तस्माच् चैव समुत्पन्नौ निपुणौ सूतमागधौ तेनेयं गौर् मुनिश्रेष्ठा दुग्धा सस्यानि भूभृता
From him also arose the skilled Sūta and Māgadha; by him, O best of sages, this earth-cow was milked for crops by the king.
प्रजानां वृत्तिकामेन देवैः सर्षिगणैः सह पितृभिर् दानवैश् चैव गन्धर्वैर् अप्सरोगणैः
Desiring the livelihood of beings, the gods, along with groups of sages, ancestors, Dānavas, Gandharvas, and hosts of Apsarases,
सर्पैः पुण्यजनैश् चैव वीरुद्भिः पर्वतैस् तथा तेषु तेषु च पात्रेषु दुह्यमाना वसुंधरा
Serpents, virtuous people, plants, and mountains as well—by each of these, the earth was milked in their respective vessels.
प्रादाद् यथेप्सितं क्षीरं तेन प्राणान् अधारयन् पृथोस् तु पुत्रौ धर्मज्ञौ यज्ञान्ते ऽन्तर्धिपातिनौ
She gave milk as each desired, and by that they sustained their lives; Pṛthu had two sons, righteous and vanishing at the end of the sacrifice.
शिखण्डिनी हविर्धानम् अन्तर्धानाद् व्यजायत हविर्धानात् षड् आग्नेयी धिषणाजनयत् सुतान्
Śikhaṇḍinī gave birth to Havirdhāna from Antardhāna; from Havirdhāna, Āgneyī bore six sons named Dhiṣaṇa.
प्राचीनबर्हिषं शुक्रं गयं कृष्णं व्रजाजिनौ प्राचीनबर्हिर् भगवान् महान् आसीत् प्रजापतिः
Prācīnabarhiṣ, Śukra, Gaya, Kṛṣṇa, and Vrajājina—Prācīnabarhiṣ, the blessed one, was a great Prajāpati.
हविर्धानान् मुनिश्रेष्ठा येन संवर्धिताः प्रजाः प्राचीनबर्हिर् भगवान् पृथिवीतलचारिणीः
O best of sages, from Havirdhāna came those by whom the people were nurtured; the blessed Prācīnabarhiṣ was lord of those who move upon the earth.
समुद्रतनयायां तु कृतदारो ऽभवत् प्रभुः महतस् तपसः पारे सवर्णायां प्रजापतिः
The lord took a wife, daughter of the ocean; at the end of great austerity, Prajāpati was born to Savarṇā.
सवर्णाधत्त सामुद्री दश प्राचीनबर्हिषः सर्वान् प्रचेतसो नाम धनुर्वेदस्य पारगान्
From Savarṇa, the ocean-born, Prācīnabarhiṣ had ten sons, all called Pracetas, masters of the science of archery.
अपृथग्धर्मचरणास् ते ऽतप्यन्त महत् तपः दश वर्षसहस्राणि समुद्रसलिलेशयाः
Practicing undivided righteousness, they performed great austerity for ten thousand years, lying in the waters of the ocean.
तपश् चरत्सु पृथिवीं प्रचेतःसु महीरुहाः अरक्षमाणाम् आवव्रुर् बभूवाथ प्रजाक्षयः
While the Pracetas were engaged in austerities on earth, the trees, left unprotected, spread everywhere, and thus there arose a decline of living beings.
नाशकन् मारुतो वातुं वृतं खम् अभवद् द्रुमैः दश वर्षसहस्राणि न शेकुश् चेष्टितुं प्रजाः
The wind could not blow, the sky was blocked by the trees; for ten thousand years, creatures were unable to move.
तद् उपश्रुत्य तपसा युक्ताः सर्वे प्रचेतसः मुखेभ्यो वायुम् अग्निं च ससृजुर् जातमन्यवः
Hearing of this, all the Pracetas, empowered by asceticism and filled with wrath, released wind and fire from their mouths.
उन्मूलान् अथ वृक्षांस् तु कृत्वा वायुर् अशोषयत् तान् अग्निर् अदहद् घोर एवम् आसीद् द्रुमक्षयः
Then the wind, having uprooted the trees, dried them up, and the fierce fire burned them; thus, the destruction of the trees occurred.
द्रुमक्षयम् अथो बुद्ध्वा किंचिच् छिष्टेषु शाखिषु उपगम्याब्रवीद् एतांस् तदा सोमः प्रजापतीन्
When the destruction of the trees was known, and only a few branches remained, Soma approached the lords of creatures and spoke to them.
