Shloka 13
सत्य–अनृत, प्रकाश–तमस्, स्वर्ग–नरक विवेचनम्
Truth and Untruth as Light and Darkness; Svarga and Naraka as Ethical Consequences
सो<5सृजत् प्रथमं देवो महान्तं नाम नामतः । महान् ससर्जाहँंकारं स चापि भगवानथ
so 'sṛjat prathamaṃ devo mahāntaṃ nāma nāmataḥ | mahān sasarjāhaṅkāraṃ sa cāpi bhagavān atha ||
Bhīṣma dit : Au commencement, le Seigneur né de lui-même (Svayambhū) fit d’abord surgir le principe nommé Mahat (l’intellect cosmique). De ce Mahat, ce même Seigneur bienheureux produisit ensuite Ahaṅkāra (le sentiment cosmique du « moi »).
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse outlines a Sāṅkhya-style sequence of cosmic evolution: the Lord first manifests Mahat (cosmic intellect), and from Mahat arises Ahaṅkāra (the ego-principle). It frames creation as an ordered unfolding of principles rather than a random event.
In Bhīṣma’s instruction during the Śānti Parva, he describes the beginnings of creation: the self-born divine creator first produces Mahat, and subsequently generates Ahaṅkāra from it, setting the stage for further emanation of the world and its constituents.