सरितः सागराञ्छैलान्समानि विषमाणि च । कामं क्रोधं तथा वाचं रतिं चापि कुरुद्वह
Rivers, oceans, and mountains — all these were created alike, along with beings of diverse natures; desire, anger, speech, and delight he also established.
सृष्टिं ससर्ज राजेन्द्र सिसृक्षुर्विविधाः प्रजाः । धर्माधर्मौ विवेकाय कर्मणां च तथासृजत्
O great king, the Lord fashioned the creation, producing many kinds of creatures and distributing right and wrong, discernment, and the manifold duties of action.
सुखदुःखादिभिर्द्वन्द्वैः प्रजाश्चेमा न्ययोजयत् । अण्व्यो मात्राविनाशिन्यो दशार्धानां तु याः स्मृताः
He arranged beings in pairs of opposites like pleasure and pain; some were made indivisible like atoms, others were of ten-and-a-half parts, as is remembered.
ताभिः सर्वमिदं वीर सम्भवत्यनुपूर्वशः । यत्कृतं तु पुरा कर्म सन्नियुक्तेन वै नृप
By these means the whole universe comes into being in sequence; what actions were performed before were appointed by the sovereign endowed with ordinance.
स तदेव स्वयं भेजे सृज्यमानं पुनः पुनः । हिंस्राहिंस्रे मृदुक्रूरे धर्माधर्मे ऋतानृते
That same ruler sends forth anew things that are born again and again — violent and nonviolent, gentle and cruel, righteous and unrighteous, truth and falsehood.
यद्यथास्याभवत्सर्गे तत्तस्य स्वयमाविशत् । यथा च लिङ्गान्यृतवः स्वयमेवानुपर्यये
Whatever their origins were at birth, those very natures enter again of their own accord, just as false marks recur by their own sequence.
स्वानि स्वान्यभिपद्यन्ते तथा कर्माणि देहिनः । लोकस्येह विवृद्ध्यर्थं मुखबाहूरुपादतः
The embodied take upon themselves their own appropriate deeds; for the increase of the world they are born from mouths, arms, thighs and feet.
ब्रह्म क्षत्रं तथा चोभौ वैश्यशूद्रौ नृपोत्तम । मुखानि यानि चत्वारि तेभ्यो वेदा विनिःसृताः
From the mouths came Brahmins, from the arms the Kshatriyas, from the thighs the Vaishyas, and from the feet the Shudras — O best of kings; from those four limbs the Vedas were emitted.
ऋग्वेदसहिता तात वसिष्ठेन महात्मना । पूर्वान्मुखान्महाबाहो दक्षिणाच्चापि वै शृणु
Hear: the Rigveda was brought forth from the foremost faces by the great-souled Vasishtha; from the east came it forth, O mighty-armed one.
यजुर्वेदो महाराज याज्ञवल्क्येन वै सह । सामानि पश्चिमात्तात गौतमश्च महानृषिः
The Yajurveda, O king, came with Yajnavalkya; the Samaveda issued from the west, and Gautama was its great seer.
अथर्ववेदो राजेन्द्र मुखाच्चाप्युत्तरान्नृप । ऋषिश्चापि तथा राजञ्छौनको लोकपूजितः
From the face of the king the Atharva Veda also issued forth; from the face of the king the northern Veda arose; and a rishi too was born from that face — thus the king’s spine was venerated by the people.
यत्तन्मुखं महाबाहो पञ्चमं लोकविश्रुतम् । अष्टादशपुराणानि सेतिहासानि भारत
That face, mighty-armed, was renowned as the fifth among the world‑famed scriptures; from it the eighteen Puranas and the histories of Bharata came into being.
निर्गतानि ततस्तस्मान्मुखात्कुरुकुलोद्वह । तथान्याः स्मृतयश्चापि यमाद्या लोकपूजिताः
From that face also streamed forth the Kurukula and similar lineages; likewise other remembered texts and the ordinances beginning with Yama, all honored by the world, were produced.
ततः स भगवान्देवो द्विधा देहमकारयत् । द्विधा कृत्वात्मनो देहमर्धेन पुरुषोऽभवत्
Then that Lord fashioned his body in twofold fashion; by dividing himself he became a man through one half of his being.
अर्धेन नारी तस्यां च विराजमसृजत्प्रभुः । तपस्तप्त्वासृजद्यं तु स स्वयं पुरुषो विराट्
From the other half he fashioned a woman who shone within that half; having been made by the heat of tapas, he himself was the great cosmic person.
