Shloka 21
Nāgendra–Brāhmaṇa Saṃvāda: Praśna-vidhi and Dharmic Approach on the Gomatī Riverbank
अहंकारस्ततो जातो ब्रह्मा स तु चतुर्मुख: । हिरण्यगर्भो भगवान् सर्वलोकपितामह:
ahaṅkāras tato jāto brahmā sa tu caturmukhaḥ | hiraṇyagarbho bhagavān sarvalokapitāmahaḥ ||
Từ nguyên lý ấy phát sinh ahaṅkāra, sức tạo tác cảm thức “ta”. Chính ahaṅkāra ấy là Brahmā, đấng sáng tạo bốn mặt—được tôn xưng là Hiraṇyagarbha cát tường, bậc Tổ phụ của mọi thế giới.
वैशग्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse presents creation as a causal unfolding: from a prior cosmic principle arises ahaṅkāra (the individuating ‘I’-sense), identified here with Brahmā/Hiraṇyagarbha. Ethically, it suggests that ego and personal agency are derivative and should be subordinated to a wider cosmic order (dharma), not treated as ultimate.
Vaiśaṃpāyana describes a stage in the account of cosmic creation: the manifestation of ahaṅkāra, which is equated with the four-faced creator Brahmā, famed as Hiraṇyagarbha and regarded as the progenitor of all worlds.