Shloka 20
Adhyaya 48 — The Emanation of Beings from Brahma: Night, Day, Twilight, and the Orders of Creation
रक्षाम इति तेभ्योऽन्ये य ऊचुस्ते तु राक्षसाः ।
खादाम इति ये चोचुस्ते यक्षा यक्षणात् द्विज ॥
rakṣāma iti tebhyo 'nye ya ūcus te tu rākṣasāḥ / khādāma iti ye cocus te yakṣā yakṣaṇāt dvija
Those among them who said, ‘Let us protect (it),’ became Rākṣasas. Those who said, ‘Let us eat (it),’ became Yakṣas—so called from their act of eating, O twice-born.
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FAQs
Two impulses are contrasted: guardianship (rakṣaṇa) versus predation (khādana). The taxonomy of beings becomes a moral map—identity follows intention and action.
Sarga: origin and naming of species/classes of beings through creator-linked narrative etymology.
Inner ‘rākṣasa/yakṣa’ can be read as protective versus consumptive tendencies within the psyche; spiritual discipline cultivates the rakṣaṇa-impulse over the devouring one.