सिसृक्षुरन्यदेहस्थः प्रीतिमाप ततः सुराः । सत्त्वोद्रिक्ताः समुद्भूता मुखतो ब्रह्मणो द्विजः
Desiring to create, he, situated in another form, experienced delight; the gods, predominated by goodness, arose from Brahma’s mouth, O twice-born.
त्यक्ता सापि तनुस्तेन सत्त्वप्रायमभूद्दिनम् । ततो हि बलिनो रात्रावसुरा देवता दिवा
He abandoned that form, which then became mostly sattvic and turned into day; thus, the demons are powerful at night, and the gods during the day.
सत्त्वमात्रात्मिकामेव ततोन्यां जगृहे तनुम् । पितृवन्मन्यमानस्य पितरस्तस्य जज्ञिरे
He then assumed another body, composed solely of sattva, considering it as his father; from him, the ancestors were born.
उत्ससर्ज ततस्तां तु पितॄन्सृष्ट्वापि स प्रभुः । सा चोत्सृष्टाभवत्संध्या दिननक्तान्तरस्थिता
After creating the ancestors, that Lord released that form; and the form thus released became Sandhya, the twilight that stands between day and night.
रजोमात्रात्मिकामन्यां जगृहे स तनुं ततः । रजोमात्रोत्कटा जाता मनुष्या द्विजसत्तम
Then he took on another body, consisting only of rajas; from that intense rajas were born humans, O best of twice-born.
तामप्याशु स तत्याज तनुं सद्यः प्रजापतिः । ज्योत्स्ना समभवत्सापि प्राक्सन्ध्या याऽभिधीयते
The Lord of creatures quickly abandoned that body as well; and that body became Jyotsna, the dawn, which is called the earlier twilight.
ज्योत्स्नागमे तु बलिनो मनुष्याः पितरस्तथा । मैत्रेय संध्यासमये तस्मादेते भवन्ति वै
At the coming of Jyotsna, both powerful humans and ancestors, O Maitreya, are present at the time of twilight.
ज्योत्स्ना रात्र्यहनी संध्या चत्वार्येतानि वै प्रभोः । ब्रह्मणस्तु शरीराणि त्रिगुणोपाश्रयाणि तु
Jyotsna, night, day, and twilight—these four are indeed the bodies of the Lord Brahma, each associated with one of the three gunas.
रजोमात्रात्मिकामेव ततोन्यां जगृहे तनुम् । ततः क्षुद्ब्रह्मणो जाता जज्ञे कामस्तया ततः
He then assumed yet another body, composed solely of rajas; from it arose hunger, and from that hunger, desire was born.
क्षुत्क्षामानन्धकारेथ सोसृजद्भगवांस्ततः । विरूपाः श्मश्रुला जातास्तेभ्यधावंस्ततः प्रभुम्
Then, in darkness caused by hunger and thirst, the blessed Lord created beings who were misshapen and bearded, and they rushed toward the Lord.
मैवं भो रक्ष्यतामेष यैरुक्तं राक्षसास्तु ते । ऊचुः खादाम इत्यन्ये ये ते यक्षास्तु जक्षणात्
Those who said, 'Do not do this, let him be protected,' became known as Rakshasas; others who said, 'Let us eat,' became Yakshas, from the act of eating.
अप्रियेण तु तान्दृष्ट्वा केशाः शीर्यन्तवेधसः । हीनाश्च शिरसो भूयः समारोहन्त तच्छिरः
Seeing them with displeasure, the hair of the Creator fell out; and from that fallen hair, new heads arose again on his body.
सर्पणात्तेऽभवन् सर्पा हीनत्वादहयः स्मृताः । ततः क्रुद्धो जगत्स्रष्टा क्रोधात्मानो विनिर्ममे । वर्णेन कपिशेनोग्रभूतास्ते पिशिताशनाः
From that shedding, serpents were born, and because they were fallen, they are called 'fallen ones'; then, angered, the creator of the world produced fierce beings with tawny color, who were flesh-eaters.
ध्यायतोंगात्समुत्पन्ना गन्धर्वास्तस्य तत्क्षणात् । पिबन्तो जज्ञिरे वाचं गन्धर्वास्तेन ते द्विज
As he meditated, Gandharvas arose from his body at that very moment; and those Gandharvas were born drinking speech, O twice-born.
एतानि सृष्ट्वा भगवान्ब्रह्म तच्छक्तिचोदितः । ततः स्वच्छन्दतोन्यानि वयांसि वयसोऽसृजत्
Having created these, the blessed Brahma, impelled by that power, then at his own will created other birds.
अवयो वक्षसश्चक्रे मुखतोजाः स सृष्टवान् । सृष्टवानुदराद्गाश्च पार्श्वभ्यां च प्रजापतिः
He created birds from his chest, strong ones from his mouth, cattle from his abdomen, and other creatures from his sides, O Lord of creatures.
