85. Chapter 85

श्रीवसिष्ठ उवाच । पुरा मे ब्रह्मणा प्रोक्तं सर्वं तत्कथयानघ । यदिदं तत्प्रवक्ष्यामि त्वयि पृच्छति राघव ॥ १ ॥

śrīvasiṣṭha uvāca | purā me brahmaṇā proktaṃ sarvaṃ tatkathayānagha | yadidaṃ tatpravakṣyāmi tvayi pṛcchati rāghava || 1 ||

Vasishtha continued:—I will relate to you Rama, agreeably to your request, the story that was narrated to me of old by Brahma himself (the personified mind of God and the lord of creatures). The manas or mind produced Manu—the progeny of the mind; who begat the Manujas otherwise called manavas or manushyas, or men—the offspring of the mind.

पुरा मया हि भगवान्पृष्टः कमलसंभवः । इमे कथमुपायान्ति ब्रह्मन्सर्गगणा इति ॥ २ ॥

purā mayā hi bhagavānpṛṣṭaḥ kamalasaṃbhavaḥ | ime kathamupāyānti brahmansargagaṇā iti || 2 ||

I had asked the lotus-born god once before, to tell me how these hosts of creation had come to being.

तदुपाश्रुत्य भगवान्ब्रह्मा लोकपितामहः । ऐन्दवाख्यानसहितं मामुवाच बृहद्वचः ॥ ३ ॥

tadupāśrutya bhagavānbrahmā lokapitāmahaḥ | aindavākhyānasahitaṃ māmuvāca bṛhadvacaḥ || 3 ||

Then Brahma the great progenitor of men, granted my request, and related to me the apologue of Aindava in his sonorous voice.

ब्रह्मोवाच । सर्वं हि मन एवेदमित्थं स्फुरति भूतिमत् । जलं जलाशयस्फारैर्विचित्रैश्चक्रकैरिव ॥ ४ ॥

brahmovāca | sarvaṃ hi mana evedamitthaṃ sphurati bhūtimat | jalaṃ jalāśayasphārairvicitraiścakrakairiva || 4 ||

Brahma said:—All this visible world is the manifestation of the divine mind, like the circling whirl-pools and rippling curls of water on the surface of the sea.

दिनादौ संप्रबुद्धस्य संसारं सृष्टुमिच्छतः । पुराकल्पे हि कस्मिश्चिच्छृणु किं वृत्तमङ्ग मे ॥ ५ ॥

dinādau saṃprabuddhasya saṃsāraṃ sṛṣṭumicchataḥ | purākalpe hi kasmiścicchṛṇu kiṃ vṛttamaṅga me || 5 ||

Hear me tell you, said he, how I (the personified mind), awoke at first on the day of creation in a former kalpa, with my volition to create (expand) myself.

कदाचिदखिलं सर्गं संहृत्य दिवसक्षये । एक एवाहमेकाग्रः स्वस्थस्तामनयं निशाम् ॥ ६ ॥

kadācidakhilaṃ sargaṃ saṃhṛtya divasakṣaye | eka evāhamekāgraḥ svasthastāmanayaṃ niśām || 6 ||

Erewhile I remained alone, and quietly intent upon the One at the end of the prior day (or Kalpa), by having compressed the whole creation in the focus of my mind, and hid it under the gloom of the primeval night.

निशान्ते संप्रबुद्धात्मा संध्यां कृत्वा यथाविधि । प्रजाः स्रष्टुं दृशौ स्फारे व्योम्नि योजितवानहम् ॥ ७ ॥

niśānte saṃprabuddhātmā saṃdhyāṃ kṛtvā yathāvidhi | prajāḥ sraṣṭuṃ dṛśau sphāre vyomni yojitavānaham || 7 ||

At the end of the chaotic night I awoke as from a deep sleep; and performed my matins as it is the general law (of all living beings). I oped my eyes with a view to create, and fixed my look on the vacuum all about me. (When that spirit sleeps it is night, and when it awakes, it is a day of recreation.

