Shloka 38
Jayadrathasya śoka-bhaya-vilāpaḥ — Droṇena āśvāsanaṃ ca
Jayadratha’s lament and Droṇa’s reassurance
प्रजा: सृष्टवा तदा ब्रह्मा आदिसगे पितामह: । असंद्वतं महातेजा दृष्टवा जगदिदं प्रभु:,आदिसृष्टिके समय महातेजस्वी एवं शक्तिशाली पितामह ब्रह्माने जब प्रजावर्गकी सृष्टि की थी, उस समय संहारकी कोई व्यवस्था नहीं की थी, अतः इस सम्पूर्ण जगत्को प्राणियोंसे परिपूर्ण एवं मृत्युरहित देख प्राणियोंके संहारके लिये चिन्तित हो उठे। राजन! पृथ्वीपते! बहुत सोचने-विचारनेपर भी ब्रह्माजीको प्राणियों-के संहारका कोई उपाय नहीं ज्ञात हो सका
prajāḥ sṛṣṭvā tadā brahmā ādisarge pitāmahaḥ | asaṃvṛtaṃ mahātejā dṛṣṭvā jagad idaṃ prabhuḥ |
Nārada said: In the beginning of creation, the Grandsire Brahmā, after bringing forth the beings, beheld this world as overflowing with creatures and without any provision for dissolution. Seeing the universe thus—full of life and untouched by death—the mighty Lord grew anxious, pondering how the necessary restraint of destruction might be established, so that creation would not become an unchecked burden upon itself.
नारद उवाच
Educational Q&A
Creation requires restraint and balance: alongside generation (sṛṣṭi) there must be a regulating principle—dissolution or mortality—so that the world remains ordered and sustainable rather than endlessly accumulating life without limit.
Nārada narrates that Brahmā, after creating beings at the dawn of creation, notices that the world has become filled with creatures without any mechanism for dissolution. Concerned about maintaining cosmic order, he reflects on how to institute a means of destruction or limitation.