Shloka 12
बक-गौतमाख्यानम् / The Baka–Gautama Account
On Gratitude and Friendship Ethics
तमसा<5<वृतमस्पर्शमतिगम्भीरदर्शनम् । निःशब्दं चाप्रमेयं च तत्र जज्ञे पितामह:
tamasāvṛtam asparśam atigambhīradarśanam | niḥśabdaṃ cāprameyaṃ ca tatra jajñe pitāmahaḥ ||
Bhīṣma said: “All was enveloped in darkness; neither touch nor sound could be perceived. That single, vast oceanic expanse appeared profoundly unfathomable and had no measurable limit. Within that immeasurable stillness, the Grandfather—Brahmā—came into manifestation.”
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.