Shloka 120
Pracetās, Māriṣā, Dakṣa’s Re-manifestation, and the Brahma-parastava; Cyclic Creation and Genealogies
भूषणानां च सर्वेषां कर्ता शिल्पवतां वरः यः सर्वेषां विमानानि देवतानां चकार ह मनुष्याश् चोपजीवन्ति यस्य शिल्पं महात्मनः
bhūṣaṇānāṃ ca sarveṣāṃ kartā śilpavatāṃ varaḥ yaḥ sarveṣāṃ vimānāni devatānāṃ cakāra ha manuṣyāś copajīvanti yasya śilpaṃ mahātmanaḥ
He is the maker of every kind of ornament, the foremost among artisans. It was he who fashioned the vimānas and celestial palaces of all the gods; and by the craft of that great-souled one, human beings too gain their livelihood—sustained by the arts he set in motion.
Sage Parāśara (speaking to Maitreya)
Speaker: Parasara
Topic: The functions (kārya) of created beings and how divine offices sustain gods and humans.
Teaching: Cosmological
Quality: revealing
Creation Stage: Secondary
Cosmic Hierarchy: Lokas
Concept: Arts and crafts are not merely worldly; they are sustaining forces that uphold both celestial order and human livelihood when aligned with dharma.
Vedantic Theme: Dharma
Application: Honor and refine one’s vocation as service—support artisans, practice ethical production, and cultivate excellence without exploitation.
Vishishtadvaita: Worldly occupations can be integrated into sacred order: the material realm is a meaningful mode of the Lord’s body (śarīra-bhāva), hence work can be devotional when offered
Dharma Exemplar: Karma as yajña—skillful work sustaining society
Key Kings: Viśvakarmā
Vishnu Form: Para-Brahman
FAQs
This verse presents Viśvakarmā as the archetypal artisan whose divine craftsmanship establishes both heavenly splendor (ornaments, vimānas) and the human economy—people “live by” the arts and skills that flow from his śilpa.
Parāśara frames craftsmanship as a sacred, ordered function within the cosmos: the same creative intelligence that equips the gods also becomes the model and source for human professions and sustenance.
Even when the verse names the divine artisan, the Purāṇic worldview assumes such cosmic functions operate under Vishnu’s supreme sovereignty—specialized powers serve the larger order upheld by the Supreme Reality.