Shloka 16
Daitya–Dānava Vaṁśa, Kaśyapa’s Progeny, and the Birth of the Maruts
शुकी शुकान् अजनयद् उलूकी प्रत्युलूककान् श्येनी श्येनांस् तथा भासी भासान् गृद्ध्रांश् च गृद्ध्र्य् अपि
śukī śukān ajanayad ulūkī pratyulūkakān śyenī śyenāṃs tathā bhāsī bhāsān gṛddhrāṃś ca gṛddhry api
Śukī gave birth to parrots; Ulūkī to the pratyulūkas (a class of owls); Śyenī to hawks; Bhāsī to bhāsas (raptor-kind); and Gṛddhrī to vultures.
Sage Parāśara (narrating) to Maitreya
Creation Stage: Secondary
Concept: Secondary creation proceeds through determinate causal lines, where each progenitor produces its own kind, reflecting an intelligible divine governance of nature.
Vedantic Theme: Dharma
Application: Contemplate order in nature as a doorway to reverence; align personal life with regular disciplines (niyama) that mirror cosmic regularity.
Vishishtadvaita: The ordered plurality of species manifests as the Lord’s body (śarīra) governed by Him as inner ruler, supporting a qualified non-dual cosmos under one sovereign intelligence.
Dharma Exemplar: Ṛta (cosmic order)
Vishnu Form: Para-Brahman
Jagat Karana: Yes
FAQs
It illustrates the Purana’s theme of cosmic order: creation proceeds through distinct lineages, showing a governed universe where each kind arises according to its own law.
By presenting a precise genealogy—each named mother producing a specific class of birds—he frames nature as structured and intelligible, not random, reflecting an overarching regulating principle.
Even when Vishnu is not named in the verse, the Purana’s intent is that such orderly generation is sustained under the Supreme Reality’s sovereignty—creation as a disciplined expression of divine governance.