अहं सर्वाणि सत्त्वानि दैवतान्यखिलानि तु भुजंगानामहं शेषस् तार्क्ष्यो वै सर्वपक्षिणाम्
I am all beings, indeed all the gods; among serpents, I am Śeṣa, and among all birds, I am Tārkṣya.
कृतान्तः सर्वभूतानां विश्वेषां कालसंज्ञितः अहं धर्मस्तपश्चाहं सर्वाश्रमनिवासिनाम्
I am Death, called Time, of all beings and of all the worlds; I am Dharma and I am austerity, for all who dwell in every order of life.
अहं चैव सरिद्दिव्या क्षीरोदश्च महार्णवः यत्तत्सत्यं च परमम् अहमेकः प्रजापतिः
I am all the divine rivers, the ocean of milk, and the great sea; that which is the supreme truth—I alone am the Lord of creatures.
अहं सांख्यमहं योगो ऽप्यहं तत्परमं पदम् अहमिज्या क्रिया चाहम् अहं विद्याधिपः स्मृतः
I am Sāṃkhya, I am Yoga, and I am that supreme state; I am worship and ritual, and I am known as the Lord of knowledge.
अहं ज्योतिरहं वायुर् अहं भूमिरहं नभः अहमापः समुद्राश्च नक्षत्राणि दिशो दश
I am the light, I am the wind, I am the earth, I am the sky; I am the waters and the oceans, the stars and the ten directions.
अहं वर्षमहं सोमः पर्जन्यो ऽहमहं रविः क्षीरोदसागरे चाहं समुद्रे वडवामुखः
I am the rain, I am the moon, I am the raincloud, I am the sun; in the ocean of milk I am present, and in the sea I am the submarine fire.
वह्निः संवर्तको भूत्वा पिबंस्तोयमयं हविः अहं पुराणः परमं तथैवाहं परायणम्
Becoming the consuming fire, I drink the watery oblation; I am the ancient one, the supreme, and likewise I am the ultimate goal.
अहं भूतस्य भव्यस्य वर्तमानस्य संभवः यत्किंचित्पश्यसे विप्र यच्छृणोषि च किंचन
I am the origin of what has been, what will be, and what is; whatever you see, O sage, and whatever you hear—of that too.
यल्लोके चानुभवसि तत्सर्वं मामनुस्मर विश्वं सृष्टं मया पूर्वं सृज्यं चाद्यापि पश्य माम्
Whatever you experience in this world, remember all that as me; the universe was created by me before, and even now is to be created—behold me.
युगे युगे च स्रक्ष्यामि मार्कण्डेयाखिलं जगत् तदेतदखिलं सर्वं मार्कण्डेयावधारय
In every age, O Markandeya, I will create the entire world; understand, Markandeya, that all this, everything, is truly so.
शुश्रूषुर्मम धर्मांश्च कुक्षौ चर सुखं मम मम ब्रह्मा शरीरस्थो देवैश्च ऋषिभिः सह
Desiring to hear my teachings, dwell happily within my womb; Brahma abides in my body, together with the gods and sages.
व्यक्तमव्यक्तयोगं माम् अवगच्छासुरद्विषम् अहमेकाक्षरो मन्त्रस् त्र्यक्षरश्चैव तारकः
Understand me as the union of manifest and unmanifest, the enemy of the asuras; I am the single-syllabled mantra, and also the three-syllabled, the liberating one.
परस्त्रिवर्गाद् ओंकारस् त्रिवर्गार्थनिदर्शनः एवमादिपुराणेशो वदन्नेव महामतिः
Beyond the three aims of life, I am Om, the signifier of their meaning; thus spoke the wise lord of the ancient Purana.
वक्त्रमाहृतवानाशु मार्कण्डेयं महामुनिम् ततो भगवतः कुक्षिं प्रविष्टो मुनिसत्तमः
He swiftly drew in the great sage Markandeya through his mouth; then the best of sages entered the Lord's belly.
स तस्मिन्सुखमेकान्ते शुश्रूषुर्हंसमव्ययम् यो ऽहमेव विविधतनुं परिश्रितो महार्णवे व्यपगतचन्द्रभास्करे शनैश्चरन्प्रभुरपि हंससंज्ञितो ऽसृजज्जगद्विहरति कालपर्यये
There, in that secluded place, he happily listened to the imperishable Swan; I myself, having assumed various forms, moved in the great ocean, with the moon and sun gone, slowly wandering—the Lord, called the Swan, created and roamed the world in the course of time.
