Shloka 12
सर्गभेदाः — अविद्या, स्रोतोभेदाः, नव सर्गाः, देवासुरादिसृष्टिः, वेद-यज्ञप्रादुर्भावः
तम् अप्य् असाधकं मत्वा ध्यायतो ऽन्यस् ततो ऽभवत् ऊर्ध्वस्रोतस् तृतीयस् तु सात्त्विकोर्ध्वम् अवर्तत
tam apy asādhakaṃ matvā dhyāyato 'nyas tato 'bhavat ūrdhvasrotas tṛtīyas tu sāttvikordhvam avartata
Deeming even that state unfit for the intended attainment, as he continued to contemplate another condition arose thereafter. The third, called ‘ūrdhvasrotas’ (upward-flowing), sāttvika in nature, moved upward toward the higher order of being.
Sage Parāśara (teaching Maitreya)
Speaker: Parasara
Topic: How Brahmā’s contemplation differentiates successive creations and the arising of higher sāttvika beings
Teaching: Cosmological
Quality: revealing
Creation Stage: Primary
Cosmic Hierarchy: Lokas
Concept: Creation proceeds by graded refinement: when a prior state is ‘asādhaka’ (non-fulfilling), a more sāttvika, upward-tending condition (ūrdhvasrotas) manifests.
Vedantic Theme: Dharma
Application: Cultivate sāttvika habits (clarity, restraint, study) so the mind becomes ‘upward-flowing’—inclined to higher aims rather than downward dispersal.
Vishishtadvaita: Guṇa-gradation belongs to real prakṛti under the Lord’s governance; ascent is possible because the Supreme orders beings toward higher fitness (sādhakatva).
Vishnu Form: Para-Brahman
Jagat Karana: Yes
FAQs
It denotes an ‘upward-flowing’ sāttvika tendency—an ascent toward subtler, higher states of being within the Purāṇic account of creation and the guṇas.
He frames it as a sequence arising from continued contemplation (dhyāna): when a prior condition is judged inadequate (asādhaka), a further, more refined state manifests.
Even when Vishnu is not named in the verse, the cosmological ascent through sattva is understood as operating within Vishnu’s supreme ordering power—the ground of creation and the source of higher realization.