Brahma Purana — Chapter 126
BrP 126.1
तपस्तीर्थम् इति ख्यातं तपोवृद्धिकरं महत् सर्वकामप्रदं पुण्यं पितॄणां प्रीतिवर्धनम् ॥
tapastīrtham iti khyātaṃ tapovṛddhikaraṃ mahat sarvakāmapradaṃ puṇyaṃ pitṝṇāṃ prītivardhanam //
(There is) the great (tīrtha) renowned as Tapastīrtha, which causes increase of austerity, grants all desires, is meritorious, and increases the fathers' delight.
AI translation rendered from the Sanskrit, not a published edition
BrP 126.2
तस्मिंस् तीर्थे तु यद् वृत्तं शृणु पापप्रणाशनम् अपाम् अग्नेश् च संवादम् ऋषीणां च परस्परम् ॥
tasmiṃs tīrthe tu yad vṛttaṃ śṛṇu pāpapraṇāśanam apām agneś ca saṃvādam ṛṣīṇāṃ ca parasparam //
Hear what happened at that tīrtha, destroying sin: the dialogue of the Waters and Fire, and of the sages among themselves.
AI translation rendered from the Sanskrit, not a published edition
BrP 126.3
अपो ज्येष्ठतमाः केचिन् मेनिरे ऽग्निं तथापरे एवं ब्रुवन्तो मुनयः संवादं चाग्निवारिणोः ॥
apo jyeṣṭhatamāḥ kecin menire 'gniṃ tathāpare evaṃ bruvanto munayaḥ saṃvādaṃ cāgnivāriṇoḥ //
Some held the Waters to be the eldest, and others Fire likewise; the sages speaking thus, and the dialogue of Fire and Water—
AI translation rendered from the Sanskrit, not a published edition
BrP 126.4
विनाग्निं जीवनं क्व स्याज् जीवभूतो यतो ऽनलः आत्मभूतो हव्यभूतश् चाग्निना जायते ऽखिलम् ॥
vināgniṃ jīvanaṃ kva syāj jīvabhūto yato 'nalaḥ ātmabhūto havyabhūtaś cāgninā jāyate 'khilam //
"Without fire, where would life be? For fire is what constitutes the living. It is the self and it is the oblation; by fire everything is born.
AI translation rendered from the Sanskrit, not a published edition
BrP 126.5
अग्निना ध्रियते लोको ह्य् अग्निर् ज्योतिर्मयं जगत् तस्माद् अग्नेः परं नास्ति पावनं दैवतं महत् ॥
agninā dhriyate loko hy agnir jyotirmayaṃ jagat tasmād agneḥ paraṃ nāsti pāvanaṃ daivataṃ mahat //
For the world is upheld by fire; fire is the light-filled universe. Therefore there is nothing higher than fire, the purifier, the great deity.
AI translation rendered from the Sanskrit, not a published edition
BrP 126.6
अन्तर्ज्योतिः स एवोक्तः परं ज्योतिः स एव हि विनाग्निना किंचिद् अस्ति यस्य धाम जगत्त्रयम् ॥
antarjyotiḥ sa evoktaḥ paraṃ jyotiḥ sa eva hi vināgninā kiṃcid asti yasya dhāma jagattrayam //
He alone is called the inner light, and he indeed is the supreme light; without fire is there anything at all, he whose abode is the three worlds?
AI translation rendered from the Sanskrit, not a published edition
BrP 126.7
तस्माद् अग्नेः परं नास्ति भूतानां ज्यैष्ठ्यभाजनम् योषित्क्षेत्रे ऽर्पितं बीजं पुरुषेण यथा तथा ॥
tasmād agneḥ paraṃ nāsti bhūtānāṃ jyaiṣṭhyabhājanam yoṣitkṣetre 'rpitaṃ bījaṃ puruṣeṇa yathā tathā //
Therefore there is nothing higher than fire, the holder of seniority among beings. Just as seed is deposited by a man in the field of a woman, so (it is here).
