45 - The Birth of Brahma 

Jaimini thanks the Birds for all the information they have given him, and asks about creation, the world, mankind &c., In reply they relate what Markandeya had thought Kraushtuki regarding all those matters, as follows.

Markandeya extols this Purana as having emanated from Brahma and having been handed down by eminest rishis -Adoration is paid to Brahma.

The identity of Pradhana and Prakriti is asserted- Brahma alone existed at first- From him emanated Pradhana, which is called the Imperceptable- out of it issued Mahat (the Intellectual priciple) – And out of Mahat issued Ahankara (the principle of Individuality) with its three characters, the Evolving, the Modifying, and the Energizing—The Evolving Ahankara created sound, touch, form, taste and smell, and their corresponding elements, ether, air, light, water and earth—The Modifying Ahankara produced the eleven human organs—The characters of the elements are expounded.

Mahat and the other principles produced an egg, the composition of which is described—It was animated by Brahma as the Soul, and it contained the universe, the gods, demons and mankind.

Jaimini spoke.

1 Ye have well related this to me, noble brahmans, both activity and inactivity, the two-fold deeds enjoined by the

2 Veda. Ah, through your father's favour, ye have such knowledge as this, by which ye have overcome folly although

3 ye have descended to this animal state. Happy are ye in that your mind, steadfast in your pristine state towards the attainment of final emancipation, is not swayed by the bewilderments

4 that spring from objects of sense. O joy that the wise lord Márkaņdeya made you known to me as the dissipators

5. of every doubt! For men who wander in this closely thronged mundane existence there is available association

6. with such as your honours; not for asceties. If I after gaining association with you who have perspicacity in knowledge should not succeed in my object, thon assuredly* there can

                  * For nyúnam read núnam.

7. be no success for me elsewhere. Both in activity and inactivity, in knowledge and deed, no one else has, I think a mind so unsullied as your honours have. 

8. If then your mind, O noble bráhmans, is favourable to

9.  wards me, then deign to expound this completely; -How did this universe, both moveable and immoveable, come into existence? And how will it fall into dissolution at the proper

10.  time, most excellent brahmanas? And how came the families† that sprang from the gods, the ruishis, the pitrvi created things &c? And how did the Manvantaras occur

                  † For vamshad road vamsha? 

11. And what was the history of tłıe families of old; and whatever creations and whatever dissolutions of the universe have a curred; and how the ages have been divided; and what the

12. duration of the Manvantaras has been and how the cart remains stable; and what is the size of the world; and who are the oceans, mountains and rivers and forests according

13. their situation; what is the nnmber of the worlds, the bhúloka, svar-loka &c., including the lower regions; and what the course of the sun, moon, and other planets, of the stars are

14. heavenly bodies also. I wish to hear of all this which destined to subversion; †† and what will be the end when the universe is dissolved. 

                  †† Ahúta-samplava. 

The Birds spoke.

15. Unparalleled is this load of questions which thou he asked, O bráhman: we will declare it to thee; listen to it

16. here, O Jaimini, as Márkandeya expounded it formerly to the calm and wise Kraushtuki, a young brahman, who had completed

17. his term of studentship. Kraushțuki asked the highsouled Márkandeya, whom the bráhmans were waiting upon,

18. what you have asked, my lord; and we will tell thee what

19. the Muni, Bhruigu's son, told him with affectinn; listen, O bráhman, after having paid adoration to the Forefather Brahmán, the lord of the universe, the origin of the universe, who presided over creation, who in the form of Vishnu presides over its maintenance, and who in the form of the terrible Shiva destroys it at the dissolution. 

Márkandeya spoke.

20. Formerly its soon as Brahmá, whose origin is inscrutable, came into being, this Puraņa and the Vedas issued* from his

* Annvinihshrita, not in the dictionary.

21 mouths; and many paramarshis composed the collections of the Puraņas; and the Vedas were divided hy them in a

22 thousand ways. Righteousness and knowledge, passionlessness and sovereignty-these four indeed were not perfected

23 without instruction from him, the high-souled. His seven mind-born † ruishis took the Vedas from him, and his mind-born

† Mánasa. 

