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
இது பிரம்மாவின் ஒரு நாள் அளவில் நடைபெறும் ஸ்ருஷ்டி-ப்ரளயத்தின் சுருக்கமான விதிநியமம். இதே பொதுவிதியின்படி ப்ராக்ருதமும் வைக்ருதமும் ஆகிய ஸர்கங்கள் நிகழ்கின்றன; மஹத்தத்த்வ ஸ்ருஷ்டியிலும் ப்ரக்ருதியின் பரவல்-விரிதலும் இதே விதியின்படி ஆகும்.
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.