Shloka 28

Hiraṇyakaśipu’s Austerities and Brahmā’s Boons

The Architecture of ‘Conditional Immortality’

Devanagari script

नम आद्याय बीजाय ज्ञानविज्ञानमूर्तये । प्राणेन्द्रियमनोबुद्धिविकारैर्व्यक्तिमीयुषे ॥ २८ ॥

Transliteration

nama ādyāya bījāya jñāna-vijñāna-mūrtaye prāṇendriya-mano-buddhi- vikārair vyaktim īyuṣe

Translation

ஆதி விதையாகிய, ஞான-விஞ்ஞான வடிவான பிரம்மாவுக்கு வணக்கம். பிராணன், இந்திரியங்கள், மனம், புத்தி ஆகியவற்றின் மாற்றங்களால் இந்த உலகம் வெளிப்படக் காணப்படுவதற்குக் காரணம் அவரே.

Synonyms

• namaḥ: salutation
• namaḥ: Prayojana/भाव (भावार्थ)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: namas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Indeclinable interjection (निपात), used with dative: ‘salutation to…’

• ādyāya: to the primordial
• ādyāya: Sampradāna (सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ādya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Dative Singular; ‘to the primordial/first’

• bījāya: to the seed (cause)
• bījāya: Sampradāna (सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bīja (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Dative Singular; ‘to the seed/cause’

• jñāna-vijñāna-mūrtaye: to the embodiment of knowledge and realization
• jñāna-vijñāna-mūrtaye: Sampradāna (सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jñāna (प्रातिपदिक) + vijñāna (प्रातिपदिक) + mūrti (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine, Dative Singular; ‘to the embodiment (mūrti) of knowledge and realized knowledge’

• prāṇa-indriya-manas-buddhi-vikāraiḥ: by the transformations of prāṇa, senses, mind, and intellect
• prāṇa-indriya-manas-buddhi-vikāraiḥ: Karaṇa (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: prāṇa (प्रातिपदिक) + indriya (प्रातिपदिक) + manas (प्रातिपदिक) + buddhi (प्रातिपदिक) + vikāra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental Plural; ‘by the modifications of prāṇa, senses, mind, and intellect’

• vyaktim: manifestation
• vyaktim: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vyakti (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine, Accusative Singular; object (what is attained/assumed)

• īyuṣe: to the one who has attained
• īyuṣe: Sampradāna (सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Verb
• Root: i (धातु)
• Form: Perfect participle/agentive (लिट्-कृदन्त; ‘having gone/attained’), Dative Singular (to the one who has attained); from √इ ‘to go’

Purport

The Vedānta-sūtra begins by declaring that the Absolute Person is the original source of all creation ( janmādy asya yataḥ ). One may ask whether Lord Brahmā is the Supreme Absolute Person. No, the Supreme Absolute Person is Kṛṣṇa. Brahmā receives his mind, intelligence, materials and everything else from Kṛṣṇa, and then he becomes the secondary creator, the engineer of this universe. In this regard we may note that the creation does not take place accidentally, because of the explosion of a chunk. Such nonsensical theories are not accepted by Vedic students. The first created living being is Brahmā, who is endowed with perfect knowledge and intelligence by the Lord. As stated in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, tene brahma hṛdā ya ādi-kavaye: although Brahmā is the first created being, he is not independent, for he receives help from the Supreme Personality of Godhead through his heart. There is no one but Brahmā at the time of creation, and therefore he receives his intelligence directly from the Lord through the heart. This has been discussed in the beginning of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.

Characters & Entities

• Brahmā

FAQs

What does Srimad Bhagavatam 7.3.28 say about how the universe becomes manifest?

It states that the perceivable manifestation arises through transformations of prāṇa (life-air), senses, mind, and intelligence—by which the Lord is seen as the “visible” world.

Why does Hiraṇyakaśipu offer this prayer to Brahmā in Canto 7 Chapter 3?

After severe austerities, Hiraṇyakaśipu praises Brahmā as the primeval, knowledge-embodied source of cosmic manifestation to please him and obtain extraordinary boons.

How can “jñāna-vijñāna” from this verse be applied in modern life?

It encourages moving from information (jñāna) to lived realization (vijñāna) by disciplined practice—observing how mind, senses, and intelligence shape experience and directing them toward higher truth.