Shloka 32
Cosmic Appointments, Viṣṇu’s Vibhūtis, Fourfold Operation, and the Symbolism of Ornaments and Weapons
जगदादौ तथा मध्ये सृष्टिर् आप्रलयाद् द्विज धात्रा मरीचिमिश्रैश् च क्रियते जन्तुभिस् तथा
jagadādau tathā madhye sṛṣṭir āpralayād dvija dhātrā marīcimiśraiś ca kriyate jantubhis tathā
O twice-born, at the beginning of the world and again in its intermediate cycles, creation continues until dissolution; it is carried out by Dhātṛ together with Marīci and the rest, and likewise through the agency of embodied beings.
Sage Parāśara (teaching Maitreya)
Speaker: Parasara
Topic: How creation proceeds at the world’s beginning and in intermediate cycles through Dhatr, Marici, and embodied beings until pralaya
Teaching: Cosmological
Quality: revealing
Creation Stage: Secondary
Cosmic Hierarchy: Brahmanda
Concept: Creation occurs both at the world’s beginning and in intermediate cycles, continuing up to dissolution, through cosmic functionaries like Dhātṛ and Marīci and through embodied beings as proximate agents.
Vedantic Theme: Dharma
Application: Recognize cycles in personal and social life; participate ethically as a secondary agent while remembering the higher source of order.
Vishishtadvaita: Affirms real secondary causality (progenitors, jīvas) operating under the supreme causal sovereignty of Vishnu—unity with differentiation.
Vishnu Form: Para-Brahman
Bhakti Type: Shanta
Jagat Karana: Yes
FAQs
This verse frames creation as recurring—arising at the beginning and in intermediate phases—continuing until pralaya, emphasizing an ordered cosmic rhythm rather than a one-time event.
Parāśara points to Dhātṛ together with Marīci and other progenitors as primary cosmic agents, while also noting the continuing role of living beings in sustaining and multiplying creation.
Even when proximate creators like Dhātṛ and the Prajāpatis are named, the Purāṇic cosmology treats them as operating within a higher sovereignty—Vishnu as the ultimate reality who upholds the law of cycles and the order of manifestation.