गते महेश्वरे देवे तमुद्दिश्य जनार्दनः प्रणम्य भगवान्प्राह पद्मयोनिमजोद्भवः
When the great god Maheśvara had departed, Janārdana, having bowed to him, addressed the lotus-born Brahmā.
परमेशो जगन्नाथः शङ्करस्त्वेष सर्वगः आवयोरखिलस्येशः शरणं च महेश्वरः
The supreme lord, the master of the universe, Śaṅkara, is all-pervading; he is the lord of all, the refuge of both of us, Maheśvara.
अहं वामाङ्गजो ब्रह्मन् शङ्करस्य महात्मनः भवान् भवस्य देवस्य दक्षिणाङ्गभवः स्वयम्
O Brahman, I am born from the left side of the great-souled Śaṅkara, and you yourself are born from the right side of the god Bhava.
मामाहुर् ऋषयः प्रेक्ष्य प्रधानं प्रकृतिं तथा अव्यक्तमजमित्येवं भवन्तं पुरुषस्त्विति
The sages, seeing me, call me the chief principle, the primal nature, the unmanifest, the unborn; and they call you the Puruṣa.
एवमाहुर्महादेवम् आवयोरपि कारणम् ईशं सर्वस्य जगतः प्रभुमव्ययमीश्वरम्
Thus they declare Mahādeva as the cause of both of us, the lord of all the worlds, the imperishable master.
सो ऽपि तस्यामरेशस्य वचनाद्वारिजोद्भवः वरेण्यं वरदं रुद्रम् अस्तुवत्प्रणनाम च
Then, at the command of that immortal lord, the lotus-born Brahmā praised and bowed to Rudra, who grants boons and is worthy of worship.
अथाम्भसा प्लुतां भूमीं समाधाय जनार्दनः पूर्ववत्स्थापयामास वाराहं रूपमास्थितः
Then Janārdana, assuming the form of a boar, placed the earth, which was submerged in water, as before.
नदीनदसमुद्रांश् च पूर्ववच्चाकरोत्प्रभुः कृत्वा चोर्वीं प्रयत्नेन निम्नोन्नतविवर्जिताम्
The lord created the rivers, streams, and oceans as before, and carefully made the earth level, free from depressions and elevations.
धरायां सो ऽचिनोत्सर्वान् भूधरान् भूधराकृतिः भूराद्यांश्चतुरो लोकान् कल्पयामास पूर्ववत्
He, taking the form of a mountain, established all the mountains on the earth, and created the four worlds beginning with Bhū, just as before.
स्रष्टुं च भगवांश्चक्रे मतिं मतिमतां वरः मुख्यं च तैर्यग्योन्यं च दैविकं मानुषं तथा
The blessed one, best among the wise, resolved to create, and produced the principal beings: those born from eggs, divine beings, and humans as well.
विभुश्चानुग्रहं तत्र कौमारकम् अदीनधीः पुरस्तादसृजद्देवः सनन्दं सनकं तथा
The mighty lord, compassionate and undepressed, first created Sananda and Sanaka, granting them favor.
सनातनं सतां श्रेष्ठं नैष्कर्म्येण गताः परम् मरीचिभृग्वङ्गिरसं पुलस्त्यं पुलहं क्रतुम्
He created Sanātana, the best among the virtuous, who attained the highest through renunciation; Marīci, Bhṛgu, Aṅgiras, Pulastya, Pulaha, and Kratu.
दक्षमत्रिं वसिष्ठं च सो ऽसृजद् योगविद्यया संकल्पं चैव धर्मं च ह्य् अधर्मं भगवान्प्रभुः
He created Dakṣa, Atri, and Vasiṣṭha through the power of yoga; and the lord produced resolve, dharma, and indeed adharma.
द्वादशैव प्रजास्त्वेता ब्रह्मणो ऽव्यक्तजन्मनः ऋभुं सनत्कुमारं च ससर्जादौ सनातनः
These twelve progenitors were created by Brahmā, whose birth is unmanifest; at the beginning, Sanātana produced Ṛbhu and Sanatkumāra as well.
तौ चोर्ध्वरेतसौ दिव्यौ चाग्रजौ ब्रह्मवादिनौ कुमारौ ब्रह्मणस्तुल्यौ सर्वज्ञौ सर्वभाविनौ
Those two, divine, born with upward-flowing energy, foremost, versed in Brahman, were like Brahmā himself, all-knowing and all-encompassing.
