स एष भगवान् ब्रह्मा सर्वलोकाधिनायकः । द्रवत्कनकसङ्काशः परमाकाशसम्भवः
He is that blessed Lord Brahma, ruler of all worlds, shining like molten gold, arisen from the supreme expanse.
अथासौ परमाकाशे तिष्ठन् परमरूपवान् । कल्पयत्य् आत्मनो गेहम् आत्मस्थश् चित्तलीलया
Then, abiding in the supreme expanse, possessing the highest form, he creates his own dwelling by the play of his own mind, remaining established in himself.
कदाचित् केवलं व्योम परमं पारवर्जितम् । अनादिमध्यपर्यन्तं कदाचिद् अमलं पयः
At times, it is pure space alone, supreme and free from any distinction; at times, it is pure water, without beginning, middle, or end.
कदाचित् कल्पकालाग्निज्वालाभासुरमण्डितम् । कदाचित् काननं कान्तं नाभीकमलकुट्मलम्
At times, it is adorned with the radiance of the flames of the fire at the end of an age; at times, it is a lovely forest, or the closed bud of a lotus at the navel.
अन्यान्य् अन्यान्य् अनेकानि प्रतिजन्मावधि प्रभुः । कल्पयत्य् आसनान्य् एष नानारूपाणि हेलया
This sovereign, by his own will, effortlessly creates countless different seats, of various forms, for each and every birth.
तत्रेदम्प्रथमत्वेन यदैष ब्रह्मणः पदात् । अवतीर्णस् तदा ज्ञानात् तस्यैव सुसमस् स्मृतः
Among these, when he first descends from the state of Brahman, then, due to knowledge, his own body is considered to be well-formed.
गर्भनिद्राव्यपगमे वपुः पश्यति भासुरम् । प्राणापानप्रवाहाढ्यं द्रव्यैर् एव विनिर्मितम्
When the sleep of the womb departs, he sees a radiant body, endowed with the flow of prāṇa and apāna, constructed solely from substances.
रोमकोटिभिर् आकीर्णं द्वात्रिंशद्दशनान्वितम् । त्रिस्थूणं पञ्चदैवत्यम् अधश्चरणलाञ्छितम्
It is covered with the tips of hairs, furnished with thirty-two teeth, supported by three pillars, possessed of fifteen deities, and marked below by the soles of the feet.
पञ्चभागं नवद्वारं त्वग्लेपमसृणाङ्गकम् । युक्तम् अङ्गुलिविंशत्या नखविंशतिलाञ्छितम्
It is divided into five parts, has nine gates, limbs smooth and smeared with unguents, equipped with twenty fingers, and marked by twenty nails.
द्विबाहुं द्विस्तनं द्व्यक्षं बह्वक्षभुजम् एव वा । नीडं चित्तविहङ्गस्य बिलं मन्मथभोगिनः
It has two arms, two breasts, two eyes—or sometimes many shoulders and arms; it is the nest of the bird of mind, the cave for the serpent of desire.
तृष्णापिशाच्या निलयं जीवकेसरिकन्दरम् । अभिमानगजालानम् आननाम्भोजशोभितम्
It is the dwelling of the demoness of thirst, the cave of the lion called the soul, the stable of the elephant of pride, and adorned by the lotus-face.
अवलोक्य वपुर् ब्रह्मा कान्तम् आत्मीयम् उत्तमम् । चिन्तयाम् आस भगवांस् त्रिकालामलदर्शनः
Beholding his own radiant and supreme form, Brahma, the blessed one whose vision is pure across the three times, began to reflect.
अस्मिन्न् आकाशकुहरे तते मदुपलाञ्छिते । अदृष्टापारपर्यन्ते प्रथमं किम् अभूद् इति
In this cave of space, on this shore adorned with honey, endless and without visible boundary, what was there first—he wondered.
इति चिन्तितवान् ब्रह्मा सद्योजातो ऽमलात्मदृक् । अपश्यत् सर्गवृन्दानि समतीतान्य् अनेकशः
Thus pondering, Brahma, newly arisen and with a stainless vision of the Self, saw countless past creations that had already passed away.
अथ सस्मार सकलान् स सधर्मगुणक्रमान् । वसन्तः कुसुमानीव वेदान् वाङ्मयसंयुतान्
Then he recalled all the Vedas, complete with their sequences of duties and qualities, as one remembers blossoms in spring—joined with speech and meaning.
