Shloka 21
Adhyāya 302: Guṇa-vicāra, Gati-bheda, and the Imperishable State
Yājñavalkya–Janaka
एष वै विक्रियापन्न: सृजत्यात्मानमात्मना । अहड्कारं महातेजा: प्रजापतिमहंकृतम्,ये महातेजस्वी भगवान् हिरण्यगर्भ विकारको प्राप्त हो स्वयं ही अहंकारकी और उसके अभिमानी प्रजापति विराट्की सृष्टि करते हैं
eṣa vai vikriyāpannaḥ sṛjaty ātmānam ātmanā | ahaṅkāraṃ mahātejāḥ prajāpati-mahaṅkṛtam ||
婆悉吒说道：“当至上者入于显现之时，他以自身之力从自身生出宇宙。那大光明者先投射出‘我慢/我执’（ahaṅkāra，‘我’之感），并随之显出以此自我肯定为特征的主宰造化者——生主（Prajāpati）；由此，显现的秩序遂开端。”
वसिष्ठ उवाच
Educational Q&A
Creation is presented as an emanation from the Supreme Self: when the One enters manifestation, the first key principle projected is ahaṅkāra (the ‘I’-sense), which enables individuation and the subsequent ordering of beings under a creator-function (Prajāpati). Ethically, it frames ego as a cosmic principle that must be understood and transcended for liberation.
In Śānti Parva’s philosophical instruction, Vasiṣṭha explains the sequence of manifestation: the Supreme, by His own agency, brings forth the self as the world-process, beginning with ahaṅkāra and the presiding progenitor (Prajāpati), establishing the basis for further creation.