Shloka 176
Cosmic Time, Cycles of Creation and Dissolution, and the Varāha Uplift of Earth
बिभेद बहुधा चैव स्वरूपैरसितैः सितैः । ततो ब्रह्मा स्वयंभूतं पूर्वं स्वायंभुवं प्रभुम्
bibheda bahudhā caiva svarūpairasitaiḥ sitaiḥ | tato brahmā svayaṃbhūtaṃ pūrvaṃ svāyaṃbhuvaṃ prabhum
તેણે કાળા અને ઉજળા સ્વરૂપો ધારણ કરીને સૃષ્ટિને અનેક રીતે વિભાજિત કરી. ત્યારબાદ બ્રહ્માએ સ્વયંભૂ પ્રભુ—પ્રથમ સ્વાયંભુવ (મનુ)ને પ્રગટ કર્યો.
Narrator (Purāṇic narration; specific dialogue-speaker not explicit in this single verse)
Primary Rasa: adbhuta
Secondary Rasa: shanta
Type: celestial_realm
Sandhi Resolution Notes: caiva = ca + eva; svarūpairasitaiḥ = svarūpaiḥ + asitaiḥ (sandhi by vowel coalescence in recitation).
FAQs
It indicates differentiation within creation—manifestation into contrasting qualities or appearances (e.g., variegated forms), a common Purāṇic way to describe the many-sided unfolding of the cosmos.
Svāyambhuva commonly refers to Svāyambhuva Manu, the first Manu and progenitor of humanity in Purāṇic cosmology, associated with the earliest phase of the human cycle.
The verse emphasizes ordered cosmogony: creation proceeds through differentiation, and then the lineage of governance and humanity begins with the first Manu under Brahmā’s creative agency.