इति सञ्चिन्त्य भगवान् ससर्ज स्वयमीश्वरः । तपो धर्मं च दानं च सत्यं तीर्थानि चैव हि ॥ १९ ॥
iti sañcintya bhagavān sasarja svayamīśvaraḥ | tapō dharmaṁ ca dānaṁ ca satyaṁ tīrthāni caiva hi || 19 ||
Translation
Thinking this over, the Blessed Lord himself created austerity, dharma, charity, truth and the holy places.
Word by word
- iti
- thus
- sañcintya
- thinking over
- bhagavān
- the Blessed One
- sasarja
- created
- svayam
- himself
- īśvaraḥ
- the Lord
- tapō
- (tapaḥ) austerity
- dharmaṁ
- dharma
- ca
- and
- dānaṁ
- charity
- satyaṁ
- truth
- tīrthāni
- the holy places
- ēva
- also
- hi
- indeed
Meaning
Brahmā's first answer is religion, in the common sense: the disciplines, duties, gifts, honesty and pilgrimages by which people try to improve their lot. These are no small things, and Vasiṣṭha lists them with respect, as direct creations of the god. Svayam, himself: he took the trouble personally. Most of what the world has ever meant by a good life is on this list. What happens next, in the coming verse, is therefore startling.