Shloka 21
Nāgendra–Brāhmaṇa Saṃvāda: Praśna-vidhi and Dharmic Approach on the Gomatī Riverbank
अहंकारस्ततो जातो ब्रह्मा स तु चतुर्मुख: । हिरण्यगर्भो भगवान् सर्वलोकपितामह:,उस समय वे नाना गुणोंसे उत्पन्न होनेवाली जगत्की अद्भुत सृष्टिके विषयमें विचार करने लगे। सृष्टिके विषयमें विचार करते हुए उन्हें अपने गुण महान् (महत्तत्त्व) का स्मरण हो आया। उससे अहंकार प्रकट हुआ। वह अहंकार ही चार मुखोंवाले ब्रह्माजी हैं, जो सम्पूर्ण लोकोंके पितामह और भगवान् हिरण्यगर्भके नामसे प्रसिद्ध हैं
ahaṅkāras tato jāto brahmā sa tu caturmukhaḥ | hiraṇyagarbho bhagavān sarvalokapitāmahaḥ ||
From that (cosmic principle) arose ahaṅkāra, the sense of ‘I’-making. That very ahaṅkāra is Brahmā, the four-faced creator—revered as the blessed Hiraṇyagarbha, the grandsire of all the worlds.
वैशग्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse presents creation as a causal unfolding: from a prior cosmic principle arises ahaṅkāra (the individuating ‘I’-sense), identified here with Brahmā/Hiraṇyagarbha. Ethically, it suggests that ego and personal agency are derivative and should be subordinated to a wider cosmic order (dharma), not treated as ultimate.
Vaiśaṃpāyana describes a stage in the account of cosmic creation: the manifestation of ahaṅkāra, which is equated with the four-faced creator Brahmā, famed as Hiraṇyagarbha and regarded as the progenitor of all worlds.