पुनस् ताम् अब्रवं देवीं कर्मभूः क्व विधीयते तदा नारद नैवासीद् भागीरथ्य् अथ नर्मदा
Again I asked the goddess, 'Where is the land of action established?' At that time, O Nārada, neither the Bhāgīrathī nor the Narmadā existed.
यमुना नैव तापी सा सरस्वत्य् अथ गौतमी समुद्रो वा नदः कश्चिन् न सरः सरितो ऽमलाः सा शक्तिः पुनर् अप्य् एवं माम् उवाच पुनः पुनः
Nor did the Yamunā, nor the Tāpi, nor the Sarasvatī, nor the Gautamī; neither the ocean, nor any river, nor any pure lake or stream. That power spoke to me again and again in this way.
सुमेरोर् दक्षिणे पार्श्वे तथा हिमवतो गिरेः दक्षिणे चापि विन्ध्यस्य सह्याच् चैवाथ दक्षिणे सर्वस्य सर्वकाले तु कर्मभूमिः शुभोदया
On the southern side of Mount Sumeru, and likewise on the southern side of the Himavat mountain, and also south of the Vindhya and Sahya ranges, at all times and in all ages, the land of action arises, auspicious in its dawn.
तत् तु वाक्यम् अथो श्रुत्वा त्यक्त्वा मेरुं महागिरिम् तं प्रदेशम् अथागत्य स्थातव्यं क्वेत्य् अचिन्तयम् ततो माम् अब्रवीत् सैव विष्णोर् वाण्य् अशरीरिणी
Hearing those words, I left the great mountain Meru, came to that region, and wondered where I should remain. Then that bodiless voice of Viṣṇu spoke to me.
इतो गच्छ इतस् तिष्ठ तथोपविश चात्र हि संकल्पं कुरु यज्ञस्य स ते यज्ञः समाप्यते
'Go from here, stay here, or sit here; here, indeed, make your resolve for the sacrifice. That sacrifice of yours will be completed.'
कृते चैवाथ संकल्पे यज्ञार्थे सुरसत्तम यद् वदन्त्य् अखिला वेदा विधे तत् तत् समाचर
And when the resolve for the sacrifice was made, O best of gods, whatever all the Vedas declare regarding the rites, perform that accordingly.
इतिहासपुराणानि यद् अन्यच् छब्दगोचरम् स्वतो मुखे मम प्रायाद् अभूच् च स्मृतिगोचरम्
The Itihāsas and Purāṇas, and whatever else is within the range of words, came forth from my own mouth and entered the sphere of memory.
वेदार्थश् च मया सर्वो ज्ञातो ऽसौ तत्क्षणेन च ततः पुरुषसूक्तं तद् अस्मरं लोकविश्रुतम्
The entire meaning of the Vedas was known to me in that very instant; then I recalled the famous Puruṣa Sūkta.
यज्ञोपकरणं सर्वं तद् उक्तं च त्व् अकल्पयम् तदुक्तेन प्रकारेण यज्ञपात्राण्य् अकल्पयम्
All the sacrificial implements described there I prepared; in the manner prescribed there, I arranged the sacrificial vessels.
अहं स्थित्वा यत्र देशे शुचिर् भूत्वा यतात्मवान् दीक्षितो विप्रदेशो ऽसौ मन्नाम्ना तु प्रकीर्तितः
Having stood in that place, purified and self-controlled, initiated, O sage, that region became known by my name.
मद्देवयजनं पुण्यं नाम्ना ब्रह्मगिरिः स्मृतः चतुरशीतिपर्यन्तं योजनानि महामुने
My sacred place of worship is renowned as Brahmagiri by name, O great sage, extending up to eighty-four yojanas.
मद्देवयजनं पुण्यं पूर्वतो ब्रह्मणो गिरेः तत्र मध्ये वेदिका स्याद् गार्हपत्यो ऽस्य दक्षिणे
My sacred place of worship lies to the east of Brahmagiri; in its midst is the altar, and to its south is the gārhapatya fire.
तत्र चाहवनीयस्य एवम् अग्नींस् त्व् अकल्पयम् विना पत्न्या न सिध्येत यज्ञः श्रुतिनिदर्शनात्
There I arranged the āhavanīya fire as well; without a wife, the sacrifice does not succeed, as indicated by the scriptures.
शरीरम् आत्मनो ऽहं वै द्वेधा चाकरवं मुने पूर्वार्धेन ततः पत्नी ममाभूद् यज्ञसिद्धये
I divided my own body in two, O sage; with the former half, my wife was born for the accomplishment of the sacrifice.
उत्तरेण त्व् अहं तद्वद् अर्धो जाया इति श्रुतेः कालं वसन्तम् उत्कृष्टम् आज्यरूपेण नारद
With the other half, I myself, as heard in the tradition, became the husband; the excellent season of spring I prepared as clarified butter, O Nārada.