लीलया कल्पयाम् आस चित्रास् सङ्कल्पजाः प्रजाः । नानाचारसमारम्भा गन्धर्वो नगरं यथा
Effortlessly, he created various beings born of thought, with diverse customs and undertakings, as a Gandharva might fashion a city.
तासां स्वर्गापवर्गार्थं धर्मकामार्थसिद्धये । अनन्तानि विचित्राणि शास्त्राणि समकल्पयत्
For their sake—so they might attain heaven, liberation, and the fulfillment of duty, desire, and wealth—he composed countless and wondrous scriptures.
सृष्टिर् एवम् इयं राम सर्गे ऽस्मिन् स्थितिम् आगता । विरिञ्चरूपान् मनसः पुष्पलक्ष्मीर् मधोर् इव
Thus, O Rama, this creation came to abide in this cycle, as the splendor of flowers rests on spring, taking form through the mind of Brahma.
विविधविरचनैः क्रियाविलासैः कमलजरूपधरेण चेतसैव । रघुसुत परिकल्पनेन नीता स्थितिम् अतुलां जगतीह सर्गलक्ष्मीः
By manifold arrangements and playful acts, by the mind taking the form of the lotus-born, O son of Raghu, the glory of creation here has been established in this world in an incomparable way.
एवंसम्पन्नम् एवैतन् नकिञ्चिद् अपि संस्थितम् । शून्यम् एव नभोमात्रं मनोविलसितं परम्
Thus, when all this is accomplished, nothing remains established; only the vast emptiness of space, the supreme play of the mind.
न देशकालाव् एतेन ब्रह्माण्डेनावृतौ क्वचित् । मनाग् अपि महारूपवताप्य् आकाशरूपिणा
In this, neither place nor time exists anywhere within the cosmic egg, even in the slightest, though it appears grand and sky-like.
एतत् सङ्कल्पमात्रात्म स्वप्नदृष्टपुरोपमम् । यत्रैतत् तत्र निश्शून्यं केवलं व्योम संस्थितम्
This is merely the essence of thought, like a city seen in a dream; wherever it appears, there is nothing but pure space.
अभित्तिरागरचनम् अपि दृष्टम् असन्मयम् । अकृतं कृतम् एवैतद् व्योम्नि चित्रं विचित्रकम्
Even the construction of walls and coloring, though seen, is not real; what is unmade seems made, a marvelous painting in the sky.
मनसा कल्पितं सर्वं देहादिभुवनत्रयम् । संसृतौ कारणं चैतच् चक्षुर् आलोकने यथा
Everything—the body and the three worlds—are imagined by the mind; this is the cause of transmigration, just as vision is caused by the eye.
आभासमात्रं हि जगद् घटावटपटक्रमैः । आवर्तते न सद्रूपाः पृथक् कुड्यादयस् स्थिताः
The world is only an appearance, unfolding through pots, huts, and cloths; they do not exist as real things, nor are walls and such separately established.
मनसेदं शरीरं हि निवासार्थं प्रकल्पितम् । क्रिमिणा कोशकारेण स्वात्मकोश इव स्वयम्
This body is fashioned by the mind for the sake of dwelling, just as a worm makes its own cocoon for itself.
न तद् अस्ति न यन् नाम चेतस् सङ्कल्पमन्थरम् । न करोति न चाप्नोति दुर्गम् अप्य् अतिदुष्करम्
There is nothing that does not exist, nor any name, which the mind, slow in resolve, does not create or attain—even what is difficult or inaccessible.
सर्वशक्तौ परे देवे का नाम ननु शक्तयः । न सम्भवन्त्य् आव्रियते याभिर् अन्तर् मनोगुहा
In the Supreme, who possesses all powers, what can truly be called separate powers? There are none; it is only by these that the inner cave of the mind appears to be veiled.
सत्तासत्ते पदार्थानां सर्वेषां सर्वदैव हि । महाबाहो सम्भवतस् सर्वशक्तौ विभौ सति
O mighty-armed one, the existence or non-existence of all things always arises only because the all-powerful, all-pervading One is present.
पश्य भावनया प्राप्तं मनसा पाद्मजं वपुः । तस्मात् तत्कलनं राम सर्वशक्तियुतं विदुः
See how the lotus-born body is attained through imagination by the mind; therefore, O Rama, know that all manifestation arises endowed with all power.