Srimad Bhagavatam #28: Brahma populates the universe
Srimad Bhagavatam #28: Brahma populates the universe
The narration returns to the first manvantara, with more details of the creation of Brahma, the reign of the 1st Manu, Svāyambhuva, with Kardama Muni and Devahuti, etc.
In this part:
Brahma populates the universe (chapter 3.20)
Questions of Śaunaka Ṛṣi and Vidhura
A new description of creation
Back to the current day of Brahma
The creation of Manu
The laws of Manu
How was the universe populated?
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Brahma populates the universe (chapter 3.20)
At the end of the previous chapter, the narration returned to Suta Goswami speaking to Śaunaka Ṛṣi and the other sages in Naimiṣāraṇya. Actually, the whole Bhagavatam is spoken by him, it is just that during the narration the focus changes to Sukadeva Goswami and Maharaja Pariksit, Maitreya and Vidura, or other speakers in different parts of the text.
It’s also important to remember that a few chapters ago when Maitreya described the appearance of Lord Varaha, he amalgamated the two pastimes, describing both the appearance of the white Varaha during the reign of Svāyambhuva Manu (the 1st) and the appearance of the red Varaha during the reign of Cākṣuṣa Manu (the 6th). The first appearance of Lord Varaha, in the 1st Manvantara was described in the 13th chapter. After that, the narration jumps in time to the 6th manvantara, with the description of Jaya and Vijaya being cursed and taking birth as two demons, and Lord Varaha, in His second appearance, fighting Hiranyaksa.
Now, in the 20th chapter, the narration returns to the first manvantara, with more details of the creation of Brahma, the reign of the 1st Manu, Svāyambhuva, and later the description of the marriage of Kardama Muni and Devahuti and the appearance of Lord Kapila, Daksa cursing Lord Shiva, the pastime of Dhruva Maharaja, and the appearance of Prthu Maharaja, all of which happened in the 1st manvantara.
In reality, Jaya and Vijaya were cursed at the end of the 5th manvantara and took their first births in the 6th manvantara, but this is just a small detail. Some believe that instead of two separate appearances, Lord Varaha appeared only once, in the first Manvantara, coming out of the nostril of Brahma. Then, after lifting Bhu-Mandala he waited inside the water until the 6th manvantara to perform his pastime of fighting Hiranyaksa. Prabhupada doesn’t discard this possibility, saying everything is possible for the Lord.
Just to refresh our memory, here is the list of the seven first manus, up to Vaivasvata Manu, the current one. It’s useful to memorize this small table because the different pastimes in the Srimad Bhagavatam are connected with different manvantaras, and without understanding this, the pastimes appear to be just random stories without connection between themselves.
1- Svāyambhuva Manu (Yajña)
2- Svārociṣa Manu (Vibhu)
3- Uttama Manu (Satyasena)
4- Tāmasa Manu (Hari)
5- Raivata Manu (Vaikuṇṭha)
6- Cākṣuṣa Manu (Ajita)
7- Vaivasvata Manu (Vāmana) – We are here!
The name in parenthesis for each manvantara is the name of the incarnation of the Lord who appears in each. He appeared as Yajña, the son of Svāyambhuva Manu in the first manvantara, assuming the post of Indra, etc., and appeared as Lord Vamanadeva in the current manvantara, begging the three steps of land from Bali Maharaja, and so on.
Questions of Śaunaka Ṛṣi and Vidhura:
The 20th chapter starts with Śaunaka Ṛṣi inquiring about Svāyambhuva Manu, bringing the discussion back to the first Manvantara:
“Śrī Śaunaka inquired: O Sūta Gosvāmī, after the earth was again situated in its orbit, what did Svāyambhuva Manu do to show the path of liberation to persons who were to take birth later on?” (SB 3.20.1)
Next, from verses two to five, Śaunaka inquires about Vidura, who was born from Vedavyasa, and rejected life in the palace because of the intrigues of Duryodhana. He purified himself by going on a pilgrimage to the holy places and finally had the opportunity to meet with Uddhava and later Maitreya. Śaunaka is anxious to hear more, and thus he asks: “What more did Vidura inquire from Maitreya?”
Suta Goswami is more than pleased to answer:
“Vidura, the descendant of Bharata, was delighted to hear the story of the Lord, who, having assumed by His own divine potency the form of a boar, had enacted the sport of lifting the earth from the bottom of the ocean and indifferently killing the demon Hiraṇyākṣa. Vidura then spoke to the sage as follows.
“Since you know of matters inconceivable to us, tell me, O holy sage, what did Brahmā do to create living beings after evolving the Prajāpatis, the progenitors of living beings?