24 ancient munis took the Purana. Ch'yavana took it from Bhrugu, and he declared it to the bráhmans; and this purana 

25 was repeated by the high-souled ruishis to Daksha; and then Daksha repeated it to me. I will now tell it to thee: it destroys

26 strife and sin. Hear all this from me with composure, illustrious Muni, as I formerly heard it, when Daksha related it.

27     Having paid adoration to the origin of the universe, unborn, changeless, the asylum, the upholder of the moveable

28 and immoveable universe, the supreme object, Brahmá, the first male, - the cause which, itself unbegotten, †† works in production, maintenance and dissolution, wherein everything is

†† Anaurasya; not in the dictionary 

29. established- having paid adoration to him, Hiranya-garb the framework of the world, the wise, I will duly tell of

30. multitude of created things, matheless, great, primeval, formed for special ends, various in shape, possessing characteristics. certainable by the five standards of measure, possessing the

31. five streams of life, governed by the soul, existent as if perpetual and temporary---listen thereto with sublime composed illustrious Sir!

32. Pradhana is the cause, which is designated the Impercepth and which the great ruishis call the subtle, permanent Prakruti

33. composed of good and evil. Brahmá at first existed certainly imperishable, undecaying, immeasurable, self-dependent, deatitute

34. of odour, form, and taste, devoid of sound and tone without beginning or end, the origin of the universe, unchanged* by the power of the three qualities, not modren

                  * For prabhuvapyayam read -prabhavavyayam?

35. unknowable. Subsequent to the dissolution, all this with, was pervaded by him completely. 

Then from him, in whom the three qualities existed equipoise, and in whom the Soul †† became prevalent, O Muni;

                  † A sámprata 

†† Kshetra-jna.

36. and next from the coming into existence of the qualities which were being created, at the time of creation the fine

37. principle Prardhana came into existence. It envelops Mahat; § as the seed is enveloped by its rind, even so Mah was enveloped by the Impereeptible. It is three-fold, the characterized by goodness, that by passion, and that

                  § The great Intellectual principle.

38. ignorance. Then from it was evolved Ahankára, || which three-fold, the Modifying, ¶ the Energizing, ** and the Evolving††

|| The principle of Individuality

¶ Vaikárika.

** Taijasa 

                  †† Bhutádi.

39. which is characterized by darkness. And it was enveloped by Mahat, just as Mahat, was by the Impereeptible. Now the Evolving Ahankara, modifying itself, created the

40. subtle element †††† of sound §§ next. From the subtle element were came the Ethor, which has the property of sound; now ether in the sound-element, and the evolving Ahankara

                  †††† Tan-matra  

§§ For shabdas tanmatrakam read shabda-tanmatrakam?

41. enveloped it then. The subtle element of tonch is indeed born next without doubt; the mighty Air is born, its property

42. of touch is well known. And the air, modifying itself, created the subtle element of form; Light was produced from

43. the air; it is said to have the property of form; the air which is the element of touch enveloped the element of form. And light, modifying itself created the subtle element of taste.

44. therefrom indeed water also was produced; it has the property of taste; now the element of form enveloped the water*

* For apo read apo; for the water was enveloped by the light which preceded it; but the change spoils the metre.

45. which is the element of taste. And the water, modifying itself created the subtle element of smell; therefrom Solid

46. Matter† is prouduced; smell is well known to be its property. Now in each element resides its pecular subtle element; there by its possession of that subtle element is a well-established fact. And hence those elements are uniform, inasmuch as no

† Sanghata.

47. difference can be predicated. They are all neither calm, nor terrible, nor crass. †† This is the creation of the elements and the subtle elements from Ahankara when it is characterized by darkness.

†† Mudha.

48. From Ahankara in its Modifying character, which is distinguished by goodness and possesses goodness in excess, the modificatory creation began at once.

