Shloka 50

सर्गभेदाः — अविद्या, स्रोतोभेदाः, नव सर्गाः, देवासुरादिसृष्टिः, वेद-यज्ञप्रादुर्भावः

Devanagari script

ओषध्यः फलमूलिन्यो रोमभ्यस् तस्य जज्ञिरे त्रेतायुगमुखे ब्रह्मा कल्पस्यादौ द्विजोत्तम सृष्ट्वा पश्वोषधीः सम्यग् युयोज स तदाध्वरे

Transliteration

oṣadhyaḥ phalamūlinyo romabhyas tasya jajñire tretāyugamukhe brahmā kalpasyādau dvijottama sṛṣṭvā paśvoṣadhīḥ samyag yuyoja sa tadādhvare

Translation

ຈາກຂົນຂອງທ່ານນັ້ນ ເກີດພືດໂອສົດ ທັງພວກທີ່ໃຫ້ຜົນ ແລະພວກທີ່ໃຫ້ຮາກ. ໂອ ທະວິຊະຜູ້ປະເສີດ! ໃນຕົ້ນກັລປະ ໃນຮຸ່ງອອກແຫ່ງຍຸກເຕຣຕາ ພຣະພຣະຫມາໄດ້ສ້າງສັດແລະພືດໂອສົດໃຫ້ສົມບູນ ແລ້ວນໍາໄປຜູກເຂົ້າກັບພິທີຍັຊະນາອັນສັກສິດຢ່າງຖືກຕ້ອງ

Word by Word

ओषध्यःmedicinal plants, herbs

फलमूलिन्यःbearing fruits and roots

रोमभ्यःfrom the hairs

तस्यof him

जज्ञिरेwere born, arose

त्रेतायुगमुखेat the beginning of the Tretā-yuga

ब्रह्माBrahmā

कल्पस्यof the kalpa (aeon)

आदौat the beginning

द्विजोत्तमO best of the twice-born

सृष्ट्वाhaving created

पश्वोषधीःanimals and plants

सम्यक्properly

युयोजjoined, arranged, yoked

सःhe

तदाthen

अध्वरेin the sacrifice (ritual)

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (narrating to Maitreya)

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Topic: Account of creation—origin of plants and the institution of yajña at the kalpa’s beginning

Teaching: Cosmological

Quality: authoritative

Cosmological Context

Creation Stage: Kalpa

Yuga: Treta

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: At the kalpa’s outset, Brahmā establishes yajña by yoking plants and animals into sacrificial reciprocity, making ordered duty the sustaining rhythm of the world.

Vedantic Theme: Dharma

Application: Offer daily actions as yajña—ethical work, gratitude, and giving—so consumption becomes consecrated rather than exploitative.

Vishishtadvaita: Karma as worship (ārādhana) within the Lord’s cosmic body: the world is real and sustained through divinely instituted obligations.

Vaishnava Theology

Vishnu Form: Para-Brahman

Bhakti Type: Dasya

Jagat Karana: Yes

Characters & Entities

Brahmā

Tretā-yuga

Yajña (Adhvara)

Oṣadhi (herbs/plants)

Paśu (animals)

FAQs

What is the significance of yajña (adhvara) in this verse of the Vishnu Purana?

It presents sacrifice as an ordering principle of the world: once beings and plants exist, Brahmā “yokes” them into yajña, indicating that dharma and cosmic stability are sustained through rightly established sacred action.

How does Sage Parāśara explain the emergence of vegetation here?

He uses a mythic-cosmic image—plants arising from “hairs”—to show vegetation as a direct, organic outflow of primordial being, not a random occurrence, and as part of the structured unfolding of creation.

What is the theological importance of Vishnu in this context, even though Brahmā is named?

In the Vishnu Purana’s framework, Brahmā functions as a secondary creator within the larger sovereignty of Vishnu; the establishment of yajña and cosmic order ultimately aligns with Vishnu’s sustaining reality that underwrites dharma across the yugas.