Vidura inquired: How did the Prajāpatis [such progenitors of living entities as Marīci and Svāyambhuva Manu] create according to the instruction of Brahmā, and how did they evolve this manifested universe?
Did they evolve the creation in conjunction with their respective wives, did they remain independent in their action, or did they all jointly produce it?” (3.20.8-11)
A new description of creation
In verses 12 to 16, Maitreya repeats very shortly the process of primary creation that we already studied in the previous chapters. Pradhana, the undifferentiated sum of all material elements was agitated by the look of Maha-Vishnu. From this undifferentiated mass, the three modes of material nature became apparent, and the mass was converted into the Mahat-tattva.
Then, by the influence of the time energy, false ego was created, followed by the five material elements, along with the objects of the senses, the senses, etc. These subtle material elements combined to form the shells of the different material universes, which laid lifeless on the causal ocean for a long time until the Lord entered into them as Garbhodakasayi Vishnu.
The material universe is created due to the desire of the conditioned souls to Lord over the material energy. At the end of each cycle of creation, the subtle bodies of the souls are destroyed and they enter into Maha-Vishnu to rest. However, because they are not finished with their material desires, a new cycle of creation is later necessary. This continues indefinitely, and it is not possible to trace when this began. At each cycle of creation, some of the conditioned souls go back to Godhead, but because the number of conditioned souls is unlimited, the process never ends.
However, the material world is not created by the conditioned souls. It is created by a superior force, the Lord. This is indicated by the word “daivena” in verse 12. Daivena means “by superior arrangement”. This means that although the material world is created for the enjoyment of the conditioned souls, there is a superior controller behind it.
As Prabhupada mentions in his purport:
“The material creation exists for the conditioned soul who wanted to become a false lord for sense enjoyment. One cannot trace out the history of when the conditioned soul first desired to lord it over material nature, but in Vedic literature we always find that the material creation is meant for the sense enjoyment of the conditioned soul. There is a nice verse which says that the sum and substance of the conditioned soul’s sense enjoyment is that as soon as he forgets his primary duty, to render service to the Lord, he creates an atmosphere of sense enjoyment, which is called māyā; that is the cause of material creation.”
Somehow or other the soul turns his back to his eternal position as a servant of the Lord and desires to enjoy the material nature. Because of this, the Lord has to create the material world. It is not possible to trace when this started, therefore the process is considered to be eternal. The cycles of creation and destruction of the material universes have been going on since time immemorial and there is no end in sight.
From the navel of Garbhodakasayi Vishnu sprouted the universal lotus flower, containing all material elements, from which Brahma appeared. It is described that the Lord “entered the heart of Brahmā” and thus he got the intelligence to create the universe. This describes the Lord present in his heart as Paramatma, empowering him to perform his service of creating the universe.
The look of Maha-Vishnu injects all the conditioned souls into the material energy, and these souls are divided into different universes, with the souls who are going to participate in the creation of a particular universe entering it together with Garbhodakasayi Vishnu. These souls, together with the material elements, their material desires, their karma, etc. stay for some time in the region of the belly of Garbhodakasayi Vishnu, and as they become agitated, desiring to perform material activities, the belly of the Lord looks blue. At this point, the lotus flower appears. This lotus flower is described as being extremely effulgent, “like a thousand blazing suns”.
In his purport, Prabhupada explains why:
“It appears from this verse that the conditioned souls who rested within the body of the Personality of Godhead after the dissolution of the last creation came out in the sum total form of the lotus. This is called hiraṇyagarbha. The first living entity to come out was Lord Brahmā, who is independently able to create the rest of the manifested universe. The lotus is described here as effulgent as the glare of a thousand suns. This indicates that the living entities, as parts and parcels of the Supreme Lord, are also of the same quality, since the Lord also diffuses His bodily glare, known as brahmajyoti.”
How do the conditioned souls remember their material desires in the previous creation if their subtle bodies were destroyed? The answer is that the Lord remembers, and he recreates their subtle bodies and karma at the beginning of the next cycle of creation, allowing them to continue their material activities from where they stopped. The soul has free will and thus leads the soul to somehow preserve his desire for lording over material nature and continue to reject his eternal position of service to the Lord millennium after millennium. Therefore, even at the end of creation, when their subtle bodies are destroyed, they don’t become liberated.
