Account of Creation

Vayu said

So he received the eternal, supreme Shakti from Ishvara, and Prajapati set about creating through union. He made half of his body male and half female. From the female part Shatarupa was born, and from the male part Brahma made Viraja. Viraja is called Svayambhuva Manu, the first man. The lady Shatarupa performed very hard austerities and won Manu, blazing with fame, as her husband. By him Shatarupa had two excellent sons, Priyavrata and Uttanapada, and two very fortunate daughters from whom all beings descend. One was Akuti and the other Prasuti. The lord Svayambhuva gave Prasuti to Daksha and Akuti to Prajapati Ruchi. Through Akuti, by the power of his mind, the auspicious Ruchi had twin children, Yajna and Dakshina, who made the world thrive. Svayambhuva's daughter Prasuti was the mother of the worlds, and through her the lord Daksha had twenty-four daughters. The lord Dharma took thirteen of Daksha's daughters as wives: Shraddha, Lakshmi, Dhriti, Tushti, Pushti, Medha, Kriya, Vapu, Buddhi, Lajja, Shanti, Siddhi and Kirti as the thirteenth. Eleven younger, beautiful-eyed daughters remained: Khyati, Sati, Sambhuti, Smriti, Priti, Kshama, Sannati, Anasuya, Urja, Svaha and Svadha. Excellent sages, these maidens, Khyati and the rest, were taken in order by the sages Bhrigu, Sharva, Marichi, Angiras, Pulaha, Kratu, Pulastya, Atri, Vasishtha, Pavaka and the ancestors. From Shraddha onward, Dharma had thirteen sons, from Kama to Yasha, who brought more and more happiness. Through Himsa, Adharma had Nikriti and others as sons, who showed no signs of dharma and led to more and more unhappiness. They had no wives or sons, and none are said to have followed niyamas. Over this tamasic creation, Dharma was the controller.

Daksha's daughter Sati was loved by Rudra. Over criticism of her husband, Daksha's daughter gave up her body. She had censured Daksha, Daksha's wife and their relatives. Afterward she became the daughter of Mena and Mount Himalaya. Seeing Sati, Rudra made many other Rudras just like him in splendour. I have already described how that creation took place.

Through Khyati, Bhrigu had a daughter, Lakshmi, who became Narayana's beloved. Their sons were the two devas Dhatri and Vidhatri, who established manvantaras. Their sons and grandsons number hundreds and thousands, and all of Bhrigu's line is held to belong to the Svayambhuva manvantara. Through Sambhuti, Marichi had a son named Pournamasa, and also four daughters and many great descendants. Kashyapa was born in that line and had many sons. Smriti, wife of Angiras, bore two sons, Agnidhra and Sharabha, and he also had four daughters. Their sons and grandsons number in the thousands. Priti, wife of Pulastya, had Dantogni as a son. It is said that in an earlier birth he was born as Agastya in the Svayambhuva manvantara. They had many descendants, famous as the Poulastyas. Kshama, through Prajapati Pulaha, had three sons, Kardama, Asuri and Sahishnu. They had the radiance of the three fires and their line was established. Sannati was Kratu's wife and bore sons equal to Kratu. All these sons held up their seed and had no wives or sons. They are famous as the sixty thousand valakhilyas, who surround the sun and go before him. Anasuya, wife of Atri, bore five sons known as the Atreyas, and a daughter named Shruti, who became Shankhapada's mother. The five Atreyas are said to be Satyanetra, Havya, Apomurti, Shaishchara and Soma as the fifth. In the past Svayambhuva manvantara, the sons and grandsons of the Atreyas numbered in the hundreds and thousands. Through Urja, Vasishtha had seven sons and a slender-waisted daughter named Pundarika. The seven saptarshis were Raja, Gatra, Urdhvabahu, Savana, Anaya, Sutapa and Shukra. These great-souled ones' gotras and names were the Vasishthas, and in the past Svayambhuva manvantara there were millions of them. So I have briefly told the unbroken creation of the rishis, brahmanas. It is not possible to speak of it in detail.

Vahni was Brahma's son, born by the power of his mind and with Rudra in his self. Svaha was his beloved, and she bore three very energetic sons, Pavaka, Pavamana and Shuchi. Pavamana is produced by friction, Pavaka is the one in lightning, and Shuchi is the one that scorches in the sun's rays. Their sons in order are Havyavaha, Kavyavaha and Saharaksha, and the sons of these three were the devas, the ancestors and the suras respectively. They had forty-nine sons and grandsons, who are placed in the three kinds of rites, kamya, naimittika and nitya. All are known as ascetics, all keep vows, all have Rudra in their selves and all are devoted to Rudra. So whatever anyone offers into the mouth of the fire is offered to Rudra, without doubt. This is the true nature of everything done step by step in the fire.

Brahmanas, next I will speak of the ancestors, though not in detail. They hold the place of honour for the six seasons. So the Vedas say, "For the seasons, the ancestors are like the Adityas and preside over anything moving or still produced in the seasons. The ancestors have a right over whatever is produced in the seasons." This has been heard. In this way the ancestors hold the first place in the seasons. These great-souled ones have their own prosperity and are in contact with the clouds. There are said to be two kinds of ancestors, Agnishvattas and Barhishads. There are two kinds of householders, those who perform sacrifices and those who do not. Through Svadha, these two kinds of ancestors had two daughters famous in the worlds, Mena and Dharani, who hold up this universe. Mena was the daughter of Agnishvatta and Dharani the daughter of Barhishad. Mena, wife of Himalaya, bore Mainaka, Krouncha, Gouri and Ganga, who was purified by touching Bhava's body. Dharani, wife of Meru, bore a son, Mandara, full of lovely and wonderful peaks and divine herbs. By the strength of his austerities, Meru's son Mandara became the home of Shiva, the lord Shrikantha, himself. Dharani had three famous daughters, Vela, Niyati and Ayati as the third. Ayati and Niyati became wives of two of Bhrigu's sons, and I already told you of their descendants in the context of the Svayambhuva manvantara. Through Sagara, Vela had one unblemished daughter, named Savarna, who became the wife of Prachinabarhi. By Prachinabarhi, the ocean's daughter had ten sons, all known as the Prachetas, who became skilled in dhanurveda. Through Tryambaka's curse, Daksha of the former Svayambhuva manvantara became their son in the Chakshusha manvantara.

Brahmanas, in order I have thus described to you Brahma's sons, Dharma and the other great-souled ones, not too briefly and not in detail. I have also described the divine line of the many devas. These lines were adorned by great ones, with offspring and rites. Even if one spoke for a crore of years, one could not list all the descendants who came from Prajapati. Two sacred lines of kings began on earth, the solar and the lunar. Ikshvaku, Ambarisha, Yayati, Nahusha and others from them are famous and are sung and heard of in shlokas. There are other royal sages of many kinds of valour. What is gained by naming those ancient ones? When one is telling Ishvara's account, one should not tell the accounts of others, and the virtuous do not recommend it. I am not inclined to speak at length. I have mentioned creation only in connection with Ishvara. There is no need to describe creation and other topics in detail.