स चकार तपो राजन्सिसृक्षुर्विविधाः प्रजाः । पतीन्प्रजानामसृजन्महर्षीनादितो दश
That sovereign, having performed austerity, created many kinds of offspring: husbands and subjects he produced, and ten great seers were born from him at the outset.
नारदं च भृगुं तात कं प्रचेतसमेव हि । पुलहं क्रतुं पुलस्त्यं च अत्रिमङ्गिरसं तथा
Among them were Narada and Bhrigu, and Tataka as well, indeed Prajapati; Pulaha, Kratu, and Pulastya; Atriman and Angiras were also counted there.
मरीचिं चापि राजेन्द्र योऽसावाद्यः प्रजापतिः । एतांश्चान्यांश्च राजेन्द्र असृजद् भूरितेजसः
Marichi too, O Bharata, was one of these progenitors; these and other creatures the mighty‑splendid sovereign brought forth.
अथ देवानृषीन्दैत्यान्सोऽसृजत्कुरुनन्दन । यक्षरक्षः पिशाचांश्च गन्धर्वाप्सरसोऽसुरान्
Then that king created gods, sages and demons, and beings such as yakshas, rakshasas and pisachas, along with gandharvas, apsaras and asuras.
मनुष्याणां पितॄणां च सर्पाणां चैव भारत । नागानां च महाबाहो ससर्ज विविधान्गणान्
He also fashioned humans and ancestors, serpents and, O mighty-armed Bharata, the various groups of nagas — thus he created diverse hosts.
क्षणरुचोऽशनिगणान्रोहितेन्द्रधनूंषि च । धूमकेतूंस्तथा चोल्का निर्याताञ्ज्योतिषां गणान्
The sun then generated quick-moving flaming beings, bow-bearing warriors, smoke-bannered ones and also carriers of light—assemblies of luminous beings.
मनुष्यान्किन्नरान्मत्स्यान्वराहांश्च विहङ्गमान् । गजानश्वानथ पशून्मृगान्व्यालांश्च भारत
There were humans, kinnara-like folk, fishes, boars and winged birds; also elephants, horses and other beasts, deer and serpents in Bharat.
कृमिकीटपतङ्गांश्च यूकालिक्षकमत्कुणान् । सर्वं च दंशमशकं स्थावरं च पृथग्विधम्
There appeared worms, insects and flying creatures, burrowers and climbers; all biting, stinging animals and diverse immobile creatures of many kinds.
एवं स भास्करो देवः ससर्ज भुवनत्रयम् । येषां तु यादृशं कर्म भूतानामिह कीर्तितम्
Thus the god Bhaskara created the three worlds; I will describe what sorts of actions brought about these various beings here.
कथयिष्यामि तत्सर्वं क्रमयोगं च जन्मनि । गजा व्याला मृगास्तात पशवश्च पृथग्विधाः
I will recount all that, in order and linked to birth: here are the elephants, serpents, deer and hence the other distinct kinds of beasts.
पिशाचा मानुषास्तात रक्षांसि च जरायुजाः । द्विजास्तु अण्डजाः सर्पा नक्रा मत्स्याः सकच्छपाः
There were bhutas and pishachas, then humans and rakshasas born of pairs; the twice-born were egg-born, serpents, crocodiles, fishes and tortoises.
एवंविधानि यानीह स्थलजान्यौदकानि च । स्वेदजं दंशमशकं यूकालिक्षकमत्कुणाः
Thus were the terrestrial, born of earth, and aquatic beings; also those produced by sweat, biting and stinging creatures, burrowers and climbers.
ऊष्मणा चोपजायन्ते यच्चान्यत्किञ्चिदीदृशम् । उद्भिज्जाः स्थावराः सर्वे बीजकाण्डप्ररोहिणः
From heat too arose whatever else is such: all the plants fixed in place, springing from seed, shoots and roots.
ओषध्यः फलपाकान्ता नानाविधफलोपगाः । अपुष्पाः फलवन्तो ये ते वनस्पतयः स्मृताः
Herbs, those ripening into fruits, varieties bearing many kinds of fruit and those without flowers yet fruiting—these are remembered as the plants of the forest.
पुष्पिणः फलिनश्चैव वृक्षास्तूभयतः स्मृताः । गुच्छगुल्मं तु विविधं तथैव तृणजातयः
Trees both flowering and fruiting are thus recognised; likewise clustered shrubs of various sorts and the families of grasses.