Prabhupada explains this mysterious point in his purport to 3.20.17:
“At a certain time, the Personality of Godhead Kāraṇodakaśāyī Viṣṇu lies in the Kāraṇa Ocean and produces many thousands of universes from His breathing; then He enters again into each and every universe as Garbhodakaśāyī Viṣṇu and fills up half of each universe with His own perspiration. The other half of the universe remains vacant, and that vacant region is called outer space. Then the lotus flower sprouts from His abdomen and produces the first living creature, Brahmā. Then again, as Kṣīrodakaśāyī Viṣṇu, the Lord enters into the heart of every living entity, including Brahmā. This is confirmed in Bhagavad-gītā, Fifteenth Chapter. The Lord says, “I am seated in everyone’s heart, and by Me are remembrance and forgetfulness made possible.” As the witness of the activities of the individual entities, the Lord gives each one remembrance and intelligence to act according to his desire at the time he was annihilated in his last birth in the last millennium. This intelligence is invoked according to one’s own capacity, or by the law of karma.”
Back to the current day of Brahma
This brings the talk back to the beginning of the current day. Maitreya will continue his answer, revealing a few more details about the process of creation
When Brahma woke up at the beginning of the current day, there was just darkness. Everything had to be re-created from the material elements stored in the lotus flower from which he was born. This process continued all the way to the creation of Svayabhuva Manu and his wife Satarupa.
Its described how Brahma created different species such as the Yakṣas and Rākṣasas, the demigods and demons, Gandharvas and Apsarās, ghosts and spirits, the Sādhyas and Pitās, Siddhas and Vidyādharas, Kimpuruṣas and Kinnaras, Nagas, and so on, as well as the Manus and the great sages. All these different species came from different states of consciousness of Lord Brahma, as well as different parts of his body.
The first creation of Brahma was the ignorance that covers all conditioned souls and makes them identify with matter. This was already described previously, but now more details are given. There are five types of covering of ignorance, which delude the souls and prevent them from reconnecting with their original nature:
a) Tāmisra: Anger, or envy. Under this covering, a soul forgets his constitutional nature and desires to compete with the Lord, becoming a false enjoyer in this material world. Although tāmisra also applies to general anger and envy of other living beings, the origin of it is one’s anger and envy towards the Lord. By envying God as the ultimate controller and enjoyer, we also envy other people who have more than us. This envy leads to anger and anger makes us fall even deeper into ignorance.
It’s important to note that this hatred of God doesn’t come from the soul, but from this conditioning by tāmisra. Originally the soul develops some kind of reluctance in serving Krsna, and from this, the soul comes in contact with the material energy. From this contact with the material energy, the soul can gradually, due to his free will, fall more and more under the control of tāmisra to the point of becoming a demon or atheist.
b) Andha-tāmisra: “I’m the body and death is the end of everything”. Once one falls under this type of ignorance, one becomes propense to commit sinful activities, without believing one may be punished for it. Since one believes there is no hell, karma, or afterlife, one thus feels free to do anything that can help to enjoy one’s senses, no matter how sinful. This condition of andha-tāmisra is due to the next covering, tamas.
c) Tamas: Ignorance of one’s constitutional positions as a soul, which is the origin of andha-tāmisra and the other coverings. As Prabhupada explains: “Almost everyone is thinking that he is this body; he has no information of the spirit soul. Guided by this misconception, one always thinks, “This is my body, and anything in relationship with this body is mine.” For such misguided living entities, sex life is the background of material existence.”
d) Moha: Attachment and sense of procession for things connected with the body, such as material possessions, relatives, society, and so on. This sense of “I am this body, and everything belonging to this body is mine” starts with sex life and is increased by it. Because of this false sense of proprietorship, sectarian societies, families, and nationalities are created, and they fight with one another.
e) mahā-moha: Madness after sense enjoyment. The basic mechanism we use to enjoy the world is the mind, which stores impressions and images, and based on that desires different material objects. The more we become involved with material enjoyment, the more strongly the mind desires these things, to the point one becomes mad. That’s why the Vedas allow sense enjoyment only under certain restrictions (food only as prasāda, sex life only in married life, etc.) if we don’t follow these regulations, we risk falling under mahā-moha and becoming mad.
As you can see, these five forms of ignorance form a dangerous sequence. First, the soul becomes reluctant to service of the Lord, and eventually comes under the covering of ignorance, desiring to become a competitor to the Lord, enjoying in this material world. For this, the soul has to forget his eternal spiritual identity and identify with a material body, becoming attached to his birthplace, family and friends, material possessions, and so on. This increases his illusion, making the soul absorbed in the material duality of dividing things into desirable and undesirable, friends and enemies, etc. This makes him very active in the material platform, more and more entangled by envy, anger, and desire, and as a result, one becomes mad after sense enjoyment, gradually becoming more and more sinful and gradually falling into the lower species of life, where ignorance increases, making him completely forget his original nature as a soul.