AI translation rendered from the Sanskrit, not a published edition
BrP 126.8
तस्य देहादिका शक्तिः कृशानोर् एव नान्यथा देवानां हि मुखं वह्निस् तस्मान् नातः परं विदुः ॥
tasya dehādikā śaktiḥ kṛśānor eva nānyathā devānāṃ hi mukhaṃ vahnis tasmān nātaḥ paraṃ viduḥ //
Its power to make a body and the rest belongs to fire alone and to nothing else; for fire is the mouth of the gods—therefore they know nothing higher than this."
AI translation rendered from the Sanskrit, not a published edition
BrP 126.9
अपरे तु ह्य् अपां ज्यैष्ठ्यं मेनिरे वेदवादिनः अद्भिः संपत्स्यते ह्य् अन्नं शुचिर् अद्भिः प्रजायते ॥
apare tu hy apāṃ jyaiṣṭhyaṃ menire vedavādinaḥ adbhiḥ saṃpatsyate hy annaṃ śucir adbhiḥ prajāyate //
But others, speakers of the Veda, held the seniority of the Waters: "For by water food comes to be; by water one becomes pure and is born.
AI translation rendered from the Sanskrit, not a published edition
BrP 126.10
अद्भिर् एव धृतं सर्वम् आपो वै मातरः स्मृताः त्रैलोक्यजीवनं वारि वदन्तीति पुराविदः ॥
adbhir eva dhṛtaṃ sarvam āpo vai mātaraḥ smṛtāḥ trailokyajīvanaṃ vāri vadantīti purāvidaḥ //
By water alone is everything upheld; the Waters indeed are declared to be the mothers. Those who know the ancient (lore) say that water is the life of the three worlds.
AI translation rendered from the Sanskrit, not a published edition
BrP 126.11
उत्पन्नम् अमृतं ह्य् अद्भ्यस् ताभ्यश् चौषधिसंभवः अग्निर् ज्येष्ठ इति प्राहुर् आपो ज्येष्ठतमाः परे ॥
utpannam amṛtaṃ hy adbhyas tābhyaś cauṣadhisaṃbhavaḥ agnir jyeṣṭha iti prāhur āpo jyeṣṭhatamāḥ pare //
For the nectar of immortality arose from the waters, and from them comes the origin of plants." Some said fire is eldest; others (said) the Waters are the very eldest.
AI translation rendered from the Sanskrit, not a published edition
BrP 126.12
एवं मीमांसमानास् ते ऋषयो वेदवादिनः विरुद्धवादिनो मां च समभ्येत्येदम् अब्रुवन् ॥
evaṃ mīmāṃsamānās te ṛṣayo vedavādinaḥ viruddhavādino māṃ ca samabhyetyedam abruvan //
Thus deliberating, those sages, expounders of the Veda, contradicting one another, came to me and said this:
AI translation rendered from the Sanskrit, not a published edition
BrP 126.13
अग्नेर् अपां वद ज्यैष्ठ्यं त्रैलोक्यस्य भवान् प्रभुः ॥
agner apāṃ vada jyaiṣṭhyaṃ trailokyasya bhavān prabhuḥ //
"Tell (us) whether seniority belongs to fire or to the waters; you are the lord of the three worlds."
AI translation rendered from the Sanskrit, not a published edition
BrP 126.14
अहम् अप्य् अब्रवं प्राप्तान् ऋषीन् सर्वान् यतव्रतान् उभौ पूज्यतमौ लोक उभाभ्यां जायते जगत् ॥
aham apy abravaṃ prāptān ṛṣīn sarvān yatavratān ubhau pūjyatamau loka ubhābhyāṃ jāyate jagat //
And I too said to the sages who had come, all of them steadfast in their vows: "Both are most worthy of worship in the world; from both the world is born.
