Shloka 27
Hiraṇyakaśipu’s Austerities and Brahmā’s Boons
The Architecture of ‘Conditional Immortality’
श्रीहिरण्यकशिपुरुवाच कल्पान्ते कालसृष्टेन योऽन्धेन तमसावृतम् । अभिव्यनग्जगदिदं स्वयञ्ज्योति: स्वरोचिषा ॥ २६ ॥ आत्मना त्रिवृता चेदं सृजत्यवति लुम्पति । रज:सत्त्वतमोधाम्ने पराय महते नम: ॥ २७ ॥
śrī-hiraṇyakaśipur uvāca kalpānte kāla-sṛṣṭena yo ’ndhena tamasāvṛtam abhivyanag jagad idaṁ svayañjyotiḥ sva-rociṣā
Он же, посредством материальной энергии, наделённой тремя гунами, творит, поддерживает и уничтожает этот космос. Поклон великому Брахме — опоре саттвы, раджаса и тамаса.
The words abhivyanag jagad idam refer to he who creates this cosmic manifestation. The original creator is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa ( janmādy asya yataḥ ); Lord Brahmā is the secondary creator. When Lord Brahmā is empowered by Lord Kṛṣṇa as the engineer to create the phenomenal world, he becomes the supremely powerful feature within this universe. The total material energy is created by Kṛṣṇa, and later, taking advantage of all that has necessarily been created, Lord Brahmā engineers the entire phenomenal universe. At the end of Lord Brahmā’s day, everything up to Svargaloka is inundated with water, and the next morning, when there is darkness in the universe, Brahmā again brings the phenomenal manifestation into existence. Therefore he is described here as he who manifests this universe.
FAQs
This verse states that at the end of a kalpa, time produces a blinding darkness that covers the cosmos, and the Supreme—self-effulgent—manifests creation again by His own radiance.
While performing severe austerities, Hiraṇyakaśipu offers philosophical praise to the Supreme controller of time and creation, seeking to impress and secure extraordinary boons.
It encourages reliance on spiritual truth that illuminates from within—cultivated through sādhana, scriptural study, and devotion—rather than being overwhelmed by external “darkness” like fear, confusion, or chaos.