It’s not possible to enjoy the material world without falling into these varieties of illusion, and gradually gliding down to the lower species. The only way to avoid this path is to gradually abandon our propensity to enjoy matter and to compete with Krsna by following the principles of the scriptures and gradually abandoning this enjoying mentality. The more we desire to enjoy in this material world, the more we forget about Krsna and vice-versa. One may try to combine both paths to a certain degree, but they go ill together. Ultimately one has to make his choice.
What did Brahma do after creating these coverings of ignorance?
“Out of disgust, Brahmā threw off the body of ignorance, and taking this opportunity, Yakṣas and Rākṣasas sprang for possession of the body, which continued to exist in the form of night. Night is the source of hunger and thirst.” (SB 3.20.19)
Although Brahma performed his duty in creating these coverings of ignorance, he didn’t like it, and thus he threw away the body used for this creation.
Yakṣas, and Rākṣasas as well as other lower beings who were created together with these different coverings of ignorance took possession of this body. Although living in the planetary system of Bhuvarloka (the planetary system directly above us), and being associated with Kuvera, Yakṣas, and Rākṣasas are considered beings in the mode of ignorance who are cannibals. This body of Brahma became the night, which is very much appreciated by all kinds of evil beings. Night is also the source of hunger and thirst, and overpowered by this hunger and thirst the Yakṣas and Rākṣasas attacked Brahma, trying to devour him. Brahma had to beg them to stop, explaining he was their father.
“Brahmā, the head of the demigods, full of anxiety, asked them, “Do not eat me, but protect me. You are born from me and have become my sons. Therefore you are Yakṣas and Rākṣasas.” (SB 3.20.21)
Brahma then created the shining demigods, together with the effulgent daytime. Just like the Rākṣasas took procession of the night, the demigods took procession of the day. Generally, beings in the mode of goodness are active during the day, As well as the early hours of morning, while beings in ignorance are more active at night. That’s why one of the principles of spiritual life is to wake up early to chant and perform other spiritual practices. This helps us to situate ourselves in this state of consciousness.
Brahma then gave birth to the demons from his buttocks. Demons are influenced by the mode of passion and are very fond of sex. As Prabhupada mentions “The more one is free from the desire for sex, the more he is promoted to the level of the demigods; the more one is inclined to enjoy sex, the more he is degraded to the level of demoniac life.”
Because of their sexual appetite, demons harass everyone, and even Brahma had problems with it. As soon as he created the demons, they became lustful and went after him for sex. As Prabhupada explains, demons are so fond of sex that they have no respect even for their father. Anyone, be it a man or woman can become the target of their lust. When one’s sexual impulse is controlled, one can engage it to beget children inside family life, according to religious principles, but when one loses control over it, there are no limits.
As Prabhupada explains: “The more one is free from the desire for sex, the more he is promoted to the level of the demigods; the more one is inclined to enjoy sex, the more he is degraded to the level of demoniac life.”
At first, Brahma laughed at their foolishness, but as they came closer, Brahma became afraid and ran out of fear, approaching the Lord for protection. This shows how the material world is a dangerous place. Even if one becomes Brahma, he is not safe.
“Lord Brahmā, approaching the Lord, addressed Him thus: My Lord, please protect me from these sinful demons, who were created by me under Your order. They are infuriated by an appetite for sex and have come to attack me.” (SB 3.20.26)
The Lord told Brahma to abandon the body he used to create the demons referring to it as impure. Brahma immediately abandoned his body and thus he was saved from the demons. Prabhupada explains that Brahma abandoning these different bodies doesn’t mean abandoning a physical body but abandoning a particular type of mentality. As he mentions:
“According to Śrīdhara Svāmī, Brahmā’s constant dropping of his body does not refer to his actually giving up his body. Rather, he suggests that Brahmā gave up a particular mentality. Mind is the subtle body of the living entity. We may sometimes be absorbed in some thought which is sinful, but if we give up the sinful thought, it may be said that we give up the body. Brahmā’s mind was not in correct order when he created the demons. It must have been full of passion because the entire creation was passionate; therefore such passionate sons were born.”
Brahma does not have a physical body like us. He performs the creation using his subtle body, composed of mind, intelligence, and ego. However, as mentioned in the second canto, this subtle body assumes different forms that act like gross bodies according to his different mental states. As he changes between these different states of consciousness, these “bodies” are discarded.