पद्भ्यां चाश्वान्समातङ्गान्रासभान्गवयान्मृगान्। उष्ट्रानश्वतरांश्चैव न्यङ्कूनन्याश्च जातयः
From his feet he created horses, elephants, donkeys, wild oxen, deer, camels, mules, dwarfs, and other species.
ओषध्यः फलमूलिन्यो रोमभ्यस्तस्य जज्ञिरे । त्रेतायुगमुखे ब्रह्मा कल्पस्यादौ द्विजोत्तम । सृष्ट्वापश्चौषधीः सम्यग्युयोजस तदाध्वरे
Plants bearing fruit and roots were born from his hair; at the beginning of the Treta Yuga, at the start of the kalpa, O best of twice-born, Brahma created the plants and properly assigned them to the sacrifice.
गौरजः पुरुषो मेषश्चाश्वाश्वतरगर्दभाः । एतान्ग्राम्यान्पशूनाहुरारण्यांश्च निबोध मे
The cow-born man, the ram, horses, mules, and donkeys—these are called domestic animals; listen now to the wild ones.
श्वापदा द्विखुरा हस्ती वानराः पक्षिपंचमाः । औदकाः पशवः षष्ठाः सप्तमास्तु सरीसृपाः
Carnivores, cloven-hoofed animals, elephants, monkeys, birds as the fifth group, aquatic animals as the sixth, and reptiles as the seventh.
गायत्रं च ऋचश्चैव त्रिवृत्सोमं रथन्तरम् । अग्निष्टोमं च यज्ञानां निर्ममे प्रथमान्मुखात्
From his mouth, he created the Gāyatra and Ṛc verses, the Trivṛt Sāma, the Rathantara Sāma, and the Agniṣṭoma among sacrifices.
यजूंषि त्रैष्टुभं छन्दः स्तोमं पंचदशं तथा । बृहत्साम तथोक्थं च दक्षिणादसृजन्मुखात्
From his right side, he produced the Yajus verses, the Triṣṭubh meter, the Pañcadaśa Stoma, the Bṛhat Sāma, and the Uktha.
सामानि जगतीछन्दः स्तोमं सप्तदशं तथा । वैरूपमतिरात्रं च पश्चिमादसृजन्मुखात्
From his left side, he brought forth the Sāma verses, the Jagatī meter, the Saptadaśa Stoma, the Vairūpa, and the Atirātra.
एकविंशमथर्वाणमाप्तोर्यामाणमेव च । अनुष्टुभं च वैराजमुत्तरादसृजन्मुखात्
From his back, he created the Ekaviṃśa of the Atharvāṇa, the Āptoryāma, the Anuṣṭubh meter, and the Vairāja.
उच्चावचानि भूतानि गात्रेभ्यस्तस्य जज्ञिरे । देवासुरपितॄन् सृष्ट्वा मनुष्यांश्च प्रजापतिः
From his limbs were born beings of various forms; after creating the gods, asuras, ancestors, and humans, Prajāpati continued.
ततः पुनः ससर्जादौ संकल्पस्य पितामहः । यक्षान् पिशाचान्गन्धर्वान् तथैवाप्सरसां गणान्
Then again, at the beginning, the grandfather of resolve created Yakṣas, Piśācas, Gandharvas, and groups of Apsarases.
नरकिन्नररक्षांसि वयः पशुमृगोरगान् । अव्ययं च व्ययं चैव यदिदं स्थाणुजंगमम्
He created Nāgas, Kinnaras, Rākṣasas, birds, animals, cattle, serpents, the perishable and imperishable, all that is stationary and moving.
तत्ससर्ज तदा ब्रह्म भगवानादिकृत्प्रभुः । तेषां ये यानि कर्माणि प्राक्सृष्ट्यां प्रतिपेदिरे । तान्येव ते प्रपद्यन्ते सृज्यमानाः पुनःपुनः
At that time, the blessed Brahmā, the primordial lord, created them; whatever actions they had previously acquired before creation, those same actions they take up again, being created repeatedly.
हिंस्राहिंस्रे मृदुक्रूरे धर्मधर्मावृतानृते । तद्भाविताः प्रपद्यन्ते तस्मात्तत्तस्य रोचते
Violent and nonviolent, gentle and harsh, righteous and unrighteous, truth and falsehood—shaped by these, they attain what corresponds, and thus it pleases them.
इन्द्रि यार्थेषु भूतेषु शरीरेषु च स प्रभुः । नानात्वं विनियोगं च धातैवं व्यसृजत्स्वयम्
In the objects of the senses, in beings, and in bodies, the lord himself assigned diversity and allocation.