Shloka 1
Varāha-avatāra: Viṣṇu’s subterranean intervention and the cosmic nāda (Śānti-parva 202)
अफ्-्#-रत द्रयोधिकद्विशततमो< ध्याय: आत्मतत्त्वका और बुद्धि आदि प्राकृत पदार्थोंका विवेचन तथा उसके साक्षात्कारका उपाय मनुर्वाच अक्षरात् खं ततो वायुस्ततो ज्योतिस्ततो जलम् | जलात् प्रसूता जगती जगत्यां जायते जगत्
manur uvāca | akṣarāt khaṃ tato vāyus tato jyotis tato jalam | jalāt prasūtā jagatī jagatyāṃ jāyate jagat ||
摩奴说道：“噢，布里哈斯帕提！由不坏者（akṣara）生虚空；由虚空生风；由风生火；由火生水；由水而生大地。于此大地之上，一切具身之众生与凡属尘世之万有，皆由此显现。”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Reality unfolds in an ordered sequence from the Imperishable principle to the gross elements, culminating in earth and the manifested world. The ethical implication is that dharma is best understood when grounded in knowledge of the self and the structure of existence, not merely in social convention.
Within Bhīṣma’s instruction in Śānti Parva, he cites Manu’s discourse addressed to Bṛhaspati, introducing a cosmological account of creation (space → wind → fire → water → earth) as part of a broader exposition on ātma-tattva and the means to its realization.