from Vīrana’s daughter Asiknī. A capable patriarch indeed!
7 When he saw that those momentous sons wanted to raise children of their own, Nārada, a divine seer fond of gossip, made a certain speech in order to get rid of them.
And that speech nearly led to him being cursed.*8 Because of the danger of a curse from Daksha, the preeminent sage Kashyapa begat Nārada—a most excellent son—upon Daksha’s own daughter. 9 In the first instance, the preeminent Kashyapa had begotten Nārada upon Vīrana’s daughter Asiknī,† and subsequently that superb divine seer played the father again and begat that bull of sages once more.
10 Daksha’s sons were known as the Haryashvas. They all came to nothing after Nārada provoked them, but it was also due to fate, no doubt about it. 11 After that, Daksha of immeasurable prowess was about to destroy Nārada, but he was solicited by preeminent Kashyapa in the presence of the brahmin seers, 12 and then in fact Daksha made an agreement with preeminent Kashyapa, to the effect that Nārada should become Kashyapa’s son for Daksha’s sake, from Daksha’s own daughter. 13 So Daksha gave away his daughter Priyā to preeminent Kashyapa, and Nārada the seer was born again in her, because of the danger of the curse.
14 Janamejaya said:
Supreme brahmin, how were the patriarch’s sons destroyed by the great seer Nārada? I want to hear exactly how it happened.
15 Vaishampāyana said:
Daksha’s sons, the Haryashvas, wanted to have children. Those powerful men assembled, and Nārada said to them: 16 Crikey, you’re an ignorant lot. You don’t even know the ins and outs of the earth, or what’s above or below her. How are you going to have children?
17 After hearing that speech, they went off in all directions. And just as the rivers don’t come back from the oceans, they haven’t yet returned.
18 After the Haryashvas had vanished, mighty Daksha Prāchetasa had a thousand more sons from Vīrana’s daughter. 19 But when those sons, the Shabalāshvas, wanted to have children, that same Nārada incited them with the same speech he’d made earlier, my boy. 20 And they all said to one another: The great seer is telling the truth. We must follow in the footsteps of our brothers, no doubt about it. And once we know the extent of the earth, we’ll be happy to have children.
21 So off they went, following that trail in all directions. And just as the rivers don’t come back from the oceans, they haven’t yet returned. 22 Indeed, ever since then, when a brother goes off to look for his brother he disappears, great king. A person who’s aware of that shouldn’t do it.
23 Patriarch Daksha accepted that his sons were lost, but we’ve heard that, being a capable fellow, he produced sixty daughters from Vīrana’s daughter. 24 He gave ten of them to Dharma, thirteen to Kashyapa, twenty-seven to Soma, four to Arishtanemi, 25 two to Bahuputra, two to Angiras, and two to wise Bhrishāshva. Listen as I recount their names.
26 Arundhatī, Vasu, and Jāmī; Lambā, Bhānu, and Marutvatī; Sankalpā and Muhūrtā; Sādhyā and Vishvā. These, Bhārata, were the ten wives of Dharma the god of duty. Listen as I list their children. 27 Vishvā produced the Vishva gods, and Sādhyā produced the Sādhya gods. The Maruts were from Marutvatī, and the Vasu gods are remembered as having come from Vasu. 28 The Bhānu gods were from Bhānu, my boy, and the divisions of time (muhūrtas) were born from Muhūrtā, and sound came from Lambā, and the whole array of snakes came from Jāmī. 29 From Arundhatī, Dharma produced the entire range of the earth, and the essence of everyone—volition (sankalpa) itself—was born from Sankalpā.
30 The ones that Daksha Prāchetasa gave away as Soma’s wives are all celebrated in the astronomical lore, your majesty, under the title of constellations.
30*There are several classes of gods. The gods whose radiance precedes them are called the eight Vasus. I’ll give their details. 32 Mentioned by name, the Vasus are: Āpa, Dhruva the Fixed, Soma, and Dhara; and Anila and Anala, the Wind and the Fire; and Pratyūsha, and Prabhāsa.
33 Vaitandya was Āpa’s son, and so were Shrama, Shānta, and Muni—Work, Rest, and the Silent Sage. Dhruva’s son was illustrious Time, who drives the world forward. 34 Soma’s son was illustrious Varchas, the Vigour by means of whom any vigorous child is born. Dravina the Goods was Dhara’s son, and so was Hutahavyavaha the Transportation of the Burnt Offering, and so, by Manoharā the Fascinator, were Shishira the Cool Dew, Prāna the Breath of Life, and Ramana the Delightful. 35 Wind’s wife was Shivā, Purojava the Speedy was her son, and so too was Avijnyātagati, Destination Unknown. Wind had two sons. 36 And the son of Fire was Skanda Kumāra, whom the goddess of fortune hid in a clump of reeds,† and his sons were Shākha, Vishākha, Naigamesha, and Prishthaja. Kumāra was the child of the Krittikās,‡ so he’s known as Kārttikeya. 37 And then they consider Pratyūsha’s son to be the seer named Devala, and Devala in turn had two sons, both of them patient and prudent. 38 Brihaspati’s sister Yogasiddhā Perfected-by-Yoga, a fine, chaste woman, travelled across the whole world without getting caught up in it, 39 and she was the wife of Prabhāsa, the eighth of the Vasus. The momentous patriarch Vishvakarman All-Maker was born from her— 40 the maker of a thousand works of art, the carpenter among the thirty gods, the fashioner of all ornaments, the supreme artisan, 41 the great
one who made aerial chariots for all the deities, and upon whose handicraft human beings subsist.
42 Ajaikapād, and Ahirbudhnya, and the mighty Rudra Tvashtri, and Tvashtri’s famous and splendid son Vishvarūpa, 43 and Hara and Bahurūpa, and the unvanquished Tryambaka, and Vrishākapi, Shambhu, Kapardin, and Raivata: 44 these lords of the three worlds* are said to be the eleven Rudras, but in the same way there are also reckoned to be a hundred Rudras, all of them immensely powerful.
45†Aditi, Diti, and Danu, Arishtā and Surasā, Surabhi and Vinatā, Tāmrā, Krodhavashā, Irā, and Kadrū and Muni. Listen as I list their descendants, your majesty.
46 In the era of the previous Manu there were twelve who excelled, the greatest of the gods. They were called the Tushitas, and they spoke to each other about the era of Manu Vaivasvata. 47 When the era of the magnificent Manu Chākshusha was in progress, they sought each other out for the welfare of all worlds, saying: 48 Quick, gods, come here. When the Manu changes, we’ll enter Aditi and be born. That’ll be the best thing for us.
49 After they’d all said that in the era of Manu Chākshusha, they were born to Marīchi’s son Kashyapa, from Daksha’s daughter Aditi. 50 And so Vishnu and Shakra were born once again, and so were Aryaman and Dhātri, and Tvashtri and Pūshan, 51 and Vivasvat and Savitri, and Mitra and Varuna, and Amsha, and Bhaga so bright: and they’re known as the twelve Ādityas. 52 Formerly, in the era of Chākshusha, they were the Tushita gods, but in the era of Vaivasvata they’re known as the twelve Ādityas.
53 I mentioned Soma’s twenty-seven well-disciplined wives. Well, those boundlessly brilliant women had luminous children. 54 And here we remember the sixteen children of Arishtanemi’s wives, and Bahuputra’s four wise and glittering children. And the superb verses venerated by the brahmin seers were born from the wives who were given to Angiras, 55 and the gods’ weapons are the children of the divine seer Bhrishāshva.
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