49. The five organs of the intellect, § and the five organs of action, men call these the energetic || organs; they are ten

§ Buddhi.

|| Taijasa

50. Vaikarika deities. The mind ¶ is the eleventh organ among them. Such are the Vaikarika deities known to be. The

¶ Manas

51. ear the skin, the pair of eyes, the tongue, and the fifthly the nose, men say ** these are the organs connected with the intellect for the purpose of perceiving sound and the other impressions. The pair of feet, the anus, the organ of generation, the pair of hands, and the voice may rank as fifth with 

** For vakshyate read chakshate?

52. them; walking, evacuation, sexual delight, manual work and speech-that is the work for each of these organs respectively. 

Ether has the element* of sound only. When the element

                  * Mátra.

53. of touch accrued, Air comes into existence with two properties†; touch is known to be its peculiar property. Moreover, when to form accrued both the properties, sound and touch,

                  † Guna. 

54. then Fire also came into existence with its three ††properties; it has sound and touch and form. Sound, and touch and

                  †† For dvi-gunas read tri-gunas?

55. form, -when the element of taste accured to them, then Water with its four properties came into existence; it is to be known as being characterized by taste. Sound and touch and form

56. and taste, when smell accured, they consolidated with the element of smell enclosed this Earth; hence earth; has five properties; it is soon to be the gross one among created things. 

57. Calm and torrible and crass § are their distinguishing marks; thereby they are known: they contain one another

                  § Müdha.

58. through their mutual interpenetration. Within the earth is contained all this || visible and invisible world firmly enclosed. And those distinguishing marks are perceptible by

                  || For imam read idam? 

59. the organs of sense and are recollected by reason of their permanency. They take each successive one the property of its preceding one. These seven principles when un-combined

60. are distinct and have various energies: they could not have created mankind, unless they had united. And meeting in

61. mutual combination, they become mutually dependent; and when they all unite into ono, they have the marks of a single complex body. 

By reason of their being governed by the Soul ¶ and also

                  ¶Purusha. 

62. through the favour of the Imperceptible, Mahat and the other principles, which have different limits, cause an egg to come into existence. There like a bubble on water, the egg gradually

 63. increased by means of the things that existed, O Sage most intelligent! In its enlarged state it lay on the water. 

The Soul, * having increased inside the egg sprung from Prakruti,

                  * Kshetra-jna. 

64. took the name Brahmá; it indeed was the first corporeal being, it indeed is called Purusha. And Brahmá

65. existed first, the original maker of created beings. That egg enclosed all these three worlds with all that they contain moveable and immoveable. Meru was born from it, and as

66. the after-birth were born the mountains; the oceans were the fluid contained within that egg which held the great Soul. Within that egg was all this world, with the gods and demons

67. and mankind, and the continents and other lands, the mountains and oceans, and the throng of luminons worlds. 

Then the egg was enveloped by water, air, fire and ether

68. and by the evolving Ahankára externally, ten times over by each of them. It was then surrounded † by Mahat which I

         † For veshtitah read reshtitam?

69. have mentioned, which had the same magnitude. Mahat together with them all was enveloped by the Imperceptible. With these seven coverings formed from Prakriti was the

70 egg enveloped. Enveloping one another the eight Prakritis existed. This very Prakriti is permanent; and that Purusha is limited by it. 

71.    Hear thou, Moreover, briefly of him who is spoken of by the name Brahmá. Just as one sunk in water, on emerging from it, seems to be born from water †† and flings the water

         ††For jala - sambhavam read jala-sambhavah? 

72. away, so Brahma is both Prakriti and the Soul § The Impereeptible is declared to be his sphere of action; || hence

         § Vibhu

         || Kshetra. 

73. Brahmá is called Kshetra-jna, the Soul. A man should know all these characteristics of the Soul and its sphere of action. 

Such was this creation from Prakriti; and it is governed by the Soul; the first stage of creation was proceeded by non-intelligence; it became manifest like the lightning.