परः पराणां परमः परमात्मात्मसंस्थितः । रूपवर्णादिनिर्देशविशेषणविवर्जितः
He is the supreme among the supreme, the highest Self established in itself, devoid of distinctions such as form, color, or any other attribute.
अपक्षयविनाशाभ्यां परिणामर्धिजन्मभिः । वर्जितः शक्यते वक्तुंयः सदास्तीति केवलम्
Free from decay, destruction, transformation, growth, and birth, he can only be described as 'He always exists,' and nothing more.
सर्वत्रासौ समस्तं च वसत्यत्रेति वै यतः । ततः स वासुदेवेति विद्वद्भिः परिपठ्यते
Because he pervades everything and dwells in all, therefore the wise call him Vāsudeva.
तद्ब्रह्म परंमं नित्यमजमक्षयमव्ययम् । एकस्वरूपं तु सदा हेयाभावाच्च निर्मलम्
That supreme Brahman is eternal, unborn, imperishable, and unchanging; always of one nature, pure because it is free from anything to be rejected.
तदेव सर्वमेवैतद्व्यक्ताव्यक्तस्वरूपवत् । तथा पुरुषरूपेण कालरूपेण च स्थितम्
That alone is all this, possessing both manifest and unmanifest forms, and is established as the form of the Person and as the form of Time.
परस्य ब्रह्मणो रूपं पुरुषः प्रथमं द्विज । व्यक्ताव्यक्ते तथैवान्ये रूपे कालस्तथा परम्
O twice-born, the Person is the first form of the Supreme Brahman; likewise, the manifest and unmanifest, and Time are other supreme forms.
प्रधानपुरुषव्यक्तकालानां परमं हि यत् । पश्यन्ति सूरयः शुद्धं तद्विष्णोः परमं पदम्
What is supreme beyond the primordial matter, the Person, the manifest, and Time—that pure state, the sages see as the supreme abode of Viṣṇu.
प्रधानपुरुषव्यक्तकालास्तु प्रविभागशः । रूपाणि स्थितिसर्गान्तव्यक्तिसद्भावहेतवः
The forms of primordial matter, the Person, the manifest, and Time are, in their divisions, the causes of the existence, creation, and dissolution of beings.
व्यक्तं विष्णुस्तथाव्यक्तं पुरुषः काल एव च । क्रीडतो बालकस्येव चेष्टां तस्य निशामय
Viṣṇu is the manifest, the unmanifest, the Person, and indeed Time; observe his activity as that of a child at play.
अव्यक्तं कारणं यत्तत्प्रधानमृषिसत्तमैः । प्रोच्यते प्रकृतिः सूक्ष्मा नित्यं सदसदात्मकम्
That unmanifest cause, which the foremost sages call primordial matter, is subtle nature, eternal, and of the essence of both being and non-being.
अक्षय्यं नान्यदाधारममेयमजरं ध्रुवम् । शब्दस्पर्शविहीनं तद्रूपादिभिरसंहितम्
It is imperishable, has no other support, is immeasurable, ageless, and constant; devoid of sound and touch, and not associated with form or other qualities.
त्रिगुणं तज्जगद्योनिरनादिप्रभवाप्ययम् । तेनाग्रे सर्वमेवासीद्व्यांत्पं वै प्रलयादनु
It is endowed with the three qualities, the source of the world, without beginning, origin, or end; therefore, before creation and after dissolution, all was indeed that.
वेदवादविदो विद्दन्नियता ब्रह्मवादिनः । पठन्ति चैतमेवार्थ प्रधानप्रतिपादकम्
Those who know the Vedic doctrines, and the established teachers of Brahman, recite this very meaning, which establishes the primacy of primordial matter.
नाहो न रात्रिर्न नभो न भूमि- र्नासीत्ममोज्योतिरभूच्च नान्यत् । श्रोत्रादिबुद्धयानुपलभ्यमेकं प्राधानिकं ब्रह्म पुमांस्तदासीत्
There was no day, no night, no sky, no earth, no self, no light, nor anything else; only the one primordial Brahman, not accessible to the senses or mind, existed then.
विष्णोः स्वरूपात्परतो हि ते द्वे रूपे प्रधानं पुरुषश्च विप्र । तस्यैव तेऽन्येन धूते वियुक्ते रूपांन्तरं तद्द्विज कालसंज्ञम्
O sage, beyond the true form of Viṣṇu, there are indeed two forms: Pradhāna (primordial matter) and Puruṣa (spirit). When these two are separated and purified, there arises another form, called Time, O twice-born one.
प्रकृतौ संस्थितं व्यक्तमतीतप्रलये तु यत् । तस्मात्प्राकृतसंज्ञोऽयमुच्यते प्रतिसत्र्चरः
That which remains manifest in Prakṛti (nature) even after the great dissolution is called by the wise the Prākṛta (primordial) state, for it endures through each cycle.
