I have, with the eye of knowledge, beheld all that occurred in the beginning of the Kalpa. He whom both the Sankhyas and those conversant with Yoga call by the name of Paramatma (the Supreme Soul) comes to be regarded as Mahapurusha (the Great Purusha) in consequence of his own acts. From Him springs forth Abyakta (the Unmanifest), whom the learned call Pradhana. From the puissant Unmanifest sprang, for the creation of all the words, the Manifest (Byakta). He is called Aniruddha. That Aniruddha is known among all creatures by the name of the Mahat Atma. It is that Aniruddha who, becoming manifest, created the Grandsire Brahman. Aniruddha is known by another name, viz., Ahankara (consciousness) and is endued with every kind of energy. Earth, Wind, Space, Water, and Light numbering the fifth, these are the five Mahabhutas (elements) that have sprung from Ahankara. Having created the Mahabhutas (five in number), he then created their attributes.[1845] Combining the Mahabhutas, he then created diverse embodied Being. Listen to me as I recount them to you. Marichi, Angiras, Atri, Pulastya, Pulaha, Kratu, the high-souled Vasishtha, and the Self-born Manu, these should be known as the eight Prakritis. Upon these rest all the worlds. Then the Grandsire of all the world, viz., Brahman, created, for the fulfilment of all creatures, the Vedas with all their branches, as also the Sacrifices with their limbs. From these eight Prakritis have sprung this vast universe. Then sprang Rudra from the principle of wrath, starting into life, he created ten others that were like him. These eleven Rudras are called by name of Vikara-Purushas. The Rudras, the (eight) Prakritis, and the several celestial Rishis, having started into life, approached Brahman with the object of upholding the universe and its operations. Addressing the Grandsire, they said, 'We have been created, O holy one, by thee, O thou of great puissance.Mbh 12.341.4b · Mahabharata · SANTI PARVA
Mbh 12.341.4b
Mahabharata · translated by Kisari Mohan Ganguli
Themes in this passage
CreationThe DivineNatureThe SoulAngerKarmaMeditationSpeech
Creation in other traditions
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Lo! We have created them a (new) creationQuran 56:35 · Quran
So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.Genesis 1:27 · Bible · Genesis
Abstaining from speech marks him who is obeying the spontaneity of his nature. A violent wind does not last for a whole morning; a sudden rain does not last for the whole day. To whom is it that these (two) things are owing? To Heaven and Earth. If Heaven and Earth cannot make such (spasmodic) actings last long, how much less can man!Tao Te Ching 23.1 · Tao Te Ching
`All created things perish,' he who knows and sees this becomes passive in pain; this is the way to purity.Dhp 20.277 · Dhammapada · The Way
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