Shloka 17
Primordial Creation: From Brahman to the Cosmic Egg
तन्मात्राण्यविशेषाणि विशेषाः क्रमशो पराः । भूततन्मात्रसर्गोयमहंकारात्तु तामसात्
tanmātrāṇyaviśeṣāṇi viśeṣāḥ kramaśo parāḥ | bhūtatanmātrasargoyamahaṃkārāttu tāmasāt
তন্মাত্রগুলি অবিশেষ (অবিভক্ত); পরে ক্রমান্বয়ে বিশেষ (ভেদযুক্ত) তত্ত্ব প্রকাশ পায়। ভূত ও তন্মাত্রের এই সৃষ্টি তামস অহংকার থেকেই উৎপন্ন।
Uncertain (context not provided; Svarga-khaṇḍa commonly frames teachings within a narrator-to-listener dialogue such as Pulastya → Bhīṣma).
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: adbhuta
Type: celestial_realm
Sandhi Resolution Notes: tanmātrāṇyaviśeṣāṇi → tanmātrāṇi + aviśeṣāṇi; bhūtatanmātrasargoyam → bhūta-tanmātra-sargaḥ + ayam; ahaṃkārāttu → ahaṃkārāt + tu.
FAQs
The tanmātras are the five subtle elements—sound (śabda), touch (sparśa), form (rūpa), taste (rasa), and smell (gandha)—described as undifferentiated potentials that precede the gross elements.
In Sāṅkhya-style cosmology, ahaṃkāra (egoity) has modes; the tāmasa mode is associated with materialization. From it proceed the subtle elements (tanmātras) and, through them, the gross elements (mahābhūtas).
Although the Padma Purana is strongly Vaiṣṇava in many sections, it also preserves classical cosmological accounts. This verse reflects a tattva-based (Sāṅkhya-like) explanation of how differentiated matter evolves in ordered stages.