चतुर्गुणोत्तरं चोर्ध्वं जनलोकात् तपः स्मृतम् वैराजा यत्र ते देवाः स्थिता देहविवर्जिताः
Four times higher than Janaloka is known as Tapoloka, where the radiant gods, free from bodies, are established.
षड्गुणेन तपोलोकात् सत्यलोको विराजते अपुनर्मारकं यत्र सिद्धादिमुनिसेवितम्
Six times higher than Tapoloka shines Satyaloka, where there is no return to death, and which is served by Siddhas and foremost sages.
पादगम्यं तु यत् किंचिद् वस्त्व् अस्ति पृथिवीमयम् स भूर्लोकः समाख्यातो विस्तारो ऽस्य मयोदितः
Whatever object is accessible by foot and is composed of earth is called Bhurloka; its extent has been described by me.
भूमिसूर्यान्तरं यत् तु सिद्धादिमुनिसेवितम् भुवर्लोकस् तु सो ऽप्य् उक्तो द्वितीयो मुनिसत्तमाः
The region between earth and sun, attended by Siddhas and great sages, is called Bhuvarloka, O best of sages; this is the second world.
ध्रुवसूर्यान्तरं यत् तु नियुतानि चतुर्दश स्वर्लोकः सो ऽपि कथितो लोकसंस्थानचिन्तकैः
The region between Dhruva and the sun, measuring fourteen hundred thousand yojanas, is called Svarloka by those who contemplate the structure of the worlds.
त्रैलोक्यम् एतत् कृतकं विप्रैश् च परिपठ्यते जनस् तपस् तथा सत्यम् इति चाकृतकं त्रयम्
This threefold world is considered created by the sages, while Janaloka, Tapoloka, and Satyaloka are said to be uncreated.
कृतकाकृतको मध्ये महर्लोक इति स्मृतः शून्यो भवति कल्पान्ते यो ऽन्तं न च विनश्यति
Maharloka is remembered as being in between the created and uncreated; it becomes empty at the end of an aeon, yet does not perish.
एते सप्त महालोका मया वः कथिता द्विजाः पातालानि च सप्तैव ब्रह्माण्डस्यैष विस्तरः
O twice-born, these seven great worlds have been described to you by me, along with the seven nether regions; this is the expanse of the cosmic egg.
एतद् अण्डकटाहेन तिर्यग् ऊर्ध्वम् अधस् तथा कपित्थस्य यथा बीजं सर्वतो वै समावृतम्
This is all encompassed above, below, and across by the shell of the cosmic egg, just as a wood-apple seed is surrounded on all sides.
दशोत्तरेण पयसा द्विजाश् चाण्डं च तद् वृतम् स चाम्बुपरिवारो ऽसौ वह्निना वेष्टितो बहिः
O twice-born, the egg is covered by water to a depth of ten units; that watery enclosure is itself surrounded outside by fire.
वह्निस् तु वायुना वायुर् विप्रास् तु नभसावृतः आकाशो ऽपि मुनिश्रेष्ठा महता परिवेष्टितः
Fire is enveloped by wind, wind by the sky, O best of sages; and even the sky is surrounded by the great (mahat).
दशोत्तराण्य् अशेषाणि विप्राश् चैतानि सप्त वै महान्तं च समावृत्य प्रधानं समवस्थितम्
These ten plus one, and all the rest, O brahmins, as well as these seven, having encompassed the great principle, are established in the primordial matter (pradhāna).
अनन्तस्य न तस्यान्तः संख्यानं चापि विद्यते तद् अनन्तम् असंख्यातं प्रमाणेनापि वै यतः
There is no end to the infinite, nor can it be counted; for it is endless, uncountable, and beyond measure.
हेतुभूतम् अशेषस्य प्रकृतिः सा परा द्विजाः अण्डानां तु सहस्राणां सहस्राण्य् अयुतानि च
That supreme nature, O twice-born, is the cause of all; and there are thousands upon thousands, and tens of thousands, of cosmic eggs.
ईदृशानां तथा तत्र कोटिकोटिशतानि च दारुण्य् अग्निर् यथा तैलं तिले तद्वत् पुमान् इह
In the same way, there are hundreds of millions of such (cosmic eggs) there; just as fierce fire resides in oil within sesame seeds, so too does the spirit dwell here.
