Shloka 2
Śuka’s Manifestation from the Araṇi (Āraṇeya-janma) — शुकजन्म (आरणेय-सम्भव)
याज्ञवल्क्थजी कहते हैं--नरश्रेष्ठी अब तुम मुझसे अव्यक्तकी काल-संख्या सुनो। दस हजार कल्पोंका (महायुगोंका) इस अव्यक्तका एक दिन बताया जाता है ।।
yājñavalkya uvāca—naraśreṣṭha idānīṁ tvaṁ mayā avyaktasya kāla-saṅkhyāṁ śṛṇu | daśa-sahasra-kalpānāṁ (mahāyugānāṁ) asya avyaktasya ekaṁ dinaṁ procyate || rātrir etāvatī cāsya pratibuddho narādhipa | sṛjaty oṣadhim evāgre jīvanaṁ sarva-dehinām || nareśvara, jñāna-svarūpaḥ parabrahma paramātmā pūrvaṁ sarva-prāṇināṁ jīvana-nirvāhārthaṁ oṣadhīḥ (nānā-vidhāni annāni) sṛjati |
ヤージュニャヴァルキヤは言った。「人のうち最もすぐれた者よ、いま『未顕』（アヴィヤクタ）に属する時の数え方をわたしから聞きなさい。一万カルパ（大いなる時代）が、その未顕の一つの『日』を成すと宣言される。その『夜』もまた同じ長さである、大王よ。その宇宙の周期が目覚めるとき、純粋な知の本性をもつ至上の自己—ブラフマン—はまず『薬草』、すなわち種々の食物を生み出し、すべての有身の生きものの命を支えるのである。」
याज़्ञवल्क्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames cosmic time as vast cycles of ‘day’ and ‘night’ of the Unmanifest, and emphasizes that when creation resumes, the Supreme Self first provides nourishment (oṣadhi/food) so embodied beings can live—highlighting an ethical vision of creation oriented toward sustaining life.
Yajnavalkya is instructing a king, explaining the scale of cosmic time associated with the Unmanifest and describing the initial act of creation upon ‘awakening’: the production of plants/foods to support all living beings.