AI translation rendered from the Sanskrit, not a published edition
BrP 126.15
उभाभ्यां जायते हव्यं कव्यं चामृतम् एव च उभाभ्यां जीवनं लोके शरीरस्य च धारणम् ॥
ubhābhyāṃ jāyate havyaṃ kavyaṃ cāmṛtam eva ca ubhābhyāṃ jīvanaṃ loke śarīrasya ca dhāraṇam //
From both arise the offering to the gods and the offering to the ancestors, and the nectar too; from both comes life in the world and the sustaining of the body.
AI translation rendered from the Sanskrit, not a published edition
BrP 126.16
नानयोश् च विशेषो ऽस्ति ततो ज्यैष्ठ्यं समं मतम् ततो मद्वचनाज् ज्यैष्ठ्यम् उभयोर् नैव कस्यचित् ॥
nānayoś ca viśeṣo 'sti tato jyaiṣṭhyaṃ samaṃ matam tato madvacanāj jyaiṣṭhyam ubhayor naiva kasyacit //
And there is no difference between these two; therefore their seniority is held to be equal. Hence, by my word, seniority belongs to neither of the two."
AI translation rendered from the Sanskrit, not a published edition
BrP 126.17
ज्यैष्ठ्यम् अन्यतरस्येति मेनिरे ऋषिसत्तमाः न तृप्ता मम वाक्येन जग्मुर् वायुं तपस्विनः ॥
jyaiṣṭhyam anyatarasyeti menire ṛṣisattamāḥ na tṛptā mama vākyena jagmur vāyuṃ tapasvinaḥ //
But the best of sages thought that seniority belonged to one or the other; not satisfied with my speech, those ascetics went to Vāyu.
AI translation rendered from the Sanskrit, not a published edition
BrP 126.18
कस्य ज्यैष्ठ्यं भवान् प्राणो वायो सत्यं त्वयि स्थितम् ॥
kasya jyaiṣṭhyaṃ bhavān prāṇo vāyo satyaṃ tvayi sthitam //
"To whom does seniority belong? You, Vāyu, are the breath (of all); the truth rests in you."
AI translation rendered from the Sanskrit, not a published edition
BrP 126.19
वायुर् आहानलो ज्येष्ठः सर्वम् अग्नौ प्रतिष्ठितम् नेत्य् उक्त्वान्योन्यम् ऋषयो जग्मुस् ते ऽपि वसुंधराम् ॥
vāyur āhānalo jyeṣṭhaḥ sarvam agnau pratiṣṭhitam nety uktvānyonyam ṛṣayo jagmus te 'pi vasuṃdharām //
Vāyu said, "Fire is the elder; everything is established in fire." Saying "No!" to one another, those sages went to the earth as well.
AI translation rendered from the Sanskrit, not a published edition
BrP 126.20
सत्यं भूमे वद ज्यैष्ठ्यम् आधारासि चराचरे ॥
satyaṃ bhūme vada jyaiṣṭhyam ādhārāsi carācare //
"Speak the truth, O Earth, (as to) seniority; you are the support of what moves and what does not move."
AI translation rendered from the Sanskrit, not a published edition
BrP 126.21
भूमिर् अप्य् आह विनयाद् आगतांस् तान् ऋषीन् इदम् ॥
bhūmir apy āha vinayād āgatāṃs tān ṛṣīn idam //
The earth too said this to those sages who had come, out of courtesy:
AI translation rendered from the Sanskrit, not a published edition
BrP 126.22
ममाप्य् आधारभूताः स्युर् आपो देव्यः सनातनाः अद्भ्यस् तु जायते सर्वं ज्यैष्ठ्यम् अप्सु प्रतिष्ठितम् ॥
mamāpy ādhārabhūtāḥ syur āpo devyaḥ sanātanāḥ adbhyas tu jāyate sarvaṃ jyaiṣṭhyam apsu pratiṣṭhitam //
"The divine, eternal waters are the support even of me; from the waters everything is born—seniority rests in the waters."
