Mānasa Sṛshṭi

At the start of the present kalpa (age of the world), Brahmā wished to create. The Brahmāṇḍa Mahā Purāṇa tells how he made each class of beings from his own body and mind. The asuras came from his hip, the devas from his shining face, the pitṛs from his body of twilight, humans from his mind, and the rākshasas and yakshas from his body of hunger. Serpents came from his fallen hair, the gandharvas from the sound of his lips, and the bhūtas and piśācas from his anger.

Brahmā also made nine mind-born sons, who became the fathers of the ṛshi lines. Last, he divided his body to make Śatarūpā, and from her and Svāyaṃbhuva Manu came the first human line.

The beginning

Brahmā wished to create and began dhyāna-sṛshṭi (creation through meditation). His cosmic body passed through different states: tamas, sattva, rajas and the mixtures between them. In each state a different order of beings came forth.

Asuras from the hip

Brahmā was filled with tamas as he thought about creation. The first beings to appear were the asuras, from his jaghana (the hip and belly). They were born from prāṇa (asu, the breath of life), so they were called asurāḥ. After making the asuras, Brahmā left that body. It became rātrī (night), full of tamas and marked by its three-hour watches (śrī-yāma-kalita).

Devas from the shining face

Brahmā then took a new body, full of sattva-guṇa. From his mukha (face) the devas were born. They were called devas because they shine and play (dīvyante, from the root div, to shine and to play). The body from which the devas were born became ahas (day). This is why the devas are always stronger in the daytime.

Pitṛs from the body of twilight

Brahmā took yet another body, one of pure sattva. With the feeling of a father, “these are my children”, he thought about the next creation. From the sides of his body, at sandhyā (the meeting of day and night), the pitṛs arose. The body from which they were born became sandhyā itself. So the twilight hours are holy for pitṛ-pūjā, and brāhmaṇas perform sandhyāvandana at the two sandhyās.

Humans from the mind

Brahmā then took a body of pure rajas. From his manas (mind), by the resolve of his mind (manasā sṛshṭa), human beings were born. They were made from the mind, so they are called manushyas, also manuja and manobhava. The body from which humans were made became jyotsnā (moonlight).

Rākshasas and yakshas from the body of hunger

Brahmā took a body filled with rajas and tamas together, the bhautika-śarīra (body of the elements). He was very hungry. He made beings who looked at once at the first waters and spoke two different intentions. Those who said “rakshāmaḥ, we shall protect these waters” became rākshasas. Those who said “yakshāmaḥ, we shall destroy or eat” became yakshas and guhyakas, cruel beings who live below.

Serpents from the fallen hair

Brahmā saw the cruel purpose of the yakshas and was displeased. In his distress his hair fell. The fallen hair moved and rose again, and it became serpents. From the movement of the hair (bāla) came vyāla. Because they fell from the head they became ahi. From their movement they became pannaga. From their creeping they became sarpa.

The poison born from the fire of Brahmā’s anger entered the serpents when they were made. These serpents live between the sun, the moon and the earth.

Bhūtas and piśācas from anger

Brahmā’s anger also gave birth to the bhūtas, who are fierce beings, and the piśācas, who eat flesh. They sprang from anger, so they are called bhūtas (bhūtatvāt). They ate flesh, so they are called piśācas (piśitāśanāt).

Gandharvas from song

Brahmā was reciting the brahma-padas (holy syllables). Beings were born who drank (dhayati) the words like amṛta. They became the gandharvas. They were born drinking the musical words from Brahmā’s lips, and so they are linked with divine music.

Birds, animals and plants

Brahmā also made the birds (ākāśa-charas) from his vayasa, and the domestic animals from his body. Cattle, horses, asses and other four-footed animals came from his flanks, sides and feet. Medicinal plants (oshadhis), herbs (mūlikas), creepers (latās) and fruit trees came from the hair of his head (śirojāla). The four Vedas came from his four mouths, each with its chandas (metres), stotras (hymns of praise) and forms of yajña.

The nine mānasa-putras

Besides the bodily creation, Brahmā made nine mānasa-putras (mind-born sons). They became the fathers of the ṛshi lines. They are Bhṛgu, Aṅgiras, Marīci, Pulastya, Pulaha, Kratu, Daksha, Atri and Vasishṭha. Each came from a part of his body.

• Bhṛgu came from the heart.
• Daksha and Marīci came from the prāṇa (breath) and the eyes, in that order.
• Aṅgiras came from the śiras (head).
• Atri came from the śrotra (ears).
• Pulastya came from the udāna-prāṇa.
• Pulaha came from the vyāna-prāṇa.
• Vasishṭha came from the samāna-prāṇa.
• Kratu came from the apāna-prāṇa.

The Purāṇa calls them the nava-brāhmas or brahma-putra ṛshis, who rule themselves and are born from the body of Brahman. The twelve include also Rudra, who was born earlier, and Dharma and Ruci. In every kalpa they make the peoples of the worlds again and again.

Śatarūpā and Svāyaṃbhuva Manu

Brahmā made beings in many rounds, and none of them gave enough growth in numbers. So he divided his own body into two halves. The male half became Svāyaṃbhuva Manu, the Vairāja-purusha and first ruler. The female half became Śatarūpā, the first woman. She was made from the body of Brahmā, so she had a hundred forms (śata-rūpa).

Śatarūpā did tapas for a hundred thousand years and won Svāyaṃbhuva Manu as her husband. She filled the earth and the sky with her being.

Svāyaṃbhuva Manu and Śatarūpā had two great sons, Priyavrata and Uttānapāda, and two daughters, Ākūti and Prasūti. Through them the human and divine lines of the Svāyaṃbhuva Manvantara went forward.

Karma does not end

The Brahmāṇḍa Purāṇa adds that beings are made again at the start of each kalpa, and they return to the same karmas they did in their earlier births. Violent and gentle tendencies, cruel and kind natures, dharma and adharma, satya (truth) and anṛta (untruth) all pass over from past karma across the end of the kalpa. So the order of creation is not chance. It is the result of gathered karma flowing into new bodies in each new cycle.

Sources

• Brahmāṇḍa Mahā Purāṇa, Poorva Bhāga