Shloka 20
Nāgendra–Brāhmaṇa Saṃvāda: Praśna-vidhi and Dharmic Approach on the Gomatī Riverbank
जगतत्रिन्तयन् सृष्टिं चित्रां बहुगुणोद्धवाम् । तस्य चिन्तयत: सृष्टि महानात्मगुण: स्मृत:
jagat-triṇintayan sṛṣṭiṃ citrāṃ bahu-guṇodbhavām | tasya cintayataḥ sṛṣṭiḥ mahān-ātma-guṇaḥ smṛtaḥ ||
毗湿摩波耶那说：他思惟宇宙那奇妙的创造——纷然多彩，由众多性质而生——并观照显化之程。正当他沉思创造之时，名为“大（Mahat）”的原理——伟大者、宇宙之智——在其忆念中现起，为后续的流出奠定了开端。
वैशग्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Creation is presented as an ordered unfolding: contemplation of the universe leads to the recollection/manifestation of Mahat (the cosmic intellect), a key Sāṅkhya principle from which subsequent evolutes proceed. The verse frames cosmology as intelligible and law-governed rather than random.
Vaiśaṃpāyana describes a stage in the cosmogonic sequence: the agent of creation reflects on the manifold universe, and in that contemplation the Mahat principle is recalled/manifest, preparing for the next phase of emanation described in the surrounding passage.