Shloka 12

Devanagari script

सुमहान्तं ततः काल प्रतीक्ष्यैनं पितामह: । स्रष्टारं सर्वभूतानां ससर्ज मनसा परम्‌,इधर पितामह ब्रह्माने सुदीर्घकालतक उनकी प्रतीक्षा करके अपने मानसिक संकल्पसे दूसरे सर्वभूतस्रष्टाको उत्पन्न किया

Transliteration

sumahāntaṃ tataḥ kālaṃ pratīkṣyainaṃ pitāmahaḥ | sraṣṭāraṃ sarvabhūtānāṃ sasarja manasā param ||

Translation

Then, after waiting for a very long span of time, the Grandsire (Brahmā) brought forth—by mere mental resolve (saṅkalpa)—a supreme creator, the progenitor of all beings.

Word by Word

सुमहान्तम्very great (time)

ततःthen/thereafter

कालम्time

प्रतीक्ष्यhaving waited (for)

एनम्him/this one

पितामहःthe Grandsire (Brahmā)

स्रष्टारम्creator

सर्वभूतानाम्of all beings

ससर्जcreated/produced

मनसाby (his) mind

परम्another/supreme (one)

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Pitāmaha (Brahmā)

Sarvabhūta-sraṣṭā (creator of all beings)

Kāla (Time)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights that cosmic order unfolds through kāla (time) and through deliberate saṅkalpa (mental resolve). Creation is portrayed as an act requiring patience and purposeful intention, suggesting an ethical ideal of restraint and disciplined will rather than rash action.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana narrates that the Grandsire (Brahmā), after a long wait, produces a supreme creator of all beings through mental power—describing a cosmogonic moment that frames subsequent events within a larger, time-governed cosmic order.