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.
कर्ता क्रियाणां स च इज्यते क्रतुः स एव तत्कर्मफलं च तस्य यत् युगादि यस्माच् च भवेद् अशेषतो हरेर् न किंचिद् व्यतिरिक्तम् अस्ति तत्
He is the agent of actions, He is worshipped as the sacrifice, He alone is the fruit of that action; from whom the beginning of the age arises, and apart from Hari, nothing whatsoever exists.
तारामयं भगवतः शिशुमाराकृति प्रभोः दिवि रूपं हरेर् यत् तु तस्य पुच्छे स्थितो ध्रुवः
The form of the Lord in the sky, composed of stars, is that of a dolphin; in its tail is fixed Dhruva.
सएष भ्रमन् भ्रामयति चन्द्रादित्यादिकान् ग्रहान् भ्रमन्तम् अनु तं यान्ति नक्षत्राणि च चक्रवत्
He, revolving, causes the revolution of the planets such as the Moon and Sun; the stars follow him as he moves, like spokes in a wheel.
सूर्याचन्द्रमसौ तारा नक्षत्राणि ग्रहैः सह वातानीकमयैर् बन्धैर् ध्रुवे बद्धानि तानि वै
The Sun, Moon, stars, and planets, bound to Dhruva by bands made of wind, are indeed fastened there.
शिशुमाराकृति प्रोक्तं यद् रूपं ज्योतिषां दिवि नारायणः परं धाम तस्याधारः स्वयं हृदि
That form in the sky of the luminaries, called the dolphin, is the supreme abode of Nārāyaṇa, who is established as its very support in the heart.
उत्तानपादतनयस् तम् आराध्य प्रजापतिम् स ताराशिशुमारस्य ध्रुवः पुच्छे व्यवस्थितः
Having worshipped the Lord of creatures, the son of Uttānapāda, Dhruva, is established at the tail of the constellation-dolphin.
आधारः शिशुमारस्य सर्वाध्यक्षो जनार्दनः ध्रुवस्य शिशुमारश् च ध्रुवे भानुर् व्यवस्थितः
Janārdana is the support of the dolphin and the overseer of all; the dolphin is the support of Dhruva, and the Sun is established in Dhruva.
तद् आधारं जगच् चेदं सदेवासुरमानुषम् येन विप्रा विधानेन तन् मे शृणुत सांप्रतम्
By that support, this world, including gods, asuras, and humans, is upheld; O sages, now hear from me the manner in which this is so.
विवस्वान् अष्टभिर् मासैर् ग्रसत्य् अपो रसात्मिकाः वर्षत्य् अम्बु ततश् चान्नम् अन्नादम् अखिलं जगत्
Vivasvān, in eight months, absorbs the waters that are the essence of sap; then he causes rain, and from that comes food, and all the world is sustained by food.
विवस्वान् अंशुभिस् तीक्ष्णैर् आदाय जगतो जलम् सोमं पुष्यत्य् अथेन्दुश् च वायुनाडीमयैर् दिवि
Vivasvān, with his sharp rays, draws up the water of the world; then Soma nourishes it, and the Moon, by means of channels of air, in the sky.