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.
ध्यानात् कदाचिद् भगवान् स्वयं विरमति प्रभुः । चिद्वशात् सलिलस्पन्दात् सोम्यत्वाद् इव वारिधिः
Sometimes, by meditation, the blessed Lord himself ceases, by the power of consciousness, just as the ocean becomes still by the cessation of waves.
विचारयति संसारं सुखदुःखसमन्वितम् । आशापाशशतैर् बद्धं रागद्वेषभयातुरम्
He reflects upon the world, filled with pleasure and pain, bound by hundreds of cords of desire, and afflicted by attachment, aversion, and fear.
ततस् स करुणाक्रान्तमना भूतविभूतये । करोतीह महार्थानि शास्त्राणि विविधानि च
Then, his mind overcome by compassion for all beings, he undertakes great works here, including various scriptures.
अध्यात्मज्ञानगर्भाणि वेदवेदान्तवन्ति च । पुराणादीनि चान्यानि मुक्तये सर्वदेहिनाम्
These are filled with the essence of spiritual knowledge, including the Vedas, Vedānta, Purāṇas, and others, all for the liberation of embodied beings.
पुनस् तत् परम् आलम्ब्य पदम् आपद्विवर्जितम् । स्वस्थस् तिष्ठति शान्तात्मा निर्मन्दर इवार्णवः
Again, resting upon that supreme state, free from adversity, he abides in his own nature, with a tranquil mind, like an ocean undisturbed by Mandara.
अवलोक्य जगच्चेष्टां मर्यादायां नियोज्य च । ब्रह्मा कमलपीठस्थः पुनस् स्वात्मनि तिष्ठति
Observing the activities of the world and maintaining order, Brahmā, seated on the lotus, once more abides in his own Self.
केवलं जन्मसंस्कारवशतस् तस्य तद् वपुः । अपुनर्जननायैव चक्रभ्रमवद् आस्थितम्
Only by the force of past births and impressions does his body remain, established solely for non-return to birth, like a wheel set in motion.
न रोचते ऽस्य सन्त्यागो वपुषो न च सङ्ग्रहः । नात्मा न चेतरन् नेहा न स्थितिर् नास्थितिस् तथा
He has no inclination to abandon the body, nor to preserve it; there is neither self nor other here, neither existence nor non-existence.
सर्वभावसमारम्भस् समस् सर्वासु वृत्तिषु । परिपूर्णार्णवाकारो मुक्त एवावतिष्ठते
Undertaking all actions equally, remaining the same in every state, he stands liberated, like a full and perfect ocean.
कदाचित् केवलं सर्वसङ्कल्पपरिहीनया । यदृच्छयानुग्रहार्थं लोकानां प्रविबुध्यते
Sometimes, solely by chance and without any intention whatsoever, one awakens for the sake of bestowing grace upon the worlds.