एवं मुख्यादिकान् सृष्ट्वा पद्मयोनिः शिलाशन युगधर्मानशेषांश् च कल्पयामास विश्वसृक्
Thus, having created the principal and the first beings, the lotus-born creator established all the duties of the ages, the universal order.
श्रुत्वा शक्रेण कथितं पिता मम महामुनिः पुनः पप्रच्छ देवेशं प्रणम्य रचिताञ्जलिः
Having heard what was spoken by Śakra, my father, the great sage, again questioned the lord of the gods, bowing with joined palms.
भगवन् शक्र सर्वज्ञ देवदेवनमस्कृत शचीपते जगन्नाथ सहस्राक्ष महेश्वर
O blessed Śakra, all-knowing, worshipped by the gods, lord of Śacī, master of the universe, thousand-eyed, great lord.
युगधर्मान्कथं चक्रे भगवान्पद्मसंभवः वक्तुमर्हसि मे सर्वं सांप्रतं प्रणताय मे
How did the blessed one, born from the lotus, establish the duties of the ages? You should tell me everything now, as I am bowed before you.
तस्य तद्वचनं श्रुत्वा शिलादस्य महात्मनः व्याजहार यथादृष्टं युगधर्मं सुविस्तरम्
Hearing these words of the great-souled Śilāda, he spoke, describing in detail the duties of the ages as he had seen them.
आद्यं कृतयुगं विद्धि ततस्त्रेतायुगं मुने द्वापरं तिष्यमित्येते चत्वारस्तु समासतः
Know that the first is the Kṛta age, then comes the Tretā age, O sage; after that is Dvāpara, and Tiṣya—these four are the ages in brief.
सत्त्वं कृतं रजस्त्रेता द्वापरं च रजस्तमः कलिस्तमश् च विज्ञेयं युगवृत्तिर्युगेषु च
Kṛta is characterized by sattva, Tretā by rajas, Dvāpara by both rajas and tamas, and Kali by tamas; thus the nature of the ages should be understood.
ध्यानं परं कृतयुगे त्रेतायां यज्ञ उच्यते भजनं द्वापरे शुद्धं दानमेव कलौ युगे
Meditation is supreme in the Kṛta age; sacrifice is praised in Tretā; pure worship in Dvāpara; and only giving is extolled in Kali.
चत्वारि च सहस्राणि वर्षाणां तत्कृतं युगम् तस्य तावच्छती संध्या संध्यांशश् च तथाविधः
The Kṛta age consists of four thousand years; its twilight period is as many hundreds, and its portion of twilight is likewise.
चत्वारि च सहस्राणि मानुषाणि शिलाशन आयुः कृतयुगे विद्धि प्रजानामिह सुव्रत
Know, O steadfast one, that in the Kṛta age, the lifespan of people who eat stones is four thousand years.
ततः कृतयुगे तस्मिन् संध्यांशे च गते तु वै पादावशिष्टो भवति युगधर्मस्तु सर्वतः
Then, when the Kṛta age and its twilight portion have passed, only a quarter remains of the age's duties everywhere.
चतुर्भागैकहीनं तु त्रेतायुगमनुत्तमम् कृतार्धं द्वापरं विद्धि तदर्धं तिष्यमुच्यते
The excellent Tretā age is lacking one fourth; Dvāpara is half of Kṛta; Tiṣya is said to be half of that.
त्रिशती द्विशती संध्या तथा चैकशती मुने संध्यांशकं तथाप्येवं कल्पेष्वेवं युगे युगे
Three hundred, two hundred, and one hundred are the twilight periods, O sage, and the twilight portions likewise; so it is in each cycle, in every age.
आद्ये कृतयुगे धर्मश् चतुष्पादः सनातनः त्रेतायुगे त्रिपादस्तु द्विपादो द्वापरे स्थितः
In the first, the Kṛta age, dharma stands on four feet, eternal; in Tretā, it stands on three; in Dvāpara, on two.
त्रिपादहीनस्तिष्ये तु सत्तामात्रेण धिष्ठितः कृते तु मिथुनोत्पत्तिर् वृत्तिः साक्षाद्रसोल्लसा
In Tiṣya, it is deprived of three feet, supported only by sattva; in Kṛta, the origin of pairs is direct, and sustenance is full of essence.