यावत्पश्यामि गगनं न तमोभिर्न तेजसा । व्याप्तमत्यन्तविततं शून्यमन्तविवर्जितम् ॥ ८ ॥

yāvatpaśyāmi gaganaṃ na tamobhirna tejasā | vyāptamatyantavitataṃ śūnyamantavivarjitam || 8 ||

As far as I viewed, it was empty space and covered by darkness, and there was no light of heaven. It was unlimitedly extensive, all void and without any boundary.

सर्गं संकल्पयामीति मतिं निश्चित्य तन्मया । समवेक्षितुमारब्धं शुद्धं सूक्ष्मेण चेतसा ॥ ९ ॥

sargaṃ saṃkalpayāmīti matiṃ niścitya tanmayā | samavekṣitumārabdhaṃ śuddhaṃ sūkṣmeṇa cetasā || 9 ||

Being then determined to bring forth the creation, I began to discern the world in its simple (ideal) form within me, with the acuteness of my understanding.

अथाहं दृष्टवांस्तत्र मनसा विततेऽम्बरे । पृथक्स्थितान्महारम्भान्सर्गान्स्थितिनिरर्गलान् ॥ १० ॥

athāhaṃ dṛṣṭavāṃstatra manasā vitate'mbare | pṛthaksthitānmahārambhānsargānsthitinirargalān || 10 ||

I then beheld in my mind the great cosmos of creation, set unobstructed and apart from me in the wide extended field of vacuity.

तेषु मत्प्रतिबिम्बाभाः पद्मकोशनिवासिनः । राजहंसान्समारूढाः संस्थिता दश पद्मजाः ॥ ११ ॥

teṣu matpratibimbābhāḥ padmakośanivāsinaḥ | rājahaṃsānsamārūḍhāḥ saṃsthitā daśa padmajāḥ || 11 ||

Then the rays of my reflection stretched out over them, from amidst the lotus-cell of my abode, and sat in the form of ten lotus-born Brahmas over the ten orbs (planets) of this world; like so many swans brooding upon their eggs.

पृथक्स्थितेषु सर्गेषु तेषूद्यद्भूतपङ्क्तिषु । जलजालेषु शुद्धेषु जगत्सु जलदायिषु ॥ १२ ॥

pṛthaksthiteṣu sargeṣu teṣūdyadbhūtapaṅktiṣu | jalajāleṣu śuddheṣu jagatsu jaladāyiṣu || 12 ||

Then these separate orbs (mundane eggs), brought forth, to light multitudes of beings, amidst their transparent aqueous atmospheres.

प्रवहन्ति महानद्यः प्रध्वनन्ति यथाब्धयः । प्रतपन्त्युष्णरुचयः प्रस्फुरन्त्यम्बरेऽनिलाः ॥ १३ ॥

pravahanti mahānadyaḥ pradhvananti yathābdhayaḥ | pratapantyuṣṇarucayaḥ prasphurantyambare'nilāḥ || 13 ||

Thence sprang the great rivers and the roaring seas and oceans; and thence again rose the burning lights and blowing winds of the firmament.

दिवि क्रीडन्ति विबुधा भुवि क्रीडन्ति मानवाः । दानवा भोगिनश्चैव पातालेषु च संस्थिताः ॥ १४ ॥

divi krīḍanti vibudhā bhuvi krīḍanti mānavāḥ | dānavā bhoginaścaiva pātāleṣu ca saṃsthitāḥ || 14 ||

The gods began to sport in the etherial air, and men moved about on the earth, and demons and serpents were confined in their abodes underneath the ground.

कालचक्रपरिप्रोता यद्भावाः सकलर्तवः । यथाकालं फलापूर्णा भूषयन्त्यभितो महीम् ॥ १५ ॥

kālacakrapariprotā yadbhāvāḥ sakalartavaḥ | yathākālaṃ phalāpūrṇā bhūṣayantyabhito mahīm || 15 ||

The wheel of time turns with the revolution of seasons and their produce, and it adorns the earth with her various productions by change of the seasons.