अनादिर्भगवान्कालो नान्तोऽस्य द्विज विद्यते । अव्युच्छिन्नास्ततस्त्वेते सर्गस्थित्यन्तसंयमाः
The Blessed Lord, Time, is without beginning and, O twice-born, has no end; therefore, the cycles of creation, maintenance, and dissolution are uninterrupted.
गुणसाम्ये ततस्तस्मिन्पृथक्पूंसि व्यवस्थिते । कालस्वरूपं तद्विष्णोर्मैत्रेय परिवर्त्तते
When the qualities are in equilibrium and the individual soul is distinct, then, O Maitreya, the form of Time belonging to Viṣṇu undergoes transformation.
ततस्तु तप्तरं ब्रह्मं परमात्मा जगन्मयः । सर्वगः सर्वभूतेशः सर्वात्मा परमेश्वरः
Then, the Supreme Soul, the essence of the universe, the all-pervading, the Lord of all beings, the Self of all, the Supreme Lord, becomes the blazing Brahman.
प्रधानपुरुषौ चापि प्रविश्यात्मेच्छया हरिः । क्षोभयामास सम्प्राप्ते सर्गकाले व्ययाव्ययौ
Hari, by his own will, entered both Pradhāna and Puruṣa, the perishable and the imperishable, and agitated them at the time of creation.
यथा सन्निधिमात्रेण गन्धः क्षोभाय जायते । मनसो नोपकर्तृत्वात्तथाऽसौ परमेश्वरः
Just as the mere presence of fragrance causes disturbance, yet the mind is not the direct agent, so too is the Supreme Lord.
स एव क्षोभको ब्रह्मन् क्षोभ्यश्र्च पुरुषोत्तमः । स संकोचविकासाभ्यां प्रधानत्वेऽपिच स्थितः
He alone, O Brāhmaṇa, is both the agitator and the one to be agitated, the Supreme Person; by contraction and expansion, he abides also as Pradhāna.
विकासाणुस्वरूपैश्च ब्रह्मरूपादिभिस्तथा । व्यक्तस्वरूपश्च तथा विष्णुः सर्वेश्वरेश्वरः
By forms of expansion and subtlety, such as the form of Brahman and others, Viṣṇu, the Lord of all lords, also becomes manifest.
गुणसाम्यात्ततस्तस्मात्क्षेत्रज्ञाधिष्ठितान्मुने । गुणव्यत्र्जनसम्भूतिः सर्गकाले द्विजोत्तम
Then, O sage, from the equilibrium of the qualities, presided over by the knower of the field, arises the differentiation of the qualities at the time of creation, O best of the twice-born.
प्रधानतत्त्वमुद्भतं महान्तं तत्समावृणोत् । सात्विको राजसश्चैव तामसश्च त्रिधा महान्
The principle of Pradhāna gave rise to Mahat (the great principle), which enveloped it; Mahat is threefold—sāttvika, rājasika, and tāmasika.
प्रधानतत्वेन समं त्वचा बीजमिवावृतम् । वैकारिकस्तैजसश्च भूतादिश्चैव तामस्वः
Mahat, existing equally with Pradhāna and enveloped like a seed, is threefold: Vaikārika (of sattva), Taijasa (of rajas), and Bhūtādi (of tamas).
त्रिविधोऽयमहंकारो महत्तत्त्वादजायत । भूतेन्द्रियाणां हेतुस्स त्रिगुणत्वान्महामुने । यथा प्रधानेन महान्महता स तथावृतः
From Mahat arose this threefold Ahaṃkāra (ego), which is the cause of the elements and the senses, O great sage, due to its three qualities; just as Mahat is enveloped by Pradhāna, so too is Ahaṃkāra enveloped by Mahat.
भूतादिस्तु विकुर्वाणः शब्दतन्मात्रकं ततः । ससर्ज शब्दतन्मात्रादाकाशं शब्दलक्षणम्
Then Bhūtādi, undergoing transformation, produced the subtle element of sound; from that subtle sound, space (ākāśa), characterized by sound, was created.
शब्दमात्रं तथाकाशं भूतादिः स समावृणोत् । आकाशस्तु विकुर्वाणः स्पर्शमात्रं ससर्ज ह
Bhūtādi enveloped both the subtle sound and space; then space, undergoing transformation, produced the subtle element of touch.
बलवानभवद्वायुस्तस्य स्पर्शो गुणो मतः । आकाशं शब्दमात्रं तु स्पर्शमात्रं समावृणोत्
From that, powerful Vāyu (air) arose, whose quality is said to be touch; space, which possesses only sound, was enveloped by the subtle element of touch.