स्त्रीरूपम् अर्धम् अकरोद् अर्धं पुरुषरूपवत् शतरूपा च सा ख्याता सावित्री च निगद्यते
He made half of himself into a female form, the other half as a male; she became known as Śatarūpā and is also called Sāvitrī.
सरस्वत्य् अथ गायत्री ब्रह्माणी च परन्तप ततः स्वदेहसंभूताम् आत्मजाम् इत्य् अकल्पयत्
O scorcher of foes, she is also Sarasvatī, Gāyatrī, and Brahmāṇī; then he considered her, born from his own body, as his daughter.
दृष्ट्वा तां व्यथितस् तावत् कामबाणार्दितो विभुः अहो रूपम् अहो रूपम् इति चाह प्रजापतिः
Seeing her, the Lord was agitated, struck by the arrows of desire; 'Oh, her beauty! Oh, her beauty!' exclaimed the Lord of creatures.
ततो वासिष्ठप्रमुखा भगिनीम् इति चुक्रुशुः ब्रह्मा न किंचिद् ददृशे तन्मुखालोकनाद् ऋते
Then, headed by Vasiṣṭha, they cried out, 'Sister!'; but Brahmā saw nothing except her face.
अहो रूपम् अहो रूपम् इति प्राह पुनः पुनः ततः प्रणामनम्रां तां पुनर् एवाभ्यलोकयत्
Again and again he said, 'Oh, her beauty! Oh, her beauty!'; then, bowing low, he gazed at her once more.
अथ प्रदक्षिणं चक्रे सा पितुर् वरवर्णिनी पुत्रेभ्यो लज्जितस्यास्य तद्रूपालोकनेच्छया
Then she, of excellent complexion, circled her father out of modesty before her sons, wishing to avoid his gaze.
आविर्भूतं तत्रो वक्त्रं दक्षिणं पाण्डुगण्डवत् विस्मयस्फुरदोष्ठं च पाश्चात्यम् उदगात् ततः
Thereupon, a face appeared on his right, pale-cheeked and astonished, and another, beaming with wonder, arose on the western side.
चतुर्थम् अभवत् पश्चाद् वामं कामशरातुरम् ततो ऽन्यद् अभवत् तस्य कामातुरतया तथा
A fourth appeared behind, on the left, afflicted by the arrows of desire; then, due to his passion, yet another face arose in the same way.
उत्पतन्त्यास् तदाकारा आलोकनकुतूहलात् सृष्ट्यर्थं यत् कृतं तेन तपः परमदारुणम्
As she rose up, taking that form, out of curiosity to see, the severe austerity he performed was for the purpose of creation.
तत् सर्वं नाशम् अगमत् स्वसुतोपगमेच्छया तेनोर्ध्वं वक्त्रम् अभवत् पञ्चमं तस्य धीमतः आविर्भवज्जटाभिश् च तद् वक्त्रं चावृणोत् प्रभुः
All that was destroyed because of his desire to approach his own daughter; then, for that wise one, a fifth face appeared above, and the Lord covered that face with matted locks as it manifested.
ततस् तान् अब्रवीद् ब्रह्मा पुत्रान् आत्मसमुद्भवान् प्रजाः सृजध्वम् अभितः सदेवासुरमानुषीः
Then Brahmā spoke to those sons, born from himself: 'Create beings everywhere—gods, asuras, and humans.'
एवम् उक्तास् ततः सर्वे ससृजुर् विविधाः प्रजाः गतेषु तेषु सृष्ट्यर्थं प्रणामावनताम् इमाम्
Thus addressed, all of them created various beings; when they had gone forth for the purpose of creation, this one, bowed in reverence, remained.
उपयेमे स विश्वात्मा शतरूपाम् अनिन्दिताम् संबभूव तया सार्धम् अतिकामातुरो विभुः सलज्जां चकमे देवः कमलोदरमन्दिरे
The Soul of the Universe then took as wife the blameless Śatarūpā; united with her out of intense desire, the Lord, though bashful, enjoyed her in the abode of the lotus.
यावद् अब्दशतं दिव्यं यथान्यः प्राकृतो जनः ततःकालेन महता तस्याः पुत्रो ऽभवन् मनुः
For a hundred divine years, just as ordinary people do, after a long time, a son was born to her—Manu.
स्वायंभुवो इति ख्यातः स विराड् इति नः श्रुतम् तद्रूपगुणसामान्याद् अधिपुरुष उच्यते
He is known as Svāyambhuva; we have heard he is called Virāṭ. Because of similarity in form, quality, and nature, he is called the primeval man.
