Shloka 23
Sṛṣṭi–Pratisṛṣṭi: Viṣṇu as Kāla and the Ninefold Creation Schema
तमोमात्रा तनुस्त्यक्ता शङ्कराभूद्विभावरी / यक्षोपक्षांसि तद्देहे प्रीतिमापुस्ततः सुराः
tamomātrā tanustyaktā śaṅkarābhūdvibhāvarī / yakṣopakṣāṃsi taddehe prītimāpustataḥ surāḥ
જ્યારે માત્ર તમોમય તનુ ત્યજી દેવામાં આવી, ત્યારે રાત્રિ મંગલકારી (શંકરા) બની. તે દેહમાંથી યક્ષ અને ઉપયક્ષ ઉત્પન્ન થયા, અને ત્યારબાદ દેવોએ આનંદ પ્રાપ્ત કર્યો।
Lord Vishnu (narrating to Garuda/Vinata-putra)
Concept: Guṇa-based cosmogony: forms arise when a prior sheath/body is relinquished; darkness (tamas) conditions certain births and temporal powers.
Vedantic Theme: Prakṛti-guṇa pariṇāma (evolution of nature through guṇas) under cosmic order; names/forms arise from subtle causal states.
Application: Contemplate how mental ‘tamas’ yields certain tendencies; cultivate clarity to shift outcomes—use night for restraint, reflection, and sattvic practices.
Primary Rasa: adbhuta
Secondary Rasa: shanta
Related Themes: Garuda Purana 1.4.24-27 (guṇa-based emergence of Day, Sandhyā, humans, etc.)
FAQs
It presents tamas as a primal constituent whose discarded “dark-form” becomes a source for specific classes of beings, showing how creation unfolds through transformations of guṇas.
It does not describe the soul’s post-death journey here; instead, it situates the broader Purāṇic framework of cosmology—how beings and realms arise—within which later afterlife teachings are understood.
Use it as a reminder to transform tamas (inertia, ignorance) into śaṅkara—auspicious conduct—by cultivating clarity, discipline, and dharmic habits.