सङ्कल्पजालरूपस्य मनसः कल्पिताकृतेः । अकरोत् तस्य सङ्कल्पलक्ष्मीः पदम् अथान्तरे
He established, for the mind—whose form is a web of imagination and whose shape is conceived—an abode for the fortune of imagination, in another realm.
ततस् सङ्कल्पयाम् आस पूर्वं तेजो महाप्रभम् । लसदग्निलताचक्रवक्रीकृतदिगन्तरम्
Then, he imagined first a radiant light, of great splendor, shining like a circle of blazing fire, turning the directions golden.
ऋक्षप्रतिमनिष्ठ्यूतकर्कशाग्निकणोत्करम् । मुञ्जपिञ्जरपर्यन्तहेमकाननिताम्बरम्
It was filled with clusters of harsh fire-sparks, woven like constellations, its sky colored like pale grass at the edges, and adorned with golden forests.
ज्वालाहेमलताजालजटालनिजमण्डलम् । कचत्प्रसरदुद्दामकरकुण्डलमण्डितम्
Its mass was a tangle of golden flames and blazing fire, adorned with wildly spreading, shining, golden earrings.
तच्छरीरि मनस् तस्मिंस् ततस् तेजसि भास्वरे । आत्माकारसमाकारं भास्करं समकल्पयत्
Within that brilliant light, the mind, embodying itself in that form, imagined the sun, shaped like the self.
स ततस् तेजसस् तस्माद् अभ्युदेति दिवाकरः । ज्वालामण्डलमध्यस्थो ज्वलत्कनककुण्डलः
From that light, the sun arises, dwelling in the midst of a circle of flames, wearing blazing golden earrings.
ज्वालाजटाभारधरो वान्तविस्फारपावकः । ज्वालाविलासावयवः पूरिताकाशमण्डलः
He bears a mass of flame-locks, exhaling and expanding fire, his limbs playing with flames, filling the entire sphere of the sky.
अथ ब्रह्मा महाबुद्धिर् अन्यांस् तांस् तेजसः कणान् । अकस्मात् प्रतिभातेन विमानत्वेन चारुणा
Then Brahma, of great intellect, suddenly, by a flash of insight, fashioned those other particles of light into beautiful aerial vehicles.
क्षणात् सङ्कल्पयाम् आस ददर्श च तथैव तान् । सङ्कल्पान् अन्तरं जातान् विद्वाञ् शब्दगणान् इव
In an instant, he conceived them and saw them just as he had imagined; the wise one perceived the arising of these conceptions as one perceives groups of sounds.
स्थितिर् एषा महाबाहो प्रतिसर्गं स्वयम्भुवः । प्रत्यहं च प्रतिजगत् सङ्कल्पितसुरासुरा
This is the process, O mighty-armed one, by which the self-born creates anew; each day and for each world, the gods and demons are conjured by his thought.
कालं कालविभक्तीश् च नक्षत्राणि ग्रहांस् तथा । सरितस् सागरान् द्वीपान् दिशश् शैलांस् तथावनिम्
He imagined time, its divisions, the stars and planets, rivers, oceans, islands, directions, mountains, and the earth itself.
देवान् दैत्यान् नरान् नागान् गन्धर्वान् यक्षराक्षसान् । अकल्पयद् अयं ब्रह्मा तरङ्गान् इव सागरः
This Brahma imagined gods, demons, humans, serpents, gandharvas, yakshas, and rakshasas, just as the ocean produces waves.
तेषां देशान् गिरींश् चैव विमानान्य् उत्तमानि च । कर्माणि प्रविभक्तानि पद्मजस् समकल्पयत्
He also devised their regions, mountains, splendid aerial vehicles, and assigned their various actions, the lotus-born one arranged all these.
ते ऽपि सङ्कल्पसम्प्राप्तसिद्धयस् सर्वशक्तयः । यथासङ्कल्पितं वस्तु क्षणाद् ददृशुर् अग्रतः
They too, having attained perfection through thought and possessing all powers, instantly saw before them whatever they had conceived.
सङ्कल्पयन्त्य् अथान्यांस् ते नानाभूतगणान् बहून् । ते ऽप्य् अन्यांस् तत्र ते ऽप्य् अन्यांस् ते ऽप्य् अन्यान् विविधान् अपि
Then they imagined many other groups of beings; those beings in turn imagined others, and those others yet more, of various kinds.