प्रधाने ऽवस्थितो व्यापी चेतनात्मनिवेदनः प्रधानं च पुमांश् चैव सर्वभूतानुभूतया
Abiding in the primordial matter, all-pervading, self-aware, and conscious, both the primordial matter and the spirit experience all beings.
विष्णुशक्त्या द्विजश्रेष्ठा धृतौ संश्रयधर्मिणौ तयोः सैव पृथग्भावे कारणं संश्रयस्य च
By the power of Viṣṇu, O best of brahmins, both are sustained and possess the nature of support; their distinction is itself the cause of dependence.
क्षोभकारणभूता च सर्गकाले द्विजोत्तमाः यथा शैत्यं जले वातो बिभर्ति कणिकागतम्
At the time of creation, O best of twice-born, that which causes agitation is present; just as coldness is carried by water within a drop.
जगच् छक्तिस् तथा विष्णोः प्रधानपुरुषात्मकम् यथा च पादपो मूलस्कन्धशाखादिसंयुतः
So too, the power of Viṣṇu, consisting of primordial matter and spirit, pervades the world, just as a tree is composed of root, trunk, branches, and so on.
आद्यबीजात् प्रभवति बीजान्य् अन्यानि वै ततः प्रभवन्ति ततस् तेभ्यो भवन्त्य् अन्ये परे द्रुमाः
From the original seed arise other seeds, and from them others are produced; thus, from those, further trees come into being.
ते ऽपि तल्लक्षणद्रव्यकारणानुगता द्विजाः एवम् अव्याकृतात् पूर्वं जायन्ते महदादयः
Those too, O twice-born, follow the characteristics, substances, and causes of that (original); thus, from the unmanifest, the great elements and others are born.
विशेषान्तास् ततस् तेभ्यः संभवन्ति सुरादयः तेभ्यश् च पुत्रास् तेषां तु पुत्राणां परमे सुताः
From those, further distinctions arise, and from them come the gods and others; from them their sons, and from their sons, the supreme offspring.
बीजाद् वृक्षप्ररोहेण यथा नापचयस् तरोः भूतानां भूतसर्गेण नैवास्त्य् अपचयस् तथा
Just as there is no decrease in a tree when it sprouts from a seed, so too, in the creation of beings, there is no diminution.
संनिधानाद् यथाकाशकालाद्याः कारणं तरोः तथैवापरिणामेन विश्वस्य भगवान् हरिः
Just as space, time, and so on, are present by proximity as causes for the tree, so too, by transformation, is the universe (sustained) by the blessed Hari.
व्रीहिबीजे यथा मूलं नालं पत्त्राङ्कुरौ तथा काण्डकोषास् तथा पुष्पं क्षीरं तद्वच् च तण्डुलः
Just as from a grain of rice come the root, stalk, leaves, and sprout, so too the stem, sheath, flower, milk, and likewise the grain.
तुषाः कणाश् च सन्तो वै यान्त्य् आविर्भावम् आत्मनः प्ररोहहेतुसामग्र्यम् आसाद्य मुनिसत्तमाः
The husk and the grains, indeed, come forth from themselves, O best of sages, having obtained the necessary means for sprouting.
तथा कर्मस्व् अनेकेषु देवाद्यास् तनवः स्थिताः विष्णुशक्तिं समासाद्य प्ररोहम् उपयान्ति वै
In the same way, in the many actions, the bodies of gods and others remain; having attained the power of Viṣṇu, they proceed to sprout forth.
स च विष्णुः परं ब्रह्म यतः सर्वम् इदं जगत् जगच् च यो यत्र चेदं यस्मिन् विलयम् एष्यति
And that Viṣṇu is the supreme Brahman, from whom this entire universe arises, and into whom this world will ultimately dissolve.
तद् ब्रह्म परमं धाम सदसत् परमं पदम् यस्य सर्वम् अभेदेन जगद् एतच् चराचरम्
That Brahman is the supreme abode, the highest state beyond being and non-being, by whose indivisible essence this entire world, moving and unmoving, exists.
स एव मूलप्रकृतिर् व्यक्तरूपी जगच् च सः तस्मिन्न् एव लयं सर्वं याति तत्र च तिष्ठति
He alone is the root-prakriti, manifest in form, and He is the world; into Him alone all things dissolve, and in Him they abide.