12.4 Creation
Vishnu next narrated to the gods and the sages the history of creation.
In the beginning, the brahman was everywhere. The brahman had no form, but nor was it without form. It had no beginning and no end. It had no traits, but nor was it without traits. The brahman is impossible to describe, sense or see.
Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva are derived from the brahman, Brahma performs the function of a creator, Vishnu that of a preserver and Shiva that of destroyer.
When it was time for creation to begin, the brahman created water throughout the universe. Before that, there was nothing. In the water, there appeared a golden (hiranya) egg (anda). The egg grew in size and Brahma, the creator, appeared inside the egg. Everything that there is in the universe, was already there, in in embryonic form, inside the egg. There were gods, the demons humans, the sun, the moon, the stars, the planets and the wind. The word garbha means womb and since Brahma originated from inside a golden (hiranya) egg, he is known as Hiranyagarbha. Brahma was the first being to be created. He had four faces. He had no birth (janana) in the real sense of the term. He is therefore also referred to as Aja (without birth). It is also true that he created (bhuva) himself (svayam). It is because of this that Brahma is known as Svayambhu. Brahma was to be the lord (pati) of all the subjects who were going to be born (praja). Thus, Brahma acquired the name of Prajapati.
To appreciate how creation took place, it is first necessary to have some conception about the nature of time.
12.5 A Digression on Time
The smallest unit of time is a nimesha. Fifteen nimeshas make one kashtha, thirty kashthas are one kala and thirty kalas constitute one muhurta. There are thirty muhurtas in a span of day and night (ahoratra). Thirty such ahoratras make up a month. There are two pakshas (fortnight) in every month. Six months constitute an ayana and two ayanas a year. There are thus twelve months in every year. The names of the two ayanas are uttarayana and dakshinayana, While humans pass through uttarayana, the gods pass through only one day. Similarly, when humans pass through dakshinayana, the gods pass through merely one night. One year for humans is equivalent to a time span of one day and one night for the gods.
Twelve thousand years of the gods make up one mahayuga. This is subdivided into four yugas (eras). The names of these eras are satya yuga or krita yuga, treta yuga, dvapara yuga and kali yuga. Satya yuga has four thousand years, treta yuga three thousand, dvapara yuga two thousand and kali yuga one thousand. This adds up to ten thousand years. But there are also periods that join two yugas: (sandhyamsha). Satya yuga has a sandhyamsha of four hundred years, treta yuga of three hundred, dvapara yuga of two hundred and kali yuga of one hundred, There will therefore be seven hundred additional years between satya yuga and treta yuga, five hundred between treta yuga and dvapara yuga of two hundred and kali yuga of one hundred. There will therefore be seven hundred additional years between satya yuga and treta yuga, five hundred between treta yuga and dvapara yuga, three hundred between dvapara yuga and kali yuga and five hundred between kali yuga and the next satya yuga. These are two thousand additional years, and when added up to the earlier figure of ten thousand. make up twelve thousand years.
There are a little over seventy-one manvantaras (eras) in each mahayuga. Each manvantara is a time period that is ruled over by a Manu. The first Manu in the present kalpa (cycle) was Svayambhuva Manu and there were several other Manus after him. Each kalpa in fact passes during one of brahma’s days and there are fourteen manvantaras in a kalpa. Stated differently, there are one thousand mahayugas in every kalpa.
Three hundred and sixty kalpas constitute one of brahma’s years. One hundred times this time period is known as a parardha. At the end of this period, the whole universe is destroyed and Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva are also destroyed. At the end of the destruction, creation starts afresh and this creation is known as sarga.
There is a smaller process of destruction that takes place at the end of every kalpa. Brahma Vishnu and Shiva are not destroyed, but everything else is. The creation that comes at the end of this minor destruction is known as pratisarga.
The present kalpa is known as varaha kalpa. The one that preceded it was known as padma kalpa.
“Why is the present kalpa called varaha kalpa?” the gods and the sages asked Vishnu.
Vishnu told them the story of his boar incarnation.
12.6 The Boar Incarnation
A varaha is a boar and the boar incarnation is usually catalogued as the third of Vishnu’s ten incarnations.
When the universe was submerged in water after the destruction that came at the end of padma kalpa, Vishnu slept on the waters. Thus he slept for a thousand mahayugas. Since the word nara means water and ayana means resting-place, Vishnu is also referred to as Narayana.
Brahma decided to start creation afresh, but discovered that the earth was submerged in water. How would his creations survive if there was no earth? He therefore requested Vishnu to bring the earth up from under the water.
Vishnu adopted the form of a boar and went to the underworld. He discovered the earth there and raised her up on the tusks of the boar. The boar carefully raised the earth and laid her to rest on top of the water. The earth began to float like a gigantic boat.
Since Vishnu raised the earth in the form of a boar at the beginning of the kalpa, the present cycle is known as varaha kalpa.
(The story of the boar incarnation is rather summarily disposed of in the Kurma Purana. The other Puranas describe it at great length. Apart from the question of raising up the earth from under the water, the story revolves around the demon Hiranyaksha. this demon was the son of the sage Kashyapa and his wife Diti. He defeated the gods and drove them out of heaven. In desperation, the gods started to pray to Vishnu. Hiranyaksha used to live under the water and Vishnu entered the water in his form of a boar and killed Hiranyaksha. He also recovered the Vedas which had been stolen by Hiranyaksha.)
