Shloka 83
वेन-पृथु-प्रादुर्भावः, राजधर्मः, पृथिवीदोहनम्
Vena–Pṛthu Episode and the Milking of Earth
न हि पूर्वविसर्गे वै विषमे पृथिवीतले प्रविभागः पुराणां वा ग्रामाणां वा तदाभवत्
na hi pūrvavisarge vai viṣame pṛthivītale pravibhāgaḥ purāṇāṃ vā grāmāṇāṃ vā tadābhavat
For in that earlier emanation of creation, when the surface of the earth was still uneven, there existed no demarcation at all—neither of cities nor of villages.
Sage Parāśara (speaking to Maitreya)
Speaker: Parasara
Topic: What conditions prevailed in the earlier creation when the earth was uneven and undivided.
Teaching: Cosmological
Quality: revealing
Creation Stage: Secondary
Concept: Before ordering interventions, creation lacks functional divisions; structured society and geography arise through subsequent regulation within the cosmic process.
Vedantic Theme: Maya
Application: Recognize that ‘institutions’ and ‘boundaries’ are constructed for function; refine them to serve dharma rather than treat them as absolute.
Vishishtadvaita: Differentiation (vibhāga) is real and purposeful in God’s universe, emerging in stages; plurality is not denied but organized for the souls’ experience and dharma.
Vishnu Form: Para-Brahman
Jagat Karana: Yes
FAQs
It indicates an early, unstructured phase of creation where the world has not yet been organized into stable forms, institutions, or habitable divisions such as towns and villages.
By stating that in the prior stage of creation there were no such divisions, Parāśara implies that settlement-patterns and boundaries arise later as cosmic order and human society become established.
Though not named in this line, the Vishnu Purana frames creation as proceeding under Vishnu’s supreme sovereignty—order, differentiation, and governance of the world unfold as part of the divine cosmic arrangement.