Shloka 121
Pracetās, Māriṣā, Dakṣa’s Re-manifestation, and the Brahma-parastava; Cyclic Creation and Genealogies
अजैकपाद् अहिर्बुध्न्यस् त्वष्टा रुद्रश् च बुद्धिमान् त्वष्टुश् चाप्य् आत्मजः पुत्रो विश्वरूपो महातपाः
ajaikapād ahirbudhnyas tvaṣṭā rudraś ca buddhimān tvaṣṭuś cāpy ātmajaḥ putro viśvarūpo mahātapāḥ
Among them were Ajaikapāda and Ahirbudhnya; and there were Tvaṣṭṛ and Rudra the wise. From Tvaṣṭṛ, too, was born his own son—Viśvarūpa, the great ascetic.
Sage Parāśara (speaking to Maitreya)
Speaker: Parasara
Topic: Enumeration of divine classes within creation (Rudras and related deities)
Teaching: Cosmological
Quality: authoritative
Creation Stage: Secondary
Concept: The differentiated divine powers (Rudras and their progeny) arise in an ordered succession within secondary creation under the supreme causality and governance of Viṣṇu.
Vedantic Theme: Brahman
Application: Contemplate apparent multiplicity as coordinated functions within a single divine order, reducing sectarian conflict and strengthening reverence.
Vishishtadvaita: Many real divine and cosmic entities subsist as dependent modes (prakāras) of the one Supreme, who remains their inner ruler (antaryāmin).
Vishnu Form: Narayana
Bhakti Type: Shanta
Antaryamin: Yes
Jagat Karana: Yes
FAQs
The enumeration maps the divine offices that sustain cosmic order, showing how specific Rudra-forms function as regulated powers within creation rather than independent supreme principles.
He presents them as part of an emanational lineage—deities and their progeny arising in sequence—so the cosmos is understood through structured generation and assigned roles.
Even while naming many divine powers, the Purana’s cosmology frames them as subordinate functions within the one sovereign reality—Viṣṇu—who grounds and coordinates the created order.