आपवः स विभुर्भूत्वा चारयामास वै तपः छादयित्वात्मनो देहं यादसां कुलसंभवम्
He, the radiant one, having become the waters, practiced austerity, concealing his own body, taking birth among the race of aquatic beings.
ततो महात्मातिबलो मतिं लोकस्य सर्जने महतां पञ्चभूतानां विश्वो विश्वमचिन्तयत्
Then the great-souled, exceedingly powerful one, intent on the creation of the world, reflected upon the great five elements and the universe.
तस्य चिन्तयमानस्य निर्वाते संस्थिते ऽर्णवे निराकाशे तोयमये सूक्ष्मे जगति गह्वरे
As he was reflecting, with the wind stilled and the ocean at rest, in a world subtle, deep, filled with water, and without space—
ईषत्संक्षोभयामास सो ऽर्णवं सलिलाश्रयः अनन्तरोर्मिभिः सूक्ष्मम् अथ छिद्रमभूत्पुरा
He slightly agitated the ocean, he who rests in the waters; then, by the endless waves, a subtle fissure arose in ancient times.
शब्दं प्रति तदोद्भूतो मारुतश्छिद्रसंभवः स लब्ध्वान्तरमक्षोभ्यो व्यवर्धत समीरणः
From that fissure, sound arose, and from it, wind was born; having found an opening, the wind, unshakable, grew strong.
विवर्धता बलवता वेगाद्विक्षोभितो ऽर्णवः तस्यार्णवस्य क्षुब्धस्य तस्मिन्नम्भसि मन्थिते कृष्णवर्त्मा समभवत् प्रभुर्वैश्वानरो महान्
As the powerful wind increased, the ocean was stirred by its force; in that agitated water, as it was churned, the Lord of fire, Vaiśvānara, of dark path, arose.
ततः संशोषयामास पावकः सलिलं बहु क्षयाज्जलनिधेश्छिद्रम् अभवद्विस्तृतं नभः
Then the fire began to dry up the abundant water; as the ocean diminished, a great opening appeared, and the sky expanded.
आत्मतेजोद्भवाः पुण्या आपो ऽमृतरसोपमाः आकाशं छिद्रसम्भूतं वायुराकाशसंभवः
The pure waters, born from the radiance of the Self, are like the essence of immortality; space arises from the presence of openings, and wind is born from space.
आभ्यां संघर्षणोद्भूतं पावकं वायुसंभवम् दृष्ट्वा प्रीतो महादेवो महाभूतविभावनः
From the friction of these two, fire arises, born from wind; seeing this, the great god, the revealer of the great elements, was pleased.
दृष्ट्वा भूतानि भगवांल् लोकसृष्ट्यर्थमुत्तमम् ब्रह्मणो जन्मसहितं बहुरूपो व्यचिन्तयत्
Beholding the elements, the Blessed Lord, for the supreme purpose of creating the worlds, contemplated the many-formed birth of Brahmā.
चतुर्युगाभिसंख्याते सहस्रयुगपर्यये बहुजन्मा हि विश्वात्मा ब्रह्मणो हविरुच्यते
At the end of a thousand cycles of four yugas, the Soul of the Universe, having many births, is called the offering of Brahmā.
यत्पृथिव्यां द्विजेन्द्राणां तपसा भावितात्मनाम् ज्ञानं वृष्टं तु विश्वार्थे योगिनां याति मुख्यताम्
The knowledge that rains down on earth for the sake of the universe, from the twice-born lords whose souls are purified by austerity, becomes supreme among yogins.
तं योगवन्तं विज्ञाय सम्पूर्णैश्वर्यमुत्तमम् पदे ब्रह्मणि विश्वेशं न्ययोजयत योगवित्
Recognizing him as endowed with yoga and perfect sovereignty, the knower of yoga appointed the Lord of the Universe in the supreme state of Brahmā.
ततस्तस्मिन्महातोये महीशो हरिरच्युतः जले क्रीडंश्च विधिवन् मोदते सर्वलोककृत्
Then, in those great waters, the Lord Hari, the infallible one, the creator of all worlds, delights in play within the waters according to the proper order.
पद्मं नाभ्युद्भवं चैकं समुत्पादितवांस्तदा सहस्रपर्णं विरजं भास्कराभं हिरण्मयम्
At that time, he produced a single lotus, sprung from his navel, with a thousand petals, spotless, shining like the sun, and golden in hue.