संस्मृत्य वेदांस् तदनु यज्ञक्रमगुणान्वितान् । जगद्गृहवधूं ब्रह्मा मर्यादां समकल्पयत्
Recalling the Vedas, along with the qualities of the sacrificial rituals, Brahma established the boundaries for the world, as one would for a housewife.
ब्राह्मं रूपम् उपादाय मनो मायि महद्वपुः । तनोतीत्थम् इमां सृष्टिं भूतसन्ततिसङ्कुलाम्
Assuming the divine form, the mind-created vast body, he produces this creation, teeming with the succession of beings.
समुद्राचलवृक्षाढ्यां कृतलोकान्तरक्रमाम् । मेरुभूपीठदिक्कुञ्जजटालोदरमण्डलाम्
He made worlds adorned with oceans, mountains, and trees, with realms stretching between worlds, and regions marked by the peaks of Meru, the earth's seat, directions, forests, and tangled masses.
सुखदुःखजराजन्ममरणव्याधिवेधिताम् । रागद्वेषभयाविद्धां गुणत्रयमयात्मिकाम्
This creation is struck by pleasure and pain, old age, birth, death, and disease; pierced by passion, aversion, and fear; its essence is composed of the three qualities.
मनोभिस् तैर् विरिञ्चोत्थैर् यद् यथा कल्पितं पुरा । तत् तथैवाखिलं दृष्टं दृश्यते ऽद्यापि मायया
Whatever was imagined by those minds, arisen from Brahma, in the past—so it was seen in its entirety, and even now it is perceived through illusion.
इत्थं सर्वेषु सर्गेषु केषुचित् त्व् अथ वाप्य् अजः । सङ्कल्पयति संसारं परिपश्यति च स्थिरम्
Thus, in all creations, the unborn one, in some cases or perhaps in all, imagines the cycle of existence and perceives it as stable.
मोह एवम् अयं मिथ्या जागतस् स्थिरतां गतः । सङ्कल्पनेन मनसा कल्पितो ऽविरतं स्वयम्
This delusion, though false, has attained the appearance of reality in waking life; it is continually fashioned by the mind's imagination.
सङ्कल्पवशतस् सर्वाः प्रसरन्ति जगत्क्रियाः । सङ्कल्पवशतो देवी नियतिर् नियता स्थिता
All actions in the world unfold according to imagination; by the power of imagination, the goddess of destiny remains firmly established.
रोपितायां प्रजानाथैस् सृष्टौ स कमलोद्भवः । ब्रह्मा सञ्चिन्तयत्य् एष पद्मासनगतः प्रभुः
When the creation, planted by the Lord of beings, had arisen, that Brahmā, born from the lotus, seated upon the lotus-seat, contemplates thus.
मनस्स्पन्दनमात्रेण चित्रं चित्रेयम् उत्थिता । सृष्टिर् आभोगिनी स्फारव्यवहारविकारिणी
By the mere vibration of the mind, a wondrous array arises—creation, full of enjoyment, ever-changing through the play of manifold activities.
इन्द्रोपेन्द्रनरेन्द्राढ्या शैलसागरसङ्कुला । पातालरोदोदिग्वर्गमार्गसङ्कटकोटरा
It is crowded with Indras, Upendras, and mighty kings, filled with mountains and oceans, and riddled with the narrow passages of netherworlds, heavens, and quarters.
सङ्कल्पजालम् अखिलं मयेदम् अहितं ततम् । अधुना विरमाम्य् अस्मात् सङ्कल्पोल्लासनक्रमात्
All this web of imagination has been spread by me; now I shall cease from this process of manifesting the play of thought.
इति निश्चित्य विरतस् कल्पनानर्थसङ्कटात् । अनादिमत् परं ब्रह्म स्मरत्य् आत्मानम् आत्मना
Thus resolving, he withdraws from the distress of fanciful constructions, and remembers his own Self, the beginningless, supreme Brahman, by his own Self.
तम् आसाद्य तदाभासे पदे गलितमानसः । सुखं तिष्ठति शान्तात्मा तल्पे ऽध्वश्रमवान् इव
Attaining that state, with the mind dissolved in that radiance, he abides in happiness, his heart at peace, like a weary traveler resting on a bed.
निर्ममो निरहङ्कारः परां शान्तिम् उपागतः । अविक्षुब्ध इवाम्भोधिर् आत्मनात्मनि तिष्ठति
Free from possessiveness and ego, having reached supreme peace, he abides in the Self within himself, like the ocean undisturbed.