Shloka 2
Śuka’s Manifestation from the Araṇi (Āraṇeya-janma) — शुकजन्म (आरणेय-सम्भव)
याज्ञवल्क्थजी कहते हैं--नरश्रेष्ठी अब तुम मुझसे अव्यक्तकी काल-संख्या सुनो। दस हजार कल्पोंका (महायुगोंका) इस अव्यक्तका एक दिन बताया जाता है ।।
yājñavalkya uvāca—naraśreṣṭha idānīṁ tvaṁ mayā avyaktasya kāla-saṅkhyāṁ śṛṇu | daśa-sahasra-kalpānāṁ (mahāyugānāṁ) asya avyaktasya ekaṁ dinaṁ procyate || rātrir etāvatī cāsya pratibuddho narādhipa | sṛjaty oṣadhim evāgre jīvanaṁ sarva-dehinām || nareśvara, jñāna-svarūpaḥ parabrahma paramātmā pūrvaṁ sarva-prāṇināṁ jīvana-nirvāhārthaṁ oṣadhīḥ (nānā-vidhāni annāni) sṛjati |
Yājñavalkya sprach: „O Bester der Menschen, höre nun von mir die Zeitrechnung, die dem Unmanifesten (Avyakta) zukommt. Zehntausend Kalpas (große Weltzeitalter) gelten als ein einziger ‘Tag’ jenes Unmanifesten. Seine Nacht ist von gleichem Maß, o König. Wenn jener kosmische Zyklus erwacht, bringt das höchste Selbst—Brahman, dessen Wesen reines Wissen ist—zuerst ‘Kräuter’ hervor, das heißt die vielfältigen Speisen, zum Unterhalt des Lebens aller verkörperten Wesen.“
याज़्ञवल्क्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames cosmic time as vast cycles of ‘day’ and ‘night’ of the Unmanifest, and emphasizes that when creation resumes, the Supreme Self first provides nourishment (oṣadhi/food) so embodied beings can live—highlighting an ethical vision of creation oriented toward sustaining life.
Yajnavalkya is instructing a king, explaining the scale of cosmic time associated with the Unmanifest and describing the initial act of creation upon ‘awakening’: the production of plants/foods to support all living beings.