This body Brahma used to create the demons became the evening twilight, a time of the day that inspires passion. The asuras took procession of this time, taking it as a beautiful damsel. Prabhupada explains that “as early morning is the period for spiritual cultivation, the beginning of evening is the period for passion.”
Several verses in this 20th chapter are dedicated to describing the physical features of this girl and the way the lustful demons approached her. This description appears to describe the interaction of the demons with the predominating deity of the evening twilight but it serves also as a description of the mentality of the demons in being enamored by the false beauty of this material world.
If we cut out any piece of a beautiful material body, like a nail, a finger, a bunch of hair, a piece of skin, an eye, a tooth, etc. we will not find any beauty there. Separated, all parts of a beautiful body are ghastly. However, when these material elements are together, we, under the influence of material illusion, somehow find it attractive. Demons are very attracted by this false beauty of the material world, but a godly person learns to control such attraction and see through the illusion by cultivating spiritual knowledge.
Having finished this unpleasant part of creation, Brahma developed his sense of loveliness, which gave birth to the Gandharvas and Apsaras, who are very fond of music and beauty. As Brahma gave up the body he used for this creation, it became the moonlight, which was taken procession by the Gandharvas.
At some point, Brahma felt somehow lazy, and from this laziness, he created the ghosts and evil spirits (piśācās), who attack people who are impure. When he gave up this body, it took the form of yawning.
In a similar way, Brahma created the Sādhyas and Pitās, the Siddhas and Vidyādharas, as well as the Kimpuruṣas and Kinnaras. The Sādhyas are a type of demigods who take charge of mantras and rituals, the Pitās are the spirits of the ancestors, who can continue existing in Pitrloka if their descendants offer them oblations as prescribed in the Vedas. The Siddhas and Vidyādharas are inhabitants of celestial planets who have mystic perfections, such as traveling in space and becoming invisible, while the Kinnaras and Kimpuruṣas are inhabitants of other islands of Bhu-Mandala. They have a great artistic sense, and forms that are a mixture of human and animal forms.
The creation of Manu
The work of creation culminated in the creation of the Manus, who were created from his sense of self-satisfaction. It is described that Brahma gave them his own human form, which is also significative, since the human body is described as the best opportunity for a soul to regain his original identity as a servant of Krsna, and the manus are the fathers of mankind. In the animal as well as in the demoniac species there is little opportunity for self-realization, and even the demigods are constantly distracted by sense gratification. In the human form, there is an ideal balance between suffering and enjoyment that can propel us back to Godhead.
As mentioned in the Srimad Bhagavatam (3.20.49-51):
“One day Brahmā, the self-born, the first living creature, felt as if the object of his life had been accomplished. At that time he evolved from his mind the Manus, who promote the welfare activities of the universe. The self-possessed creator gave them his own human form. On seeing the Manus, those who had been created earlier — the demigods, the Gandharvas and so on — applauded Brahmā, the lord of the universe.
They prayed: O creator of the universe, we are glad; what you have produced is well done. Since ritualistic acts have now been established soundly in this human form, we shall all share the sacrificial oblations.”
Apart from cultivating their own self-realization, humans also have another purpose in the universal creation, which is to perform yajnas that empower the demigods to properly administrate the universe.
By performing yajnas, especially the chanting of the holy names, human beings cooperate with the demigods, so they can remain powerful and capable of performing their administrative duties. When the sacrifices performed by human beings are interrupted due to attacks of demons or the spread of irreligion, the demigods become weakened and the situation of the whole universe deteriorates. The performance of yajna is thus an important part of the universal order that brings prosperity to both human beings and demigods. As Krsna explains in the Bhagavad-Gita (3.10-12):
“In the beginning of creation, the Lord of all creatures sent forth generations of men and demigods, along with sacrifices for Viṣṇu, and blessed them by saying, “Be thou happy by this yajña [sacrifice] because its performance will bestow upon you everything desirable for living happily and achieving liberation. The demigods, being pleased by sacrifices, will also please you, and thus, by cooperation between men and demigods, prosperity will reign for all.”
Proper yajnas consist of worshiping Lord Vishnu and offering the prasadam to the demigods. In the age we live it is extremely costly and dificult to perform proper Vedic yajnas, but we can achieve an even greater result by chanting the holy names congregationally. Sankirtana is recommended as the best method of sacrifice not only for Kali-yuga, but for all ages.
