Shloka 2

दान-धर्म-आश्रमविधानम्

Dana, Dharma, and the Four Āśramas

Devanagari script

भूगुरुवाच प्रजाविसर्ग विविधं मानसो मनसासृजत्‌ | संरक्षणार्थ भूतानां सृष्ट प्रथणतो जलम्‌,भगुने कहा--उन मानसदेवने अपने मानसिक संकल्पसे ही नाना प्रकारकी प्रजासृष्टि की है। उन्होंने प्राणियोंकी रक्षाके लिये सबसे पहले जलकी सृष्टि की

Transliteration

bhṛgur uvāca—prajāvisargaṁ vividhaṁ mānaso manasāsṛjat | saṁrakṣaṇārthaṁ bhūtānāṁ sṛṣṭaṁ prathamataḥ jalam ||

Translation

Bhṛgu dit : «Par la seule puissance de l’esprit, le Seigneur né de l’esprit fit surgir une création diverse d’êtres. Et pour la protection et la subsistance des créatures, il créa d’abord l’eau.»

Word by Word

• {'bhṛguḥ uvāca': 'Bhṛgu said', 'prajā-visargaḥ': 'the emission/creation of creatures

• progeny-creation', 'vividham': 'variegated

• of many kinds', 'mānasaḥ': 'mental

• produced by the mind', 'manasā': 'by the mind (instrumental)', 'asṛjat': 'created

• brought forth', 'saṁrakṣaṇa-artham': 'for the purpose of protection/preservation', 'bhūtānām': 'of beings/creatures', 'sṛṣṭam': 'created

• brought into existence', 'prathamataḥ': 'first

• at the beginning', 'jalam': 'water'}

Speaker

भरद्वाज उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhṛgu
• Prajā (creatures)
• Bhūta (beings)
• Jala (water)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Creation is presented as purposeful and ethical: the first act includes providing a protective, sustaining basis for life—water—highlighting that governance of the world begins with safeguarding beings.

What is happening in the narrative?

Bhṛgu describes an early stage of creation: the mind-born creator produces diverse beings through mental resolve, and then establishes water first as a means to preserve and protect living creatures.