AI translation rendered from the Sanskrit, not a published edition
BrP 126.23
नेत्य् उक्त्वान्योन्यम् ऋषयो जग्मुः क्षीरोदशायिनम् तुष्टुवुर् विविधैः स्तोत्रैः शङ्खचक्रगदाधरम् ॥
nety uktvānyonyam ṛṣayo jagmuḥ kṣīrodaśāyinam tuṣṭuvur vividhaiḥ stotraiḥ śaṅkhacakragadādharam //
Saying "No!" to one another, the sages went to him who lies on the ocean of milk, and praised with various hymns the bearer of conch, discus and mace:
AI translation rendered from the Sanskrit, not a published edition
BrP 126.24
यो वेद सर्वं भुवनं भविष्यद् यज् जायमानं च गुहानिविष्टम् लोकत्रयं चित्रविचित्ररूपम् अन्ते समस्तं च यम् आविवेश
yo veda sarvaṃ bhuvanaṃ bhaviṣyad yaj jāyamānaṃ ca guhāniviṣṭam lokatrayaṃ citravicitrarūpam ante samastaṃ ca yam āviveśa
"He who knows the whole world, what will be and what is coming to be, (and what is) hidden in the cave (of the heart), the three worlds of manifold and varied forms, and into whom at the end the whole enters—
AI translation rendered from the Sanskrit, not a published edition
BrP 126.25
यद् अक्षरं शाश्वतम् अप्रमेयं यं वेदवेद्यम् ऋषयो वदन्ति यम् आश्रिताः स्वेप्सितम् आप्नुवन्ति तद् वस्तु सत्यं शरणं व्रजामः
yad akṣaraṃ śāśvatam aprameyaṃ yaṃ vedavedyam ṛṣayo vadanti yam āśritāḥ svepsitam āpnuvanti tad vastu satyaṃ śaraṇaṃ vrajāmaḥ
That which is imperishable, everlasting, immeasurable, whom the sages call knowable through the Veda, whom those who take refuge in him attain their own desire—to that true reality we go for refuge.
AI translation rendered from the Sanskrit, not a published edition
BrP 126.26
भूतं महाभूतजगत्प्रधानं न विन्दते योगिनो विष्णुरूपम् तद् वक्तुम् एते ऋषयो ऽत्र याताः सत्यं वदस्वेह जगन्निवास
bhūtaṃ mahābhūtajagatpradhānaṃ na vindate yogino viṣṇurūpam tad vaktum ete ṛṣayo 'tra yātāḥ satyaṃ vadasveha jagannivāsa
The being that is the foremost of the great elements and of the world—the yogin does not find (that) form of Viṣṇu. These sages have come here to have it declared: speak the truth here, O dwelling-place of the world!
AI translation rendered from the Sanskrit, not a published edition — the model flagged this verse as uncertain
BrP 126.28
त्वम् अन्तरात्माखिलदेहभाजां त्वम् एव सर्वं त्वयि सर्वम् ईश तथापि जानन्ति न केअपि कुत्रापि अहो भवन्तं प्रकृतिप्रभावात् ब्र्प्_१२६।२७ अन्तर् बहिः सर्वत एव सन्तं ब्र्प्_१२६।२७ए विश्वात्मना संपरिवर्तमानम् ब्र्प्_१२६।२७फ़् ततः प्राह जगद्धात्री दैवी वाग् अशरीरिणी ॥
tvam antarātmākhiladehabhājāṃ tvam eva sarvaṃ tvayi sarvam īśa tathāpi jānanti na keapi kutrāpi aho bhavantaṃ prakṛtiprabhāvāt BrP_126.27 antar bahiḥ sarvata eva santaṃ brp_126.27e viśvātmanā saṃparivartamānam brp_126.27f tataḥ prāha jagaddhātrī daivī vāg aśarīriṇī //
You are the inner self of all who bear bodies; you alone are everything; in you is everything, O Lord. And yet no one anywhere knows you—alas!—because of the power of primal nature, (you) who are present within, without, on every side, revolving as the self of the universe. Then the divine, bodiless voice, the sustainer of the world, spoke:
AI translation rendered from the Sanskrit, not a published edition — the model flagged this verse as uncertain
BrP 126.29
उभाव् आराध्य तपसा भक्त्या च नियमेन च यस्य स्यात् प्रथमं सिद्धिस् तद् भूतं ज्येष्ठम् उच्यते ॥
ubhāv ārādhya tapasā bhaktyā ca niyamena ca yasya syāt prathamaṃ siddhis tad bhūtaṃ jyeṣṭham ucyate //
"Having propitiated both by austerity, by devotion and by observance, that being from whom success first comes is called the elder."
