The Prajapatis and the process of populating the universe
One point that is not very much discussed in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is the process of populating our planet. Still, there are details about the process of populating our planet that can be studied.
« Making Sense of the Vedic Universe, a Higher-Dimensional Reality
The Prajapatis and the process of populating the universe
One point that is not very exhaustively discussed in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is the process of populating our planet. There is a description of the general creation of Brahmā, culminating with the appearance of the first Manu, Svāyambhuva, but the process of the appearance of life on our planet, and especially of human beings, is not described in great detail.
The point is that although this topic may sound interesting to us, it is not considered a very important topic by the sages who transmit the scriptures, for they are more interested in transcendental knowledge. In the Tattva Sandarbha, Śrila Jīva Goswami mentions that all 18 Puranas were compiled by Śrila Vyāsadeva from a much larger book (of one billion verses!) that is studied in the higher planets by the demigods. Understanding that it would be impossible for us to study such a vast literature, Vyāsadeva compiled the 18 Puranas, taking only the most relevant parts to different classes of people. In this way, from the original one billion verses, we have access to 18,000 verses in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam and a total of 400,000 in all the other Puranas.
Still, there are details about the process of populating our planet that can be studied. In the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, it is described that at the beginning of the current cycle of creation, Brahma created several male mental children, and the first couple appeared when he created Svāyambhuva Manu and his wife.
As described in the Third Canto, Svāyambhuva Manu had five children: three daughters and two sons. The first daughter, Ākūti, was given in marriage to the sage Ruci; the middle daughter, Devahūti, to the sage Kardama; and the youngest, Prasūti, to Prajāpati Dakṣa. Of the two sons, the first, Priyavrata, became a renunciant, while the second, Uttānapāda, became the father of Dhruva Maharaja and his half-brother Uttama.
By studying this description, one could question where the rest of humanity came from, as well as all the animals, plants, and other beings who populated the different planets. Early in the current day of Brahma, when Kardama Muni was meditating (before accepting Devahūti, the daughter of Manu, as his wife), the earth was not a desert. In the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (3.21.40-44), it is described that his hermitage was a gorgeous place, surrounded by all kinds of plants and animals:
“The shore of the lake was surrounded by clusters of pious trees and creepers, rich in fruits and flowers of all seasons, that afforded shelter to pious animals and birds, which uttered various cries. It was adorned by the beauty of groves of forest trees. The area resounded with the notes of overjoyed birds. Intoxicated bees wandered there, intoxicated peacocks proudly danced, and merry cuckoos called one another. Lake Bindu-sarovara was adorned by flowering trees such as kadamba, campaka, aśoka, karañja, bakula, āsana, kunda, mandāra, kuṭaja and young mango trees. The air was filled with the pleasing notes of kāraṇḍava ducks, plavas, swans, ospreys, waterfowl, cranes, cakravākas and cakoras. Its shores abounded with deer, boars, porcupines, gavayas, elephants, baboons, lions, monkeys, mongooses and musk deer.”
Similarly, when Uttānapāda, the son of Manu, became the king, even before begetting his children, there were already people living on the planet. So, where did they come from?
It’s understood that human beings, animals, and plants have existed on different planets since the beginning of the universe, but the Vedic scriptures we have access to on our planet don’t speak so much about them, focusing instead on describing the activities of great personalities, who transmitted important spiritual knowledge. However, just because something is not comprehensively described in the scriptures doesn’t necessarily mean it didn’t happen.
The creation of different species of life happens repeatedly thanks to the seven great sages, as well as other Prajāpatis, like Daksa, who, in cooperation with their wives, repeatedly populate the universe. In the Sixth Canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, chapter six, there is a description of how the sixty daughters of Daksa gave birth to most of the population of the universe, from plants to demigods. Timi gave birth to different aquatics, while Saramā gave birth to ferocious animals like tigers and lions. Ilā produced different creepers and trees, Aditi gave birth to the demigods, while Diti gave birth to the demons. Mātṛkā gave birth to the human species and so on. This description from the Sixth Canto describes events from the reign of Cākṣuṣa Manu (the 6th of the sequence, when Daksa took his second birth), but the universe is populated in a similar way by different Prajāpatis at every manvantara, starting from the reign of Svāyambhuva Manu. Brahma himself creates the different species at the beginning of his day as a blueprint, or as a seed, and the Prajāpatis take charge of bringing forth generations of living entities and increasing their population. During the day of Brahmā, different species repeatedly become extinct under different circumstances (such as the sequence of ages, from Satya-yuga to Kali-yuga, and the disturbances at the end of each manvantara) and are later brought forth again by the Prajāpatis.
A seed already contains a plant, but to grow and develop, this seed has to be planted in the right conditions. Except for his mental sons, Brahma doesn’t directly create living entities. What he does is to create the seeds, so to speak, of the different species of life and give them to the Prajāpatis, who bring forth generations of living beings as necessary. Even if certain species become extinct on certain planets at a certain point, the seed still exists, and thus the Prajāpatis can repopulate it at any point. Of course, when we speak about “seed,” it is just an imperfect analogy to try to explain a complicated concept. In reality, we are not speaking about a physical object but some kind of subtle manifestation.
Another example that can be given is a project or blueprint. Creating something is not necessarily the same as producing it. A person may project a car and then give the project to a company that may produce it, or many different companies may produce the car at the same time or at different points in time. As soon as the project is made, the car already exists, and it continues to exist as long as the project is circulating around, and different companies may produce it at different times. Similarly, Brahma creates the different forms of life, and the Prajāpatis “produce” them as necessary.
For example, we learn that there were human beings living on Earth since the beginning of the reign of Svāyambhuva Manu, leading to the reign of Uttānapāda, the progress during the reign of Pṛthu Maharaja, and so on. However, as described in the Fourth Canto, when the Pracetas came out of the ocean at the end of their austerities, the planet was covered by trees. Apparently, there were no humans living there at this time.
By the arrangement of the demigod Soma, they got married to Marisa, the daughter of the apsarā Pramlocā, and begot Daksa (in his second birth). However, Daksa didn’t have children immediately. He practiced austerities until the sixth manvantara and only then begot his 60 daughters, who married great sages and repopulated the universe after the destruction at the end of the 5th manvantara, as described in the Sixth Canto.
Meanwhile, while Daksa was meditating, Svāyambhuva Manu had to ask Priyavrata, the older brother of Uttānapāda, to abandon his practice of austerities and accept the responsibility of managing Bhu-Mandala and bringing forth new generations of human beings, which he did in cooperation with his wife.
As we can see, the work of the Prajāpatis is continuous, following the different cycles of devastation our universe passes through. There is a devastation at the end of the reign of each Manu, which affects not only our planet but also the populations of demigods and demons. There is a small devastation at the end of each Kali-yuga (after which our planet is repopulated), and so on. In this way, the Prajāpatis, as well as the Manus and other higher beings, are constantly engaged in creating new populations and maintaining the proper conditions for the existence of life all over the universe.
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« Making Sense of the Vedic Universe, a Higher-Dimensional Reality
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