Shloka 29
Sṛṣṭi–Pratisṛṣṭi: Viṣṇu as Kāla and the Ninefold Creation Schema
यक्षाख्या जक्षणाज्ज्ञेयाः सर्पा वै केशसर्पणात् / जाताः कोपेन भूतास्ते गन्धर्वा जज्ञिरे ततः
yakṣākhyā jakṣaṇājjñeyāḥ sarpā vai keśasarpaṇāt / jātāḥ kopena bhūtāste gandharvā jajñire tataḥ
Know that those called Yakṣas are so named from ‘devouring’ (jakṣaṇa). Serpents indeed arose from the slithering of hair (keśa-sarpaṇa). From anger were born the Bhūtas; and thereafter the Gandharvas came into being.
Lord Viṣṇu (speaking to Garuḍa/Vinatā-putra)
Concept: Names (nāma) and functions (karma/pravṛtti) are linked; beings manifest from specific impulses/qualities (e.g., krodha).
Vedantic Theme: Nāma-rūpa emergence within prakṛti; guṇa/affect (krodha) as a causal condition for particular forms.
Application: Observe how mental states generate ‘forms’ of behavior; restrain anger to prevent ‘bhūta-like’ disturbance in oneself and society.
Primary Rasa: adbhuta
Secondary Rasa: bhayanaka
Type: cosmogonic setting
Related Themes: Garuda Purana cosmogenesis passages describing classes of beings and their origins (general internal parallel)
FAQs
This verse uses name-origins to classify beings and link their identities to characteristic functions or causes, a common Purāṇic method of teaching cosmology and taxonomy.
Indirectly, it frames the wider cosmology of non-human orders (Yakṣas, Bhūtas, etc.) that populate Purāṇic worlds—background knowledge that supports later discussions on post-death realms and encounters.
It encourages discerning categories and causes—recognizing how qualities like anger can be ‘creative’ of harmful states—supporting self-restraint and sattvic conduct.