Srimad Bhagavatam — Tritiya Skandha, Shloka 11
Brahmā’s Secondary Creation, Kāla (Eternal Time), and the Taxonomy of Species
मैत्रेय उवाच गुणव्यतिकराकारो निर्विशेषोऽप्रतिष्ठित: । पुरुषस्तदुपादानमात्मानं लीलयासृजत् ॥ ११ ॥
maitreya uvāca guṇa-vyatikarākāro nirviśeṣo ’pratiṣṭhitaḥ puruṣas tad-upādānam ātmānaṁ līlayāsṛjat
弥勒耶说道：“永恒之时乃三种物质性情（古那）相互作用之本源形态；它不变、无量、无所依止。它作为至上主在物质创造之戏（莉拉）中的工具而运作，使普鲁沙展开创造的进程。”
The impersonal time factor is the background of the material manifestation as the instrument of the Supreme Lord. It is the ingredient of assistance offered to material nature. No one knows where time began and where it ends, and it is time only which can keep a record of the creation, maintenance and destruction of the material manifestation. This time factor is the material cause of creation and is therefore a self-expansion of the Personality of Godhead. Time is considered the impersonal feature of the Lord.
FAQs
This verse says the pre-creation condition was an indistinct, unsupported state arising from the intermixture of the three guṇas, before distinct forms and order became manifest.
Because the Supreme Person manifests the cosmos from Himself effortlessly and freely—creation is not forced by need, but proceeds from His independent, playful will.
Recognize how mixed modes influence perception and behavior, and cultivate sattva (clarity, goodness) through devotion, discipline, and remembrance of the Supreme Person who stands beyond the guṇas.