देवानां दानवानां च गन्धर्वोरगरक्षसाम् उत्पत्तिं विस्तरेणेह मम ब्रह्मन् प्रकीर्तय
devānāṃ dānavānāṃ ca gandharvoragarakṣasām utpattiṃ vistareṇeha mama brahman prakīrtaya
O Brahmana, isalaysay mo sa akin dito nang ganap ang pinagmulan ng mga deva at Danava, gayundin ng mga Gandharva, Naga, at Rakshasa.
Maitreya (addressing Sage Parāśara)
Speaker: Maitreya
Topic: Request for detailed origins of devas, dānavas, gandharvas, nāgas, and rākṣasas
Teaching: Cosmological
Quality: inquisitive
Creation Stage: Secondary
This verse frames a systematic account of cosmic society—multiple orders of beings whose origins are to be traced as part of creation (sarga) and universal governance.
Maitreya requests a detailed narration, and Parāśara’s method typically proceeds genealogically—linking classes of beings to primordial creation and the unfolding of cosmic cycles.
Even when the verse asks about many beings, the Purāṇic framework treats their emergence as occurring within the ordered cosmos sustained by Vishnu, the supreme ground of reality and sovereignty.