अकल्पयं तथा चेध्मं ग्रीष्मं चापि शरद् धविः ऋतुं च प्रावृषं पुत्र तदा बर्हिर् अकल्पयम्
Thus I arranged the fuel as summer, and autumn as the offering; the season of the rains, O son, I then prepared as the sacrificial grass.
छन्दांसि सप्त वै तत्र तदा परिधयो ऽभवन् कलाकाष्ठानिमेषा हि समित्पात्रकुशाः स्मृताः
There, the seven meters became the enclosing sticks, and the divisions of time—kalā, kāṣṭhā, and nimeṣa—were considered the fuel, the vessels, and the sacred grass.
यो ऽनादिश् च त्व् अनन्तश् च स्वयं कालो ऽभवत् तदा यूपरूपेण देवर्षे योक्त्रं च पशुबन्धनम्
Then, time itself, which is without beginning and without end, became manifest as the sacrificial post, O sage, and the binding rope for the sacrificial animal.
सत्त्वादित्रिगुणाः पाशा नैव तत्राभवत् पशुः ततो ऽहम् अब्रवं वाचं वैष्णवीम् अशरीरिणीम्
The cords of the three qualities—sattva and the others—became the bonds, but there was no sacrificial animal present there; then I spoke the Vaiṣṇava speech, bodiless.
विनैव पशुना नायं यज्ञः परिसमाप्यते ततो माम् अवदद् देवी सैव नित्याशरीरिणी
Without a sacrificial animal, this sacrifice cannot be completed; then the goddess, eternal and bodiless, spoke to me.
पौरुषेणाथ सूक्तेन स्तुहि तं पुरुषं परम्
With the hymn of the Puruṣa, praise that Supreme Person with manly strength.
तथेत्य् उक्त्वा स्तूयमाने देवदेवे जनार्दने मम चोत्पादके भक्त्या सूक्तेन पुरुषस्य हि
Saying 'so be it,' as the Lord of gods, Janārdana, the source of my being, was praised by me with devotion through the hymn of the Puruṣa—
सा च माम् अब्रवीद् देवी ब्रह्मन् मां त्वं पशुं कुरु तदा विज्ञाय पुरुषं जनकं मम चाव्ययम्
Then the goddess said to me, 'O Brahman, make me the sacrificial animal, recognizing the Puruṣa as my eternal progenitor.'
कालयूपस्य पार्श्वे तं गुणपाशैर् निवेशितम् बर्हिस्थितम् अहं प्रौक्षं पुरुषं जातम् अग्रतः
By the side of the sacrificial post of time, I sprinkled the Puruṣa, established there by the bonds of qualities and placed upon the sacred grass, who had appeared before me.
एतस्मिन्न् अन्तरे तत्र तस्मात् सर्वम् अभूद् इदम् ब्राह्मणास् तु मुखात् तस्य ऽभवन् बाह्वोश् च क्षत्रियाः
In that very moment, from him, all this came into being; from his mouth were born the Brāhmaṇas, and from his arms, the Kṣatriyas.
मुखाद् इन्द्रस् तथाग्निश् च श्वसनः प्राणतो ऽभवत् दिशः श्रोत्रात् तथा शीर्ष्णः सर्वः स्वर्गो ऽभवत् तदा
From his mouth came Indra and Agni; from his breath, the wind was born; from his ears, the directions; and from his head, the entire heaven was formed.
मनसश् चन्द्रमा जातः सूर्यो ऽभूच् चक्षुषस् तथा अन्तरिक्षं तथा नाभेर् ऊरुभ्यां विश एव च
From his mind, the moon was born; from his eyes, the sun; from his navel, the mid-space; and from his thighs, the people.
पद्भ्यां शूद्रश् च संजातस् तथा भूमिर् अजायत ऋषयो रोमकूपेभ्य ओषध्यः केशतो ऽभवन्
From his feet, the Śūdra was produced, and the earth was born; from his hair follicles, the seers, and from his hair, the plants.
ग्राम्यारण्याश् च पशवो नखेभ्यः सर्वतो ऽभवन् कृमिकीटपतंगादि पायूपस्थाद् अजायत
Domestic and wild animals arose from his nails; from his anus and genitals came worms, insects, and flying creatures.
स्थावरं जङ्गमं किंचिद् दृश्यादृश्यं च किंचन तस्मात् सर्वम् अभूद् देवा मत्तश् चाप्य् अभवन् पुनः एतस्मिन्न् अन्तरे सैव विष्णोर् वाग् अब्रवीच् च माम्
All that is stationary and moving, visible and invisible, came from him; and from me, the gods were again produced. At that moment, the very speech of Viṣṇu addressed me.