Shloka 12
बक-गौतमाख्यानम् / The Baka–Gautama Account
On Gratitude and Friendship Ethics
तमसा<5<वृतमस्पर्शमतिगम्भीरदर्शनम् । निःशब्दं चाप्रमेयं च तत्र जज्ञे पितामह:,सब कुछ अन्धकारसे आवृत था। शब्द और स्पर्शका भी अनुभव नहीं होता था। वह एकार्णव देखनेमें बड़ा गम्भीर था। उसकी कहीं सीमा नहीं थी, उसीमें पितामह ब्रह्माजीका प्रादुर्भाव हुआ
tamasāvṛtam asparśam atigambhīradarśanam | niḥśabdaṃ cāprameyaṃ ca tatra jajñe pitāmahaḥ ||
Bhīṣma sprach: „Alles war von Finsternis umhüllt; weder Berührung noch Klang konnten wahrgenommen werden. Diese eine, weite Meeresfläche erschien von unergründlicher Tiefe und ohne messbare Grenze. In dieser unermesslichen Stille trat der Großvater—Brahmā—in Erscheinung.“
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames creation as arising from an ungraspable, sense-transcending condition: darkness, silence, and immeasurability. It suggests that the origin of ordered manifestation (Brahmā as creator) emerges from a state beyond ordinary perception and measurement, emphasizing humility before the limits of the senses and intellect.
Bhīṣma describes the pre-creation condition: everything is covered in darkness, with no sound or tactile experience, and the vast expanse appears profoundly deep and without limit. In that immeasurable stillness, Brahmā (called Pitāmaha, “Grandfather”) comes into being/appears.