श्रीवसिष्ठ उवाच । पूर्वमुक्तं भगवता यज्ज्ञानं पद्मजन्मना । सर्गादौ लोकशान्त्यर्थं तदिदं कथयाम्यहम् ॥ १ ॥
śrīvasiṣṭha uvāca | pūrvamuktaṁ bhagavatā yajjñānaṁ padmajanmanā | sargādau lōkaśāntyarthaṁ tadidaṁ kathayāmyaham || 1 ||
Translation
Śrī Vasiṣṭha said: The knowledge the blessed Lotus-born taught long ago, at the beginning of creation, for the peace of the worlds: that I now tell.
Word by word
- śrīvasiṣṭha
- Śrī Vasiṣṭha
- uvāca
- said
- pūrvam
- long ago
- uktaṁ
- taught
- bhagavatā
- the blessed
- yaj
- (yat) the
- jñānaṁ
- knowledge
- padma
- Lotus
- janmanā
- -born
- sarga
- of creation
- ādau
- at the beginning
- lōka
- of the worlds
- śānty
- (śānti) the peace
- arthaṁ
- for
- tad
- (tat) that
- idaṁ
- now
- kathayāmy
- (kathayāmi) tell
- aham
- I
Meaning
Vasiṣṭha begins the teaching he promised. It is not his own invention: it is what Brahmā, the lotus-born creator, taught at the very beginning of creation (sargādau), for the peace of the worlds (loka-śānti). The commentary calls this the purity of the lineage (sampradāya-śuddhi): a teacher first says where his teaching comes from, and that nothing else is added. The phrase "for the peace of the worlds" also says what the knowledge is for. It is not for curiosity or power, but to end the sorrow of embodied beings. The reader is invited to hear what follows with that end in mind.