श्रीवसिष्ठ उवाच । महाप्रलयसंपत्तौ सर्वकारणकारणम् । शिष्यते परमं ब्रह्म तदिदं वर्ण्यते शृणु ॥ ३८ ॥
śrīvasiṣṭha uvāca | mahāpralayasaṁpattau sarvakāraṇakāraṇam | śiṣyatē paramaṁ brahma tadidaṁ varṇyatē śṛṇu || 38 ||
Translation
Vasiṣṭha said: When the great dissolution has come, the supreme Brahman, the cause of all causes, remains. It is described now; hear.
Word by word
- mahā
- great
- pralaya
- dissolution
- saṁpattau
- when (it) has come
- sarva
- of all
- kāraṇa
- causes
- kāraṇam
- the cause
- śiṣyatē
- remains
- paramaṁ
- the supreme
- brahma
- Brahman
- tad
- that
- idaṁ
- this
- varṇyatē
- is described
- śṛṇu
- hear
Meaning
Vasiṣṭha answers in sixteen verses, each a pointer (lakṣaṇa) taken from experience that anyone can examine. The commentary: at the great dissolution the supreme Brahman, the cause even of all causes, remains, known directly; I describe it, hear. The verses that follow mostly end with the same refrain, "that is the form of the Supreme Self": each one points at the same thing from a different side.