12.7 Creation Continued
Brahma first created five sons through his mental powers. Their names were Sanaka, Sanatana, Sanandana, Kratu and Sanatakumara These five sons became sages and did not have any offspring. Brahma therefore had to create some more beings so that the population of the universe might increase. But prior to that, he decided to perform tapasya. However, the meditation did not yield him any results and Brahma became very angry and disheartened. He started to weep and a teardrop fell on the ground. From this drop, there emerged Shiva.
Brahma bowed before Shiva and said, “Please create some living beings.”
This Shiva proceeded to do. But all the beings that Shiva created were mirror images of himself. That is, they were all immortal.
“I beg your pardon,” retorted Shiva. “That I refuse to do. Old age and disease are not objects that should be sought after. In fact, they are evil. I flatly refuse to create such evil.”
“All right then.” said Brahma. “I will take care of creation myself. Please stop creating.”
The first objects that Brahma created were water, fire, the sky, heaven (svarga), wind, rivers, mountains, oceans, trees, herbs and time.
Brahma next created eleven sons from his mental powers. Their names were Marichi, Bhrigu, Angira, Pulastya, Pulaha, Kratu, Daksha, Atri Vashishtha, Dharma and Sankalpa.
(In the earlier section on varnashrama dharma, only nine sons were mentioned. Dharma and Sankalpa did not figure in that list.)
Thereafter, Brahma created four classes of beings. These were gods, demons, ancestors (pitris) and humans. The demons were born from Brahma’s thighs, the gods from his mouth. The snakes (sarpa), the yakshas (demi-gods), the ghosts (bhuta) and the gandharvas were born next. Cows were born from Brahma’s stomach, and horses, elephants, donkeys, deer, camels and mules from his feet. Herbs and trees emerged from Brahma’s body-hair.
(This account contradicts a more common account given in some of the other Puranas, such as the Bhagavata Purana. In the more usual account, all beings are descended from the sage Kashyapa. Kashyapa married thirteen of Daksha’s daughters. These daughters were named Aditi, Diti, Danu, Kashtha, Arishtha, Surasa, Ila, Muni, Krodhavasha, Tamra, Surabhi, Sarama and Timi. Aditi’s offspring were the gods (adityas), Diti’s the demons (daityas). Danu’s offspring were other demons (danavas), Kashtha’s children horses, Arishtha’s gandharvas, Surasa’s demons (rakshasas), Ila’s offspring trees and herbs, Muni’s the apsaras (dancers of heaven), Krodhavasha’s ghosts (pishachas), Tamra’s birds, Surabhi’s cattle, Sarama’s wild animals and Timi’s marine creatures. The Kurma Purana itself refers to this alternative account subsequently).
To return to the present account of the Kurma Purana, Brahma thereafter divided his body into two. One half was male and was called Svayambhuva Manu. The remaining half was female and was called Shatarupa. Manu and Shatarupa married and had two sons and two daughters. The sons were named Priyavrata and Uttanapada and the daughters were named Prasuti and Akuti. Since all humans are Manu’s descendants, they are known as manava.
Prasuti married Daksha and they had twenty-four daughters. (The Puranas are not at all consistent about the number of daughters Prasuti and Daksha had. The number is sometimes twenty-four, sometimes fifty and sometimes sixty). Thirteen of the twenty-four daughters were married to Brahma’s son Dharma. Of the remaining eleven, Khyati was married to Bhrigu, Sati to Shiva, Sambhuti to Marichi, Smriti to Angira, Priti to Pulastya, Kshama to Pulaha, Sannati to Kratu, Anasuya to Atri, Urjja to Vashishtha, Svaha to the fire-god Agni and Svadha to the ancestors (pitris).
12.8 Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva
The gods and the sages told Vishnu, “We are getting a bit confused. You have told us that Brahma emerged from Vishnu’s body And yet you have also told us how Brahma was born inside a golden egg. Which of these is the correct account? Then again, you have told us that Shiva was born from one of Brahma’s tears. But we have sometimes heard otherwise. Which is right? Please remove this confusion.”
“There is no confusion,” replied Vishnu. “Let me explain it for you.”
Brahma was born from the golden egg right at the beginning, at the time of the original creation. But at the end of every kalpa there is a minor destruction when all living beings other than Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva die. When the destruction is over, creation has to start afresh.
At the end of the last kalpa, there was water everywhere in the universe. The heaven, the earth and the underworld, were all flooded with water. There were no gods and no sages. Only the great Vishnu slept on the water. He had a thousand hoods, a thousand eyes, a thousand arms and a thousand feet. This was his form of Ananta, the snake (naga).
(The Kurma Purana completely identifies Vishnu with Ananta. More commonly, the Puranas state that the snake Ananta was the son of Kadru and the sage Kashyapa. He pleased Brahma through his prayers and obtained from Brahma the boon that he would be permitted to hold up the earth on his hoods. The Kalika Purana specifically states that, at the time of destruction, Vishnu and Lakshmi rest on Ananta’s central hood. The Vishnu Purana adds the information that Ananta was one of Balarama’s avataras. The names Shesha Vasuki and Gonasa are often used synonymously with Ananta.)
