Shloka 77
Pracetās, Māriṣā, Dakṣa’s Re-manifestation, and the Brahma-parastava; Cyclic Creation and Genealogies
तासु देवास् तथा दैत्या नागा गावस् तथा खगाः गन्धर्वाप्सरसश् चैव दानवाद्याश् च जज्ञिरे
tāsu devās tathā daityā nāgā gāvas tathā khagāḥ gandharvāpsarasaś caiva dānavādyāś ca jajñire
From them were born the gods and the Daityas; the Nāgas, cattle, and birds; likewise the Gandharvas and Apsarases, and the Dānavas and other orders of beings as well.
Sage Parāśara (narrating to Maitreya)
Creation Stage: Secondary
Concept: The differentiated classes of beings—devas, asuras, nāgas, animals, birds, gandharvas, apsarases—arise through structured generative lines within a single cosmic system.
Vedantic Theme: Brahman
Application: Cultivate reverence for all life-forms as participants in a shared cosmic order; practice non-harm and responsibility within one’s ‘station’.
Vishishtadvaita: Diversity of jīvas and species is real and hierarchically ordered within the one Brahman (Viṣṇu) who is the inner ground and cause of the cosmos.
Vishnu Form: Para-Brahman
Jagat Karana: Yes
FAQs
This verse presents creation as an ordered diversification: divine, anti-divine, celestial, terrestrial, and animal classes all arise within a single cosmic scheme, emphasizing a unified universe structured by dharma under Vishnu’s sovereignty.
Parāśara describes Sarga through successive births of distinct categories of beings, showing how the world becomes populated by recognizable orders—celestial and earthly—each emerging from prior sources in a coherent sequence.
Even when Vishnu is not named in the line, the Vishnu Purana frames such emanations as occurring within the Supreme’s governance: multiplicity arises, yet the sustaining ground of reality remains Vishnu, the ultimate controller and support of the cosmos.