वैराजा यत्र ते जाता बहवः शंसितव्रताः स्वायंभुवा महाभागाः सप्त सप्त तथापरे
From him were born many sons, renowned for their vows, called the Vairājas; and from Svāyambhuva, O greatly fortunate one, seven and then another seven.
स्वारोचिषाद्याः सर्वे ते ब्रह्मतुल्यस्वरूपिणः औत्तमिप्रमुखास् तद्वद् येसां त्वं सप्तमो ऽधुना
All those beginning with Svārociṣa, possessing forms equal to Brahmā, and those headed by Uttama—just so, you are now the seventh among them.
अहो कष्टतरं चैतद् अङ्गजागमनं विभो कथं न दोषमगमत् कर्मणानेन पद्मभूः
Alas, this coming together of kindred is even more distressing; how did the lotus-born not incur fault by this act?
परस्परं च सम्बन्धः सगोत्राणाम् अभूत् कथम् वैवाहिकस्तत्सुतानां छिन्द्धि मे संशयं विभो
And how did a marital relationship arise among those of the same lineage? Remove this doubt of mine, O Lord.
दिव्येयमादिसृष्टिस्तु रजोगुणसमुद्भवा अतीन्द्रियेन्द्रिया तद्वद् अतीन्द्रियशरीरिका
This divine first creation is born of the quality of passion; it is beyond the senses, and likewise, its embodied forms are beyond the senses.
दिव्यतेजोमयी भूप दिव्यज्ञानसमुद्भवा न मर्त्यैरभितः शक्या वक्तुं वै मांसचक्षुभिः
O king, it is composed of divine radiance, arising from divine knowledge; it cannot be described by mortals with fleshly eyes.
यथा भुजंगाः सर्पाणाम् आकाशं विश्वपक्षिणाम् विदन्ति मार्गं दिव्यानां दिव्या एव न मानवाः
Just as serpents know their own paths and celestial birds know the sky, so too only the divine know the ways of the divine, not humans.
कार्याकार्ये न देवानां शुभाशुभफलप्रदे यस्मात्तस्मान्न राजेन्द्र तद्विचारो नृणां शुभः
For the gods, there is no distinction of proper or improper, nor do they reap auspicious or inauspicious results; therefore, O king, such judgment is not fitting for men.
अन्यच्च सर्ववेदानाम् अधिष्ठाता चतुर्मुखः गायत्री ब्रह्मणस्तद्वद् अङ्गभूता निगद्यते
Moreover, the four-faced one is the presiding deity of all the Vedas; just so, Gāyatrī is said to be a limb of Brahmā.
अमूर्तं मूर्तिमद् वापि मिथुनं तत्प्रचक्षते विरिञ्चिर् यत्र भगवांस् तत्र देवी सरस्वती भारती यत्र यत्रैव तत्र तत्र प्रजापतिः
Whether formless or with form, that pair is declared; wherever the blessed Viśvakarman is, there too is the goddess Sarasvatī—wherever Bhāratī is, there too is the lord of creatures.
यथातपो न रहितश् छायया दृश्यते क्वचित् गायत्री ब्रह्मणःपार्श्वं तथैव न विमुञ्चति
Just as heat is never seen without shadow, so too Gāyatrī never leaves the side of Brahmā.
वेदराशिः स्मृतो ब्रह्मा सावित्री तदधिष्ठिता तस्मान्न कश्चिद्दोषः स्यात् सावित्रीगमने विभो
The collection of the Vedas is called Brahma, and Savitri is established upon it; therefore, O Lord, no fault arises in the approach to Savitri.
तथापि लज्जावनतः प्रजापतिर् अभूत्पुरा स्वसुतोपगमाद् ब्रह्मा शशाप कुसुमायुधम्
Nevertheless, long ago, Prajapati became ashamed after approaching his own daughter, and Brahma cursed the god of love.
यस्मान्ममाभिभवता मनः संक्षोभितं शरैः तस्मात्त्वद्देहमचिराद् रुद्रो भस्मीकरिष्यति
Because my mind was agitated by your arrows, therefore, Rudra will soon reduce your body to ashes.
ततः प्रसादयामास कामदेवश्चतुर्मुखम् न मामकारणे शप्तुं त्वमिहार्हसि मानद
Then Kamadeva sought to appease the four-faced one: 'O giver of honor, you should not curse me here for your own reason.'