Shloka 12
मानससृष्टिः, रुद्रोत्पत्तिः, मन्वादिवंशः, प्रलयचतुष्टयम्
तथोक्तो ऽसौ द्विधा स्त्रीत्वं पुरुषत्वं तथाकरोत् बिभेद पुरुषत्वं च दशधा चैकधा च सः
tathokto 'sau dvidhā strītvaṃ puruṣatvaṃ tathākarot bibheda puruṣatvaṃ ca daśadhā caikadhā ca saḥ
Thus instructed, he fashioned himself in two ways—as womanhood and as manhood. And he further divided the masculine principle: into tenfold forms, and also into a single, unified form.
Sage Parāśara (teaching Maitreya)
Speaker: Parasara
Topic: Rudra’s self-division into female/male and further partitioning of the masculine into multiple forms
Teaching: Cosmological
Quality: revealing
Creation Stage: Secondary
Concept: Emanation proceeds by differentiation—first into complementary polarities (female/male), then into multiple functional expressions—while retaining an underlying unity.
Vedantic Theme: Brahman
Application: Honor diversity of roles and temperaments while remembering shared unity; cultivate harmony between complementary forces in life and community.
Vishishtadvaita: Unity with real plurality: one principle manifests many modes without losing coherence—an intuition consonant with qualified non-dualism’s unity-in-difference.
Vishnu Form: Para-Brahman
FAQs
This verse frames creation as structured differentiation—manifest existence unfolds as complementary feminine and masculine principles rather than as random emergence, supporting an ordered cosmology governed by higher reality.
Parāśara describes a second stage: beyond the twofold division, the masculine principle is subdivided—tenfold and also as a single unity—indicating both multiplicity of functions and an underlying oneness in the emanative scheme.
Even when the verse speaks in terms of principles and divisions, the Vishnu Purana’s framework treats such manifestation as occurring within the supremacy and governance of Vishnu—the ultimate ground that enables ordered creation while remaining transcendent.