प्रौढ्यं शुभाशुभाचारस्मृतयः ककुभं प्रति । नरकस्वर्गफलदाः सर्वत्र समुपागताः ॥ १६ ॥

prauḍhyaṃ śubhāśubhācārasmṛtayaḥ kakubhaṃ prati | narakasvargaphaladāḥ sarvatra samupāgatāḥ || 16 ||

Laws were fixed for all things on all sides, and human actions were regulated in the smritis as right or wrong, and producing as their fruits, the reward of heaven or the torments of hell.

भोगमोक्षफलार्थिन्यः समस्ता भूतजातयः । स्वमीहितं यथाकालं प्रयतन्ते यथाक्रमम् ॥ १७ ॥

bhogamokṣaphalārthinyaḥ samastā bhūtajātayaḥ | svamīhitaṃ yathākālaṃ prayatante yathākramam || 17 ||

All beings are in pursuit of their enjoyments and liberty, and the more they strive for their desired objects, the better they thrive in them.

सप्तलोकास्तथा द्वीपाः समुद्रा गिरयस्तथा । अप्येष्यमाणाः कल्पान्तं स्फुरन्त्युरुतरारवम् ॥ १८ ॥

saptalokāstathā dvīpāḥ samudrā girayastathā | apyeṣyamāṇāḥ kalpāntaṃ sphurantyurutarāravam || 18 ||

In this way were the sevenfold worlds and continents, the septuple oceans and the seven boundary mountains, brought to existence, and they continue to exist until their final dissolution at the end of a Kalpa period.

क्वचिद्भासित्वमायातं क्वचित्स्थिरतरं स्थितम् । स्थितं सर्वत्र कुञ्जेषु तमस्तेजोलवादृतम् ॥ १९ ॥

kvacidbhāsitvamāyātaṃ kvacitsthirataraṃ sthitam | sthitaṃ sarvatra kuñjeṣu tamastejolavādṛtam || 19 ||

The primeval darkness fled before light from the face of open lands, and took its refuge in mountain caverns and hollow caves; it abides in some places allied with light, as in the shady and sunny forest lands and lawns.

नभोनीलोत्पलस्यान्तर्भ्रमदभ्रमधुव्रतम् । प्रस्फुरत्तारकाजालकेसरापूर्णतां गतम् ॥ २० ॥

nabhonīlotpalasyāntarbhramadabhramadhuvratam | prasphurattārakājālakesarāpūrṇatāṃ gatam || 20 ||

The azure sky like a lake of blue lotuses, is haunted by fragments of dark clouds, resembling swarms of black-bees on high; and the stars twinkling in it, liken the yellow filaments of flowers shaken by the winds.

कल्पान्तघननीहारो मेरुकुञ्जेषु संस्थितः । शाल्मलेरमलं तूलमष्ठीलाकोटरेष्विव ॥ २१ ॥

kalpāntaghananīhāro merukuñjeṣu saṃsthitaḥ | śālmaleramalaṃ tūlamaṣṭhīlākoṭareṣviva || 21 ||

The huge heaps of snow setting in the valleys of high hills, resemble the lofty simula trees beset by their pods of cotton.

लोकालोकाद्रिरसनारणदर्णवघुंघुमा । तमःखण्डेन्द्रनीलाभा निजरत्नविराजिता ॥ २२ ॥

lokālokādrirasanāraṇadarṇavaghuṃghumā | tamaḥkhaṇḍendranīlābhā nijaratnavirājitā || 22 ||

The earth is encircled by the polar mountains serving as her girdles, and the circles of the polar seas serving as her sounding anklets and trinkets. She is girt by the polar darkness as by a blue garment, and studded all about with gems, growing and glowing in the bosoms of her rich and ample mines and seas.

धानाधरसुधा भूतरवकाकलिघुंघुमा । संस्थिता भुवनाभोगे स्वान्तःपुर इवाङ्गना ॥ २३ ॥

dhānādharasudhā bhūtaravakākalighuṃghumā | saṃsthitā bhuvanābhoge svāntaḥpura ivāṅganā || 23 ||

The earth covered over by the garniture of her verdure, resembles a lady sitting begirt by her robes; and having the produce of paddy for her victuals; and the busy buzz of the world for her music.

