Shloka 331
योअसौ व्यक्तत्वमापन्नो निर्ममे च पितामहम् । सो<हंकार इति प्रोक्त: सर्वतेजोमयों हि सः
yo 'sau vyaktatvam āpanno nirmame ca pitāmaham | so 'haṅkāra iti proktaḥ sarva-tejomayo hi saḥ ||
Vaiśampāyana said: “That principle which has entered into manifest existence and brought forth the Grandfather (Brahmā) is called ‘Ahaṅkāra’—the sense of ‘I’. Indeed, it is made of the totality of radiant energies.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse identifies ahaṅkāra (the ‘I’-sense) as a cosmic principle that, upon becoming manifest, functions as a creative source—so potent that it is said to generate Brahmā. It emphasizes ahaṅkāra’s comprehensive energetic nature (sarva-tejomaya), framing ego not merely as personal pride but as a fundamental ontological category in creation-theory.
Vaiśampāyana is continuing a philosophical exposition in Śānti Parva, describing stages/principles of manifestation in the universe. In this step, he explains that the manifesting principle called ahaṅkāra is responsible for producing the ‘Grandfather’ (Brahmā), situating Brahmā’s emergence within a broader metaphysical sequence.