The laws of Manu
The main function of the Manus is to teach humanity to follow religious life and execute yajnas, performing thus our role in creation. Amongst all forms of life that exist in the universe, humans are considered the most important, because life on Earth is a kind of universal crossroads, where we can choose what will be our path in future lives. The ones who follow the devotional path, surrendering to Krsna, have the best opportunity of returning back to Godhead, while the ones who follow the pious path can take birth in the higher planets and thus continue on the path of gradual evolution. However, the ones who disregard the injunctions of the scriptures and act in sinful ways pave their way to births in the lower forms of life (as animals and plants), on the lower planets, or even in hell, entering a path from which they will take millions of lives to recover from.
The Manus transmit religious scriptures such as the Manu Sanhita, to keep humanity on the proper path. In the Bhagavad-Gita, it is described how millions of years ago the knowledge of the Bhagavad-Gita had been transmitted from Krsna to Vivasvan, who in turn transmitted it to Manu, who in turn transmitted it to Iksvaku. This happened at the beginning of the reign of Vaisvata Manu (the current Manu) and is just an example of how the Manus transit religious scriptures to human beings, acting thus as teachers and guardians of the whole human race.
Manu also transmitted the Manu Sanhita, the original law book, which was rigidly followed by people in the previous eras, but now the original text is considered lost. The different versions that are available are all adulterated in major or minor degree and there are also problems with the translations. One who reads some of the translations available will be shocked by the barbaric punishments prescribed. These are adulterations introduced in the Middle Ages by different interpreters. What the original text says is not really known.
Apart from that, there is the question of the Vaidika system in contrast with the Pancaratrika system. The Vaidika system prescribes strict rules with the goal of preventing an enlightened society from degrading, while the Pancaratrika system offers a flexible system destined to gradually elevate a degraded society. The Vaidika system was practiced in the previous ages, and this includes the Manu Sanhita, while the Pancaratrika system and its much more flexible set of rules is current.
Prabhupada alerted his disciples to not try to follow the Manu Sanhita, while at the same time mentioning in some of his purports that it would be good if eventually ordinary people would follow it. This may sound like an apparent contradiction, but the confusion is dispelled when we consider that the Manu Sanhita itself emphasizes that many of the rules prescribed in the text are not for Brahmanas. In other words, the rules of the Manu Sanhita are applicable to a materialistic society. A spiritual society that is supposed to be guided by higher values.
Devotional service to the Lord is the Supreme Dharma, and therefore the rules and regulations of the process of devotional service supersede the laws of Manu. The main priority should thus be to teach devotees to properly follow the process of Krsna Consciousness and spread it to the general public. The moral principles prescribed in the Manu Sanhita could be a stepping stone in the direction of this goal, but anyone desiring to implement it would have to first find an unadulterated copy of the text, which doesn’t seem to the possible nowadays.
How was the universe populated?
In the Srimad Bhagavatam, it is described that Svāyambhuva Manu had five children: three daughters and two sons. The first daughter, Ākūti, was given in marriage to the sage Ruci, the middle daughter, Devahūti, to the sage Kardama, and the youngest, Prasūti, to Prajapati Dakṣa. From the two sons, the first, Priyavrata, became a renunciant, while the second, Uttanapada, became the father of Dhruva Maharaja and his half-brother Uttama.
By studying this description, one could question where the rest of humanity came from, as well as all the animals, plants, and other beings who populated the different planets. Early in the current day of Brahma, when Kardama Muni was meditating (before accepting Devahuti, the daughter of Manu as his wife), the earth was not a desert. On the Srimad Bhagavatam (3.21.40-44) it is described that his hermitage was a very beautiful place, surrounded by all kinds of plants and animals:
“The shore of the lake was surrounded by clusters of pious trees and creepers, rich in fruits and flowers of all seasons, that afforded shelter to pious animals and birds, which uttered various cries. It was adorned by the beauty of groves of forest trees. The area resounded with the notes of overjoyed birds. Intoxicated bees wandered there, intoxicated peacocks proudly danced, and merry cuckoos called one another. Lake Bindu-sarovara was adorned by flowering trees such as kadamba, campaka, aśoka, karañja, bakula, āsana, kunda, mandāra, kuṭaja and young mango trees. The air was filled with the pleasing notes of kāraṇḍava ducks, plavas, swans, ospreys, waterfowl, cranes, cakravākas and cakoras. Its shores abounded with deer, boars, porcupines, gavayas, elephants, baboons, lions, monkeys, mongooses and musk deer.”
Similarly, when Uttanapada, the son of Manu, became the king, even before begetting his children, there were already people living on the planet. So, from where did they come?
