Shloka 125
Cosmic Time, Cycles of Creation and Dissolution, and the Varāha Uplift of Earth
भीष्म उवाच । अर्वाक्स्रोतास्तु कथितो भवता यस्तु मानुषः । ब्रह्मन्विस्तरतो ब्रूहि ब्रह्मा तमसृजद्यथा
bhīṣma uvāca | arvāksrotāstu kathito bhavatā yastu mānuṣaḥ | brahmanvistarato brūhi brahmā tamasṛjadyathā
Bhīṣma sprach: Du hast den Menschen als „arvāk-srotas“ bezeichnet, dessen Strom nach unten fließt. O Brahmane, erkläre mir ausführlich, wie Brahmā ihn erschuf.
Bhīṣma
Primary Rasa: adbhuta
Secondary Rasa: shanta
Sandhi Resolution Notes: अर्वाक्स्रोताः + तु → अर्वाक्स्रोतास्तु; यः + तु → यस्तु; ब्रह्मन् + विस्तरतः → ब्रह्मन्विस्तरतः (न् + व्); तम् + असृजत् + यथा → तमसृजद्यथा (म् + अ → म; त् + य → द्य)
FAQs
It literally means “downward-flowing.” In Purāṇic and Vedic classifications it is used for humans, contrasting them with beings whose orientation is described as upward or otherwise directed; it points to the human mode of embodiment and life-current being oriented toward the earthly realm.
Bhīṣma asks the sage addressed as “Brahman” to explain, in detail, the process by which Brahmā created humans—moving from a brief description to a fuller creation account.
Sṛṣṭi-khaṇḍa focuses on origins—cosmogony and the emergence of different beings. This verse functions as a transition prompt, requesting a detailed narrative of human creation within that broader cosmological framework.