गौराङ्गपङक्तिर्मध्यस्था रजनीराजिरञ्जिता । पद्मोत्पलस्रज इव लक्ष्यते वत्सरश्रियः ॥ २४ ॥

gaurāṅgapaṅaktirmadhyasthā rajanīrājirañjitā | padmotpalasraja iva lakṣyate vatsaraśriyaḥ || 24 ||

The sky appears as a bride veiled under the sable mantle of night, with the glittering chains of stars for her jewels. The season fruits and flowers hanging in the air, resemble wreaths of lotuses about her person.

बहुगर्तविभागस्थभूता लोकाः पृथक्पृथक् । जातारुणा विलोक्यन्तेदाडिमानीवकान्तिकाः ॥ २५ ॥

bahugartavibhāgasthabhūtā lokāḥ pṛthakpṛthak | jātāruṇā vilokyantedāḍimānīvakāntikāḥ || 25 ||

The orbs of worlds appear as the beautiful fruits of pomegranates, containing all their peoples in them, like the shining grains of granites in the cells of those fruits.

त्रिप्रवाहा त्रिपथगा कृतोर्ध्वाधोगमागमा । जगद्यज्ञोपवीताभा स्फुरतीन्दुकलामला ॥ २६ ॥

tripravāhā tripathagā kṛtordhvādhogamāgamā | jagadyajñopavītābhā sphuratīndukalāmalā || 26 ||

The bright moon-beams stretching both above and below and all around the three sides, appear as the white sacred thread, girding the world above and below and all about; or as the stream of Ganga running in three directions in the upper, lower and nether worlds.

इतश्चेतश्च गच्छन्ति शीर्यन्ते प्रोद्भवन्ति च । दिग्लतासु तडित्पुष्पा वातार्ता मेघपल्लवाः ॥ २७ ॥

itaścetaśca gacchanti śīryante prodbhavanti ca | diglatāsu taḍitpuṣpā vātārtā meghapallavāḥ || 27 ||

The clouds dispersing on all sides with their glittering lightnings, appear as the leaves and flowers of aerial forests, blown away by the breezes on all sides.

गन्धर्वनगरोद्यानलतावितानमालिनी । समुद्रभूमिनभसां पदवी प्रविराजते ॥ २८ ॥

gandharvanagarodyānalatāvitānamālinī | samudrabhūminabhasāṃ padavī pravirājate || 28 ||

But all these worlds with their lands and seas, their skies and all their contents, are in reality as unreal as the visionary dreams; and as delusive as the enchanted city of the Fairy land.

लोकान्तरेषु सङ्घेन देवासुरनरोरगाः । उदुम्बरेषु मशका इव घुंघुमिताः स्थिताः ॥ २९ ॥

lokāntareṣu saṅghena devāsuranaroragāḥ | udumbareṣu maśakā iva ghuṃghumitāḥ sthitāḥ || 29 ||

The gods and demons, men and serpents, that are seen in multitudes in all worlds, are as bodies of buzzing gnats, fluttering about the dumbura—fig trees.

युगकल्पक्षणलवकलाकाष्ठाकलङ्कितः । कालो वहत्यकलितसर्वनाशप्रतीक्षकः ॥ ३० ॥

yugakalpakṣaṇalavakalākāṣṭhākalaṅkitaḥ | kālo vahatyakalitasarvanāśapratīkṣakaḥ || 30 ||

Here time is moving on with his train of moments and minutes, his ages, yugas and kalpas, in expectation of the unforeseen destruction of all things.

एवमालोक्य शुद्धेन परेण स्वेन चेतसा । भृशं विस्मयमापन्नः किमेतत्कथमित्यलम् ॥ ३१ ॥

evamālokya śuddhena pareṇa svena cetasā | bhṛśaṃ vismayamāpannaḥ kimetatkathamityalam || 31 ||

Having seen all these things in my pure and enlightened understanding, I was quite confounded to think, whence could all these have come into being.