AI translation rendered from the Sanskrit, not a published edition
BrP 126.30
तथेत्य् तथा ययुः सर्वे ऋषयो लोकपूजिताः श्रान्ताः खिन्नान्तरात्मानः परं वैराग्यम् आश्रिताः ॥
tathety tathā yayuḥ sarve ṛṣayo lokapūjitāḥ śrāntāḥ khinnāntarātmānaḥ paraṃ vairāgyam āśritāḥ //
Saying "So be it," all the sages, honoured by the world, went accordingly, weary, dejected in their inner selves, having taken to the highest detachment.
AI translation rendered from the Sanskrit, not a published edition
BrP 126.31
सर्वलोकैकजननीं भुवनत्रयपावनीम् गौतमीम् अगमन् सर्वे तपस् तप्तुं यतव्रताः ॥
sarvalokaikajananīṃ bhuvanatrayapāvanīm gautamīm agaman sarve tapas taptuṃ yatavratāḥ //
They all went, steadfast in their vows, to the Gautamī, the one mother of all the worlds, purifier of the three worlds, in order to perform austerity.
AI translation rendered from the Sanskrit, not a published edition
BrP 126.32
अब्दैवतं तथाग्निं च पूजनायोद्यतास् तदा अग्नेश् च पूजका ये च अपां वै पूजने स्थिताः तत्र वाग् अब्रवीद् दैवी वेदमाता सरस्वती ॥
abdaivataṃ tathāgniṃ ca pūjanāyodyatās tadā agneś ca pūjakā ye ca apāṃ vai pūjane sthitāḥ tatra vāg abravīd daivī vedamātā sarasvatī //
Then they set about worshipping the deity of the waters and likewise fire; and those who were worshippers of fire and those engaged in the worship of the waters—there the divine Speech, Sarasvatī, mother of the Veda, said:
AI translation rendered from the Sanskrit, not a published edition
BrP 126.33
अग्नेर् आपस् तथा योनिर् अद्भिः शौचम् अवाप्यते अग्नेश् च पूजका ये च विनाद्भिः पूजनं कथम् ॥
agner āpas tathā yonir adbhiḥ śaucam avāpyate agneś ca pūjakā ye ca vinādbhiḥ pūjanaṃ katham //
Water is the womb of fire, and purity is obtained through water; and as for those who are worshippers of fire — without water, how (can there be) worship?
AI translation rendered from the Sanskrit, not a published edition
BrP 126.34
अप्सु जातासु सर्वत्र कर्मण्य् अधिकृतो भवेत् तावत् कर्मण्य् अनर्हो ऽयम् अशुचिर् मलिनो नरः ॥
apsu jātāsu sarvatra karmaṇy adhikṛto bhavet tāvat karmaṇy anarho 'yam aśucir malino naraḥ //
When the waters have been born (i.e. present), one becomes qualified for rite everywhere; until then this man is unfit for the rite, impure and soiled.
