Mahabharata · Chapter 12.180
kutaḥ sṛṣṭamidaṃ sarvaṃ jagatsthāvarajaṅgamam /
pralaye ca kimabhyeti tanme brūhi pitāmaha //
sasāgaraḥ sagaganaḥ saśailaḥ sabalāhakaḥ /
sabhūmiḥ sāgnipavano loko'yaṃ kena nirmitaḥ //
kathaṃ sṛṣṭāni bhūtāni kathaṃ varṇavibhaktayaḥ /
śocāśaucaṃ kathaṃ teṣāṃ dharmādharmāvatho katham //
kīdṛśo jīvatāṃ jīvaḥ kva vā gacchanti ye mṛtāḥ /
asmāllokādamuṃ lokaṃ sarvaṃ śaṃsatu no bhavān //
bhīṣma uvāca /
atrāpyudāharantīmamitihāsaṃ purātanam /
bhṛguṇā'bhihitaṃ śreṣṭhaṃ bharadvājāya pṛcchate //
kailāsaśikhare dṛṣṭvā dīpyamānamivaujasā /
bhṛguṃ maharṣimāsīnaṃ bharadvājo'nvapṛcchata //
sasāgaraḥ sagaganaḥ śaśailaḥ savalāhakaḥ /
sabhūmiḥ sāgnipavano loko'yaṃ kena nirmitaḥ //
kathaṃ sṛṣṭāni bhūtāni kathaṃ varṇavibhaktayaḥ / śaucāśaucaṃ kathaṃ teṣāṃ dharmādharmāvatho katham /
kīdṛśo jīvatāṃ jīvaḥ kva vā gacchanti ye mṛtāḥ /
paralokamimaṃ cāpi sarvaṃ śaṃsitṛmarhasi //
evaṃ sa bhagavānpṛṣṭo bharadvājena saṃśayam /
brahmarpirbrahmasankāśaḥ sarvaṃ tasmai tato'bravīt //
bhṛguruvāca /
nārāyaṇo jaganmūrtirantarātmā sanātanaḥ /
kūṭastho'kṣara avyakto nirlepo vyāpakaḥ prabhuḥ //
prakṛteḥ parato nityamindriyairapyagotaraḥ / sa sisṛkṣuḥ sahasrāṃśādasṛjatpuruṣaṃ prabhuḥ //
mānaso nāma yaḥ pūrvo viśruto vai maharṣibhiḥ /
anādinidhano devastathā'bhedyo'dajarāmaraḥ //
avyakta iti vikhyātaḥ śāśvato'thākṣayo'vyayaḥ /
yataḥ sṛṣṭāni bhūtāni tiṣṭhanti ca mriyanti ca //
so'sṛjatprathamaṃ devo mahāntaṃ nāma nāmataḥ / mahānsasarjāhankāraṃ sa cāpi bhagavānatha /
ākāśamiti vikhyātaṃ sarvabhūtadharaḥ prabhuḥ //
ākāśādabhavadvāri salilādagnimārutau /
agnimārutasaṃyogāttataḥ samabhavanmahī //
tataste gemayaṃ divyaṃ padmaṃ sṛṣṭaṃ svayambhuvā /
tasmātpadmātsamabhavadbrahmā vedamayo nidhiḥ //
ahankāra iti khyātaḥ sarvabhūtātmabhūtakṛt /
brahmā vai sa mahātejā ya ete pañcadhātavaḥ //
śailāstasyāsthisañjñāstu medo māṃsaṃ ca medinī /
samudrāstasya rudhiramākāśamudaraṃ tathā //
pavanaścaiva niḥśvāsastejo'gnirnimnagāḥ sirāḥ /
divākaraśca somaśca nayane tasya viśrute //
nabhaścordhvaṃ śirastasya kṣitiḥ pādau bhujau diśaḥ /
durvijñeyo hyanantātmā siddhairapi na saṃśayaḥ //
sa eṣa bhagavānviṣṇurananta iti viśrutaḥ /
sarvabhūtātmabhūtastho durvijñeyo'kṛtātmābhaḥ //
ahankārasya yaḥ sraṣṭā sarvabhūtodbhavāya vai /
yataḥ samabhavadviśvaṃ pṛṣṭo'haṃ yadiha tvayā //
bharadvāja uvāca /
gaganasya diśāṃ caiva bhūtalasyānilasya ca /
kānyatra parimāṇāni saṃśayaṃ chindhi me'rthitaḥ //
bhṛguruvāca /
anantametadākāśaṃ siddhacāraṇasevitam /
ramyaṃ nānāśrayākīrṇaṃ yasyānto nādhigamyate //
ūrdhvaṃ gateradhastāttu candrādityau na dṛśyataḥ /
tatra devāḥ svayaṃ dīptāḥ sūryabhāso'gnivarcasaḥ //
te cāpyantaṃ na paśyanti nabhasaḥ prathitaujasaḥ /
durgamatvādanantatvāditi vai viddhi mānada //
uparyupari tairdevaiḥ prajvaladbhiḥ svayamprabhaiḥ /
niruddhametadākāśamaprameyaṃ surairapi //
pṛthivyante samudrāstu samudrānte tamaḥ smṛtam /
tapnaso'nte jalaṃ prāhurjalasyānte'gnireva ca //
rasātalānte salilaṃ jalānte pannagādhipāḥ /
tadante punarākāśamākāśānte punarjalam //
evamantaṃ hi nabhasaḥ pramāṇaṃ salilasya ca /
agnimārutayoścaiva durjñeyaṃ daivatairapi //
agnimārutatoyānāṃ varṇāḥ kṣititalasya ca /
ākāśasadṛśā hyete bhidyante'tatvadarśanāt //
paṭhanti caiva munayaḥ śāstreṣu vividheṣu ca /
trailokyasāgare caiva pramāṇaṃ vihitaṃ yathā //
adṛśyatvādagamyatvātkaḥ pramāṇamudāharet / siddhānāṃ devatānāṃ ca yadā parimitā gatiḥ /
tadā gauṇamanantasya nāmānanteti viśrutam //
nāmadheyānurūpasya mānasasya mahātmanaḥ / yadā tu rdivyaṃ yadrūpaṃ hrasate vardhate punaḥ /
ko'nyastadvedituṃ śakto yopi syāttadvidho'paraḥ //
tataḥ puṣkarataḥ sṛṣṭaḥ sarvajño mūrtimānprabhuḥ /
brahmā dharmamayaḥ pūrvaḥ prajāpatiranuttamaḥ //
bharadvāja uvāca /
puṣkarādyadi sambhūto jyeṣṭhaṃ bhavati puṣkaram /
brahmāṇaṃ pūrvajaṃ cāha bhavānsandeha eva me //
bhṛguruvāca /
mānasasyeha yā mūrtirbrahmatvaṃ samupāgatā /
tasyāsanavidhānārthaṃ pṛthivī padmamucyate //
karṇikāṃ tasya padmasya merurgagamucchritaḥ / tasya madhye sthito lokānsṛjate jagataḥ prabhuḥ /
mānasāṃśca tathā devānbhūtāni vividhāni ca //
Original text: Mahābhārata (southern recension) · Edition: Śrīman Mahābhāratam, ed. T. R. Krishnacharya and T. R. Vyasacharya, Nirnaya Sagar Press, Bombay 1906–1910; e-text by SARIT (Shrinivasa Varakhedi and others) · SARIT: Search and Retrieval of Indic Texts · SARIT (e-text) via Internet Archive · CC BY-SA 3.0