Shloka 5
Ahaṃkāra as the Second Creation: Brahmā’s Cosmological Instruction (अहंकार-प्राधान्येन सृष्टिवर्णनम्)
अहंकारेणाहरतो गुणानिमान् भूतादिरेवं सृूजते स भूतकृत् वैकारिक: सर्वमिदं विचेष्टते स्वतेजसा रज्जयते जगत् तथा,समस्त भूतोंका आदि और सबको उत्पन्न करनेवाला वह अहंकारका आधारभूत जीवात्मा अहंकारके द्वारा सम्पूर्ण गुणोंकी रचना करता है और उनका उपभोग करता है। यह जो कुछ भी चेष्टाशील जगत् है, वह विकारोंके कारणरूप अहंकारका ही स्वरूप है। वह अहंकार ही अपने तेजसे सारे जगत्को रजोमय (भोगोंका इच्छुक) बनाता है
ahaṅkāreṇāharato guṇān imān bhūtādir evaṁ sṛjate sa bhūtakṛt | vaikārikaḥ sarvam idaṁ viceṣṭate svatejasā rajjayate jagat tathā ||
Vāyu said: “The self, taking support in egoity (ahaṅkāra), fashions these very guṇas and then appropriates them for experience. That maker of beings—beginning with the elements—brings forth creation in this way. Indeed, all this moving, striving world is but the form of that ego-principle as the cause of modifications; and by its own potency it tinges the whole universe with rajas, driving it toward desire and enjoyment.”
वायुदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse explains a Sāṅkhya-style account: the ego-principle (ahaṅkāra) generates and appropriates the guṇas and thereby drives the active world. Ethically, it implies that desire-driven activity (rajas) arises from ego-identification; reducing ego-clinging supports restraint and clearer discernment.
Vāyudeva is speaking in a doctrinal passage, describing how creation and worldly activity proceed through the ego-principle and the guṇas, emphasizing that the restless, desire-oriented character of the world is propelled by rajas arising from ahaṅkāra.