Different Stages of Creation
Puranas talk about creation by Brahma in many stages.
When Brahma started his task of creation, he was very casual. He was not sure what he wanted to do. When he started creating, what came out were ignorance, delusion, passion, hatred, and obsession.
तमो मोहो महामोहस्तामिस्रो ह्यन्धसंज्ञितः
अविद्या पञ्चपर्वैषा प्रादुर्भूता महात्मनः
The next srishti is called Mukhya Srishti. Trees, plants, herbs, and creepers, mountains, and other immovables were created in this stage. They are called बहिरन्तोऽप्रकाशः — with no brightness either outside or inside. They lack jnana, of course with the exception of certain divine trees.
Brahma kept on creating further after realising that whatever he had created thus was not capable of achieving the purusharthas — dharma, artha, kama, and moksha.
The next stage was called Tiryak Srishti — tiryak means horizontal, all the beings that move horizontally — birds, animals. They are also ignorant, concerned only about day-to-day living.
You are advised to live here and now, don’t worry about the future — this is what the modern gurus teach you. That is not Sanatana Dharma. Sanatana Dharma tells you to be mindful and thoughtful about the long term, about your spiritual growth, about your destination — be it Swarga, be it Moksha.
When you have such long-term goals, merely living here and now is not sufficient. You have to apply discretion. You have to use your intelligence and decide whether what you are going to do is going to help you or stop you from reaching your ultimate destination. This is what Sanatana Dharma teaches us.
Living here and now is animal existence, like the third srishti of Brahma. These creatures have characteristics like ahamkara — too much of individuality. You must have seen dogs marking their territories. They have too much of pride — look at the leaders of lions or elephants, very haughty, very easily provoked.
These animals are driven by animal instincts. They are only worried about themselves. They can’t understand why another animal is behaving in a certain way. They just want to eat, drink, be safe, and comfortable. For them, whatever gives pleasure and comfort is good, nothing more than that. Whatever gives pain or discomfort is bad. They don’t know that a bitter pill can save life. Their intelligence is limited.
With dharma eroding, a vast majority of humans have also again fallen back into this state of animal existence. The only focus is on maximisation of pleasure and comfort. Self-gratification is the only motto.
Brahma was not satisfied even with this creation, so he went for the next stage of creation. This was satwik. The Devas who live in heaven were created in this sarga. They were brilliant both from outside and inside. They had both outer knowledge, practical knowledge, as well as inner knowledge. This is called Deva Sarga or Urdhva Srota.
The next stage is called Arvagsrota. Humans were created in this stage. They live on earth, have both external and internal knowledge. They are equipped with intelligence and discretion. The three gunas — satwa, rajas, and tamas — are abundant in them. You will always see them doing something or the other.
Creation so far is divided into seven sargas:
First – Mahat Tatva
Second – The Tanmatras – shabda, sparsha, roopa, rasa, gandha tanmatras
Third – Vaikarika Sarga – the karmendriyas and jnanendriyas
Fourth – Mukhya Sarga – creation of plants and trees, mountains, all the immovables
Fifth – Tiryak Srota – animals, birds, insects
Sixth – Urdhva Srota – Devas
Seventh – Arvak Srota – Manushyas
The eighth sarga is called Anugraha Sarga, in which satwa and tamo gunas are prominent.
The ninth is called Rudra Sarga or Kaumara Sarga.
A more elaborate description is available. Out of these, the first three — Mahat, Tanmatra, and Indriya Sargas — are called Prakruta Sargas, the fundamental ones. The next five — Mukhya, Tiryak Srota, Urdhva Srota, Arvak Srota, and Anugraha Sargas — are called Vaikruta or expansions/extensions, because for these srishtis, the base material is the first three.
The ninth Rudra Sarga is a mix of both Prakruta and Vaikruta Sargas.
Puranas say that this was his blueprint for srishti. It was still there in his mind only.
English
Vishnu Sahasranama
Click on any topic to open
7
30
Astrology
Bhagavad Gita
Bhagavatam
Bharat Matha
Devi
Devi Mahatmyam
Ganapathy
Garuda Puranam
Glory of Venkatesha
Hanuman
Kathopanishad
Mahabharatam
Mantra Shastra
Mystique
Practical Wisdom
Purana Stories
Radhe Radhe
Ramayana
Rare Topics
Rigveda Explained
Rituals
Sages and Saints
Shiva
Spiritual books
Sri Suktam
Story of Sri Yantra
Temples
Vedas
Vishnu Sahasranama
Yoga Vasishta
26
17
10
0