AI translation rendered from the Sanskrit, not a published edition — the model flagged this verse as uncertain
BrP 126.35
न मग्नः श्रद्धया यावद् अप्सु शीतासु वेदवित् तस्माद् आपो वरिष्ठाः स्युर् मातृभूता यतः स्मृताः तस्माज् ज्यैष्ठ्यम् अपाम् एव जनन्यो ऽग्नेर् विशेषतः ॥
na magnaḥ śraddhayā yāvad apsu śītāsu vedavit tasmād āpo variṣṭhāḥ syur mātṛbhūtā yataḥ smṛtāḥ tasmāj jyaiṣṭhyam apām eva jananyo 'gner viśeṣataḥ //
So long as the knower of the Veda has not plunged with faith into the cool waters. Therefore the waters must be the most excellent, since they are remembered as having become mothers; therefore precedence belongs to the waters alone, they being the mothers of fire in particular.
AI translation rendered from the Sanskrit, not a published edition
BrP 126.36
एतद् वचः शुश्रुवुस् ते ऋषयो वेदवादिनः निश्चयं च ततश् चक्रुर् भवेज् ज्यैष्ठ्यम् अपाम् इति ॥
etad vacaḥ śuśruvus te ṛṣayo vedavādinaḥ niścayaṃ ca tataś cakrur bhavej jyaiṣṭhyam apām iti //
Those seers, expounders of the Veda, heard this speech, and thereupon made the determination: "Precedence should belong to the waters."
AI translation rendered from the Sanskrit, not a published edition
BrP 126.37
यत्र तीर्थे वृत्तम् इदम् ऋषिसत्त्रे च नारद तपस्तीर्थं तु तत् प्रोक्तं सत्त्रतीर्थं तद् उच्यते ॥
yatra tīrthe vṛttam idam ṛṣisattre ca nārada tapastīrthaṃ tu tat proktaṃ sattratīrthaṃ tad ucyate //
At whichever sacred ford this took place, and at the seers' sacrificial session, Nārada, that is declared to be the Ford of Austerity, and it is called the Ford of the Sacrificial Session.
AI translation rendered from the Sanskrit, not a published edition
BrP 126.38
अग्नितीर्थं च तत् प्रोक्तं तथा सारस्वतं विदुः तेषु स्नानं च दानं च सर्वकामप्रदं शुभम् ॥
agnitīrthaṃ ca tat proktaṃ tathā sārasvataṃ viduḥ teṣu snānaṃ ca dānaṃ ca sarvakāmapradaṃ śubham //
And that is declared to be the Ford of Fire, and they know it also as the Ford of Sarasvatī. Bathing there and giving there is auspicious and grants all desires.
AI translation rendered from the Sanskrit, not a published edition
BrP 126.39
चतुर्दश शतान्य् अत्र तीर्थानां पुण्यदायिनाम् तेषु स्नानं च दानं च स्वर्गमोक्षप्रदायकम् ॥
caturdaśa śatāny atra tīrthānāṃ puṇyadāyinām teṣu snānaṃ ca dānaṃ ca svargamokṣapradāyakam //
There are fourteen hundred fords here that bestow merit; bathing in them and giving there bestows heaven and liberation.
AI translation rendered from the Sanskrit, not a published edition
BrP 126.40
कृतं संदेहहरणम् ऋषीणां यत्र भाषया सरस्वत्य् अभवत् तत्र गङ्गया संगता नदी माहात्म्यं तस्य को वक्तुं संगमस्य क्षमो नरः ॥
kṛtaṃ saṃdehaharaṇam ṛṣīṇāṃ yatra bhāṣayā sarasvaty abhavat tatra gaṅgayā saṃgatā nadī māhātmyaṃ tasya ko vaktuṃ saṃgamasya kṣamo naraḥ //
Where the removal of the seers' doubt was accomplished by (Sarasvatī's) speech, there the river Sarasvatī came into union with the Gaṅgā; what man is able to tell the greatness of that confluence?
AI translation rendered from the Sanskrit, not a published edition