Shloka 1
Ahaṃkāra as the Second Creation: Brahmā’s Cosmological Instruction (अहंकार-प्राधान्येन सृष्टिवर्णनम्)
भस्न्ैमा रन () अमसन- एकचत्वारिशो< ध्याय: अहंकारकी उत्पत्ति और उसके स्वरूपका वर्णन ब्रह्मोवाच य उत्पन्नो महान् पूर्वमहंकार: स उच्यते । अहमित्येव सम्भूतो द्वितीय: सर्ग उच्यते,ब्रह्माजीने कहा--महर्षियो! जो पहले महत्तत्त्व उत्पन्न हुआ था, वही अहंकार कहा जाता है। जब वह अहंरूपमें प्रादुर्भूत होता है, तब वह दूसरा सर्ग कहलाता है
brahmovāca—maharṣayaḥ, ya utpanno mahān pūrvam ahaṃkāraḥ sa ucyate | aham ity eva sambhūto dvitīyaḥ sarga ucyate ||
Brahmā said: “O great seers, that primordial ‘Mahān’ (the Great Principle) which first arose is what is called ahaṃkāra (the ego-principle). When it manifests specifically as the sense of ‘I’—as ‘aham’—that emergence is described as the second creation.”
वायुदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage distinguishes cosmic principles in creation: the primordial ‘Mahān’ is identified with ahaṃkāra, and when it specifically takes the form of the explicit ‘I’-sense (aham), that manifestation is termed the ‘second creation’ (dvitīya sarga).
A doctrinal discourse is underway: Brahmā addresses the assembled seers and explains the origin and nature of ahaṃkāra within a staged account of creation (sarga), moving from the primordial principle to the individualized ‘I’-sense.