The point is that the Srimad Bhagavatam (as well as the other Puranas) don’t speak much about the direct creation of human beings, just as they don’t speak much about the creation of lower animals and other species. Although it may sound interesting to us, this is not considered a very important topic by the sages who transmitted the scriptures. In the Tattva Sandarbha, Srila Jiva Goswami mentions that all 18 Puranas were compiled by Srila Vyasadeva from a much larger book (of one billion verses!) that is studied in the higher planets by the demigods. Understanding that it would be impossible for us to study such a large book, Vyasadeva compiled the 18 Puranas taking only the most relevant parts to different classes of people. In this way, from the original one billion verses, we have access to 18,000 verses in the Srimad Bhagavatam, and a total of 400,000 if we add the verses from all other Puranas.
It’s understood that human beings, animals, and plants have existed on different planets since the beginning of the universe, but the scriptures we have access to on our planet don’t speak so much about them, focussing instead on describing the activities of great personalities, who transmitted important spiritual knowledge. However, just because something is not comprehensibly described in the scriptures, doesn’t necessarily mean it didn’t happen.
The creation of different species of life happens repeatedly thanks to the seven great sages, as well as other Prajapatis, like Daksa, who in cooperation with their wives repeatedly populate the universe. In the sixth canto of Srimad Bhagavatam, chapter 6, there is a description of how the sixty daughters of Daksa gave birth to most of the population of the universe, from plants to demigods. Timi gave birth to the different aquatics, while Saramā to ferocious animals like tigers and lions. Ilā to different creepers and trees, Aditi gave birth to the demigods, while Diti to the demons. Mātṛkā gave birth to the human species and so on. This description from the 6th canto narrates events from the reign of Cākṣuṣa Manu (the 6th of the sequence) when Daksa took his second birth, but the universe is populated in a similar way by different Prajapatis at every Manvantara, starting from the reign of Svayabhuva Manu. Brahma himself creates the different species at the beginning of his day as a blueprint, or as a seed, and the Prajapatis take charge of bringing forth generations of living entities and increasing their population. During the day of Brahma different species are repeatedly extinct and later repopulated by the Prajapatis.
A seed already contains a plant, but to grow and develop, this plant has to be planted in the right conditions. With the exception of his mental sons, Brahma doesn’t directly create living entities. What he does is to create the seeds, so to say, of the different species of life and give them to the Prajapatis, who bring forth generations of living beings as necessary. Even if certain species become extinct at a certain point, the seed still exists, and thus the Prajapatis can repopulate it at any point. Of course, when we speak about “seed” this is just an imperfect analogy to try to explain a complicated concept. In reality, we are not speaking about a physical object, but some kind of subtle manifestation.
Another example that can be given is a project, or blueprint. Creating something is not necessarily the same as producing it. A person may project a car and then give the project to a company that may produce it, or many different companies may produce the car at the same time or at different points in time. As soon as the project is made, the car already exists, and it continues existing as long as the project is circulating around, and different companies may produce it at different times. Similarly, Brahma creates the different forms of life, and the Prajapatis “produce” them as necessary.
For example, we learn that there were human beings living on Earth since the beginning of the reign of Svāyambhuva Manu, leading to the reign of Uttanapada, the progress during the reign of Prithu Maharaja, and so on. However, as narrated in the 4th canto, when the Pacetas came out of the ocean at the end of their austerities, the planet was covered by trees. Apparently, there were no humans living there at this time.
By the arrangement of the demigod Soma, they got married to Marisa, the daughter of the apsara Pramloca, and begot Daksa (in his second birth). However, Daksa didn’t have children immediately (he practiced austerities until the sixth manvantara and only then had his 60 daughters who married great sages and repopulated the universe after the destruction at the end of the 5th manvantara, as described in the 6th canto.
In the meantime, while Daksa was meditating, Svāyambhuva Manu had to ask Priyavrata, the older brother of Uttanapada to abandon his practice of austerities and accept the responsibility of managing Bhu-Mandala and bringing forth new generations of human beings, which he did in cooperation with his wife.
As we can see, the creation of Brahma is done just once at the beginning of his day, but the work of the Prajapatis is continuous, following the different cycles of devastation our universe passes through. There is one devastation at the end of the reign of each Manu, which affects not only our planet, but also the populations of demigods and demons, there is a small devastation at the end of each Kali-yuga (after which our planet is repopulated), and so on. In this way, the Pajapatis as well as the Manus and other higher beings are constantly engaged in creating new populations and maintaining the proper conditions for the existence of life all over the universe.
In his purport on SB 4.28.10, Srila Prabhupada mentions:
“From the Vedic history of creation, we can understand that the first living creature was Lord Brahmā, who created the seven great sages and other Prajāpatis to increase the universal population. Thus every living entity, according to karma, his past desires and activities, gets a particular type of body, from that of Brahmā to that of a microbe or germ in stool.”