कथं मांसमयेनाक्ष्णा यन्न पश्यामि किंचन । तन्मायाजालमतुलं पश्यामि मनसाम्बरे ॥ ३२ ॥

kathaṃ māṃsamayenākṣṇā yanna paśyāmi kiṃcana | tanmāyājālamatulaṃ paśyāmi manasāmbare || 32 ||

Why is it that I do not see with my visual organs, all that I perceive, as a magic scene spread out in the sphere of my Mind?

अथालोक्य चिरं कालं मनसैवाहमम्बरात् । अर्कं तस्माज्जगज्जालादेकमानीय पृष्टवान् ॥ ३३ ॥

athālokya ciraṃ kālaṃ manasaivāhamambarāt | arkaṃ tasmājjagajjālādekamānīya pṛṣṭavān || 33 ||

Having looked into these for a long time with my steadfast attention, I called to me the brightest sun of these luminous spheres and addressed him saying:—

आगच्छ देवदेवेश भो भास्कर महाद्युते । स्वागतं तेऽस्त्विति प्रोक्तो मयासौ कथितोप्यथ ॥ ३४ ॥

āgaccha devadeveśa bho bhāskara mahādyute | svāgataṃ te'stviti prokto mayāsau kathitopyatha || 34 ||

Approach to me, O god of gods, luminous sun! I welcome thee to me! Having accosted him thus, I said:—

कस्त्वं कथमिदं जातं जगदेव जगन्ति च । यदि जानासि भगवंस्तदेतत्कथयानघ ॥ ३५ ॥

kastvaṃ kathamidaṃ jātaṃ jagadeva jaganti ca | yadi jānāsi bhagavaṃstadetatkathayānagha || 35 ||

Tell me what thou art and how this world with all its bright orbs came to being; if thou knowest aught of these, then please reveal it to me.

इत्युक्तो मां समालोक्य संपरिज्ञातवानथ । नमस्कृत्वाभ्युवाचेदमनिन्द्यपदया गिरा ॥ ३६ ॥

ityukto māṃ samālokya saṃparijñātavānatha | namaskṛtvābhyuvācedamanindyapadayā girā || 36 ||

Being thus addressed, he looked upon me, and then having recognized me, he made his salutation, and uttered in graceful words and speech.

श्रीभानुरुवाच । अस्य दृश्यप्रपञ्चस्य नित्यं कारणतामसि । गतः कस्मान्न जानीषे किं मामीश्वर पृच्छसि ॥ ३७ ॥

śrībhānuruvāca | asya dṛśyaprapañcasya nityaṃ kāraṇatāmasi | gataḥ kasmānna jānīṣe kiṃ māmīśvara pṛcchasi || 37 ||

The sun replied:—Thou lord! art the eternal cause of these false phenomena, how is it then that thou knowest it not, but askest me about the cause thereof?

अथ मद्वाक्यसंदर्भे लीला चेत्तव सर्वग । अचिन्तितां मदुत्पत्तिं तच्छृणुष्व वदाम्यहम् ॥ ३८ ॥

atha madvākyasaṃdarbhe līlā cettava sarvaga | acintitāṃ madutpattiṃ tacchṛṇuṣva vadāmyaham || 38 ||

But shouldst thou, all knowing as thou art, take a delight in hearing my speech, I will tell thee of my unasked and unthought of production, which I beg thee to attend to.

सदसदिति कलाभिराततं यत् सदसदबोधविमोहदायिनीभिः । अविरतरचनाभिरीश्वरात्मन् प्रविलसतीह मनो महन्महात्मन् ॥ ३९ ॥

sadasaditi kalābhirātataṃ yat sadasadabodhavimohadāyinībhiḥ | avirataracanābhirīśvarātman pravilasatīha mano mahanmahātman || 39 ||

O great Spirit! this world being composed of reality and unreality in its twofold view, beguiles the understanding to take it sometimes for a real and at others for an unreal thing. It is the great mind of the Divine Soul, that is thus employed in these incessant and unceasingly endless creations for its diversion.