कोपं यच्छत राजानः सर्वे प्राचीनबर्हिषः वृक्षशून्या कृता पृथ्वी शाम्येताम् अग्निमारुतौ
Restrain your anger, O kings, all of you Pracetas; the earth has been made devoid of trees—let the fire and wind subside.
रत्नभूता च कन्येयं वृक्षाणां वरवर्णिनी भविष्यं जानता तात धृता गर्भेण वै मया
This maiden, radiant and of excellent complexion, is like a jewel among the trees; knowing the future, I have held her in my womb.
मारिषा नाम नाम्नैषा वृक्षाणाम् इति निर्मिता भार्या वो ऽस्तु महाभागाः सोमवंशविवर्धिनी
She is named Māriṣā, created for the trees; let her be your wife, O greatly fortunate ones, and the enhancer of the Soma lineage.
युष्माकं तेजसो ऽर्धेन मम चार्धेन तेजसः अस्याम् उत्पत्स्यते विद्वान् दक्षो नाम प्रजापतिः
By half of your energy and half of mine, a wise lord of creatures named Dakṣa will be born from her.
स इमां दग्धभूयिष्ठां युष्मत्तेजोमयेन वै अग्निनाग्निसमो भूयः प्रजाः संवर्धयिष्यति
He, endowed with your fiery energy, will, like fire itself, restore and increase the creatures on this earth, which has been mostly burned.
ततः सोमस्य वचनाज् जगृहुस् ते प्रचेतसः संहृत्य कोपं वृक्षेभ्यः पत्नीं धर्मेण मारिषाम्
Then, at Soma’s words, the Pracetas withdrew their anger from the trees and, in accordance with righteousness, accepted Māriṣā as their wife.
दशभ्यस् तु प्रचेतोभ्यो मारिषायां प्रजापतिः दक्षो जज्ञे महातेजाः सोमस्यांशेन भो द्विजाः
From Māriṣā and the ten Pracetas was born the mighty Dakṣa, a lord of creatures, endowed with great energy and a portion of Soma, O twice-born ones.
अचरांश् च चरांश् चैव द्विपदो ऽथ चतुष्पदः स सृष्ट्वा मनसा दक्षः पश्चाद् असृजत स्त्रियः
Dakṣa then created both the immobile and mobile beings, bipeds and quadrupeds, by his mind; afterwards, he created women.
ददौ दश स धर्माय कश्यपाय त्रयोदश शिष्टाः सोमाय राज्ञे च नक्षत्राख्या ददौ प्रभुः
He gave ten daughters to Dharma, thirteen to Kaśyapa, and the rest to Soma; to the king he gave those known as the Nakṣatras.
तासु देवाः खगा गावो नागा दितिजदानवाः गन्धर्वाप्सरसश् चैव जज्ञिरे ऽन्याश् च जातयः
From them were born the gods, birds, cows, serpents, Dānavas and Daityas, as well as Gandharvas, Apsarases, and other kinds of beings.
ततः प्रभृति विप्रेन्द्राः प्रजा मैथुनसंभवाः संकल्पाद् दर्शनात् स्पर्शात् पूर्वेषां प्रोच्यते प्रजा
From that time onward, O best of the twice-born, creatures have been born from sexual union; previously, it is said, beings arose from will, sight, and touch.
देवानां दानवानां च गन्धर्वोरगरक्षसाम् संभवस् तु श्रुतो ऽस्माभिर् दक्षस्य च महात्मनः
We have heard of the origin of the gods, Dānavas, Gandharvas, serpents, and Rākṣasas, as well as of the great-souled Dakṣa.
अङ्गुष्ठाद् ब्रह्मणो जज्ञे दक्षः किल शुभव्रतः वामाङ्गुष्ठात् तथा चैवं तस्य पत्नी व्यजायत
Dakṣa, of auspicious vows, was born from Brahmā’s thumb, it is said; likewise, his wife was born from Brahmā’s left thumb.
कथं प्राचेतसत्वं स पुनर् लेभे महातपाः एतं नः संशयं सूत व्याख्यातुं त्वम् इहार्हसि दौहित्रश् चैव सोमस्य कथं श्वशुरतां गतः
How did that great ascetic regain the state of Prācetasa? Sūta, please explain this doubt of ours here. And how did the grandson of Soma become his father-in-law?
उत्पत्तिश् च निरोधश् च नित्यं भूतेषु भो द्विजाः ऋषयो ऽत्र न मुह्यन्ति विद्यावन्तश् च ये जनाः
O twice-born ones, the origin and dissolution of beings is eternal. The sages and those who possess knowledge do not become confused by this.