Here he mentions the seven great sages (sapta-rishi), who together with Daksa, and the Manus are considered the main Prajapatis. From the Srimad Bhagavatam, we receive details about the history of Daksa, but the seven sages are mentioned much more sparingly.
The original seven great sages were Marīci, Atri, Aṅgirā, Pulastya, Pulaha, Kratu, and Bhṛgu, seven of the direct sons of Brahma, who resided in the seven stars below Druvaloka (which are part of the planetary system of Maharloka). In his Sat-Sandarbha, Srila Jiva Goswami mentions that each team of seven sages executes their functions as Prajapatis for a whole manvantara. With the end of the Manvantara, the seven sages are promoted to Janaloka, where they live until the final devastation of the universe.
As we studied previously, our universe is divided into 14 levels of planetary systems, going from Patalaloka to Brahmaloka. The seven lower planetary systems are inhabited by demons, the 8th, Bhu-Mandala is inhabited by human beings, the 9th by subtle beings (the Yakshas and Rakshasas) and the 10th is Swargaloka, inhabited by demigods. All these 10 planetary systems are affected by the devastations at the end of each Manvantara and are completely destroyed at the end of each day of Brahma. The other planetary systems, Maharloka, Janaloka, Tapoloka, and Satyaloka are created once at each of the two halves of the day of Brahma and exist until the complete devastation of the universe.
What happens when the seven sages are promoted to Janaloka? A new team takes charge, just like in the case of the main demigods. It’s mentioned (SB 8.13.15-16) that some of the great personalities mentioned in the Mahabharata, such as Paraśurāma, Aśvatthāmā, Kṛpācārya and Vyāsadeva are currently engaged in meditation in Badarikasrama, preparing themselves to assume posts amongst the seven sages in the next Manvantara, just like Bali Maharaja is waiting to assume the post of Indra. One could question how human beings such as Aśvatthāmā and Kṛpācārya can become Prajapatis without changing their bodies, but the main question is not the body, but their consciousness. Once the consciousness is purified, the body can also be purified.
The first group of seven sages, just like Daksa, Narada, the four Kumaras, and Svayabhuva Manu are direct sons of Brahma, but the Prajapatis in the next Manvantaras are descendants of them. In his first birth, Daksa was the son of Brahma, but in his second birth, he was born out of the Pracetas, who were in turn descendants of Uttānapāda, the son of Svayabhuva Manu.
In this way, different personalities take the roles of Prajapatis in the different manvantaras, repopulating the lower planetary systems when needed. At the end of the current day of Brahma, the ones who qualify will be promoted to the highest planetary systems (Janaloka, Tapoloka, and Satyaloka) where they will live until the final devastation of the universe. After such a long life, the ones who qualify will be able to finally attain liberation and reach the spiritual planets.
One could also question how the Prajapatis, who are evolved human beings, living in the higher planetary systems, can give birth to lower animals and plants, which have completely different bodily structures. Saramā, for example, gave birth to tigers and lions, although neither she nor her husband are felines. How does this work? The point the Vedas explain is that more evolved beings have the capacity to generate less evolved beings (like a Prajapati generating a tiger), but the opposite doesn’t happen. Life in the universe starts thus from the most evolved being, Brahma, who in turn generates slightly less evolved beings (the Prajapatis), who in turn generate all the other less evolved species of life. This is something that can be observed even on our planet. Human beings can manipulate less evolved organisms using artificial insemination and genetic manipulation. A human being can clone a sheep or create a GMO soy seed, for example, but he will never be capable of producing a demigod.
We can see that this is essentially the opposite of what is believed in the modern evolution theory, which says that lower forms of life gradually produce more evolved forms, starting with inanimate matter somehow producing very simple unicellular organisms, which in turn gradually evolve into more complex species, culminating with human beings. One may have a different opinion, but I personally believe that the description of the Vedas makes more sense.
Another possible objection is to my use of the word “evolved”. When I say that human beings are more “evolved” than animals like tigers and lions, it appears that this supports the theory of evolution from Darwin, but that’s not actually the case. Prabhupada makes the point that the Vedas also offer a theory of evolution, it’s just that it’s different from what Darwin wrote about. The Vedic idea is that the soul gradually evolves from unicellular organisms to plants, insects, birds, lower animals, and so on, eventually reaching the human species. In this way, when we speak about humans being more “evolved” than lower animals, we are referring to this process of spiritual evolution, where the soul transmigrates through different types of bodies, going from less evolved living beings, all the way up to Brahma, the most evolved.