Shloka 23
मानससृष्टिः, रुद्रोत्पत्तिः, मन्वादिवंशः, प्रलयचतुष्टयम्
भृगुर् भवो मरीचिश् च तथा चैवाङ्गिरा मुनिः पुलस्त्यः पुलहश् चैव क्रतुश् चर्षिवरस् तथा
bhṛgur bhavo marīciś ca tathā caivāṅgirā muniḥ pulastyaḥ pulahaś caiva kratuś carṣivaras tathā
Bhrigu, Bhava, and Marīci—so too the sage Aṅgiras; Pulastya and Pulaha, and likewise Kratu—these are the eminent seers numbered among the primeval rishis.
Sage Parāśara (speaking to Maitreya)
Speaker: Parasara
Topic: Origin and ordering of beings in creation (ṛṣis and progenitors)
Teaching: Cosmological
Quality: authoritative
Creation Stage: Secondary
Vishnu Form: Para-Brahman
FAQs
This verse anchors the creation narrative by identifying the primordial sages who transmit Vedic knowledge and generate lineages that structure later genealogies, dharma traditions, and cosmic administration.
Parāśara presents creation as an ordered unfolding: first the great principles and beings, then the Prajapatis and rishis—agents through whom knowledge, progeny, and social-cosmic continuity are established.
Even when Vishnu is not named in the verse, the Purana frames these rishis as operating within the sovereignty of Vishnu—the Supreme Reality—through whom cosmic order, continuity, and the purpose of creation are sustained.