Srimad Bhagavatam — Dvitiya Skandha, Shloka 46
Daśa-lakṣaṇam: The Ten Topics, Virāṭ-Puruṣa Sense-Manifestation, and the Supreme Shelter (Āśraya)
अयं तु ब्रह्मण: कल्प: सविकल्प उदाहृत: । विधि: साधारणो यत्र सर्गा: प्राकृतवैकृता: ॥ ४६ ॥
ayaṁ tu brahmaṇaḥ kalpaḥ savikalpa udāhṛtaḥ vidhiḥ sādhāraṇo yatra sargāḥ prākṛta-vaikṛtāḥ
अयं तु ब्रह्मणः कल्पः सविकल्प उदाहृतः; यत्र सर्गाः प्राकृत-वैकृताः साधारण-विधिना प्रवर्तन्ते, ब्रह्मणोऽह्नि यावद् नियमनं भवति, तथा महत्तत्त्व-सृष्टौ प्रकृतिव्याप्तिः।
There are three different types of creation, called mahā-kalpa, vikalpa and kalpa. In the mahā-kalpa the Lord assumes the first puruṣa incarnation as Kāraṇodakaśāyī Viṣṇu with all the potencies of the mahat-tattva and the sixteen principles of creative matter and instruments. The creative instruments are eleven, the ingredients are five, and all of them are products of mahat, or materialistic ego. These creations by the Lord in His feature of Kāraṇodakaśāyī Viṣṇu are called mahā-kalpa. The creation of Brahmā and dispersion of the material ingredients are called vikalpa, and the creation by Brahmā in each day of his life is called kalpa. Therefore each day of Brahmā is called a kalpa, and there are thirty kalpas in terms of Brahmā’s days. This is also confirmed in the Bhagavad-gītā (8.17) as follows:
FAQs
This verse states that within Brahmā’s kalpa the general method of creation is described, including both prākṛta (the primal/material emergence from prakṛti) and vaikṛta (the secondary/transformative creation through subsequent modifications).
Śukadeva is outlining the structured topics of the Bhāgavatam’s cosmology and creation, helping Parīkṣit understand the ordered framework of the universe and, by contrast, the supremacy of the Lord beyond material time.
It cultivates detachment and clarity—seeing the world as a temporally ordered creation within Brahmā’s time encourages one to prioritize bhakti and spiritual goals over fleeting material arrangements.