SECTION SIXTY TWO    

            Süta Gosvämé gives the characteristics of the ten items beginning with Sarga (SB. 12.7.11):

            When there is disturbance in the modes of the Prakåti, the mahat appears from which originate the three types of ego. Then from ego arises the subtle elements, senses, and the gross sense objects (gross elements).

 This is called sarga.  The mahat-tattva originates when the pradhäna (original, dormant material nature) is disturbed and from that comes the false ego composed of the three modes. From this threefold ahaìkära comes the subtle material elements, senses, and the gross material elements. This is also indicative of the appearance of their presiding deities. This is called the causal creation, or sarga.
Çukadeva Gosvämé continued (SB. 12.7.12):

            With the blessing of the Supersoul these elements are combined (by Lord Brahmä) according to the previous karma of the jéva. That is called visarga, or secondary creation. It includes all moving and non-moving beings and continues like a seed giving rise to another seed.

            Here the word puruña, or person, refers to Paramätmä or Supersoul. Eteñäm, 'of these,' means the elements beginning from the mahat onwards. The elements are mainly combined according to the accumulated karma from the past lives of the jéva. The result of this combination is the birth of both movable and immovable living entities. The flow of this cycle, like a seed giving rise to another seed, is called visarga. The meaning is that visarga is the creation of individuals and the subject üti, or material desires, is also indicated by it.

(SB. 12.7.13): 

            The movable living entities thrive on the immovable living beings. The human beings select their means of survival either according to their nature, based on material desires, or according to scriptural injunction. 

                 Generally, the movable living beings thrive on the immovable living beings, but the word ca (and) in this verse implies that by their nature or desire movable beings also subsist on other movable living beings. The means of livelihood for humans, based on their nature, either out of desire or according to scriptural injunction is called våtti.

(SB. 12.7.14):

            The pastimes of the various incarnations of the Lord, who appears in every millennium among animals, human beings, sages, or demigods, and who kills the enemies of the Vedas, is called rakñä, or protection of the Universe.

           Here the term yaiù (by them) refers to the incarnations. The items éçakathä, sthänam, and poñaëa are also included in this definition of rakñä.

(SB. 12.7.15):

            Manvantara implies the duration of the reign of one Manu. It includes the activities of the corresponding Manu, the demigods, the sons of Manu, Lord Indra, the seven sages, and the partial incarnations of Lord Hari.

            By the activities of Manu and the other five mentioned here the ñaò-dharma is indicated. Therefore the enumeration of these ten characteristics is identical with the previous ones. (in SB. 2.4.10): 

(12.7.16):

            The races of Kings in the past, present, and future, originating from Lord Brahmä, are called vaàña. And the description of the activities of these kings along with their descendents is called vaàñänucaritam. 

Here the descendents are the progeny of these kings and their activities are called vaàñayänucaritam.
 

ÇRÉ JÉVA TOÑAËÉ COMMENTARY
 

            As was done by  Çukadeva in the Second Canto,  Süta Gosvämé also gives the definition of the ten characteristics of the Çrémad Bhägavatam after listing them. During total dissolution everything in this material universe becomes unmanifest. This unmanifest state of the material energy is called prakåti or pradhäna. Here the three modes remain in a state of equilibrium. The creation cannot begin unless the modes become agitated or imbalanced. If  a person is satisfied and peaceful he will not initiate a new activity. Some agitation or stimulation must take place in order to motivate action. The act of procreation, for example, is performed when the mind and body are agitated by desire to procreate or by lust.

            The original disturbance in the pradhäna is caused by the glance of the Lord. His glance is likened to impregnation of the  Prakåti, who is compared to a woman. This is implied by Lord Çré Kåñëa in the Bhagavad-gétä: mama yonirmahadbrahma tasmingarbhaà dadämy aham  (B.g. 14.3). "The great material substance, called Brahman, is the source of birth, and it is that Brahman that I impregnate." Here the word Brahman means prakåti and not the impersonal feature of the Lord.

            The impregnated or disturbed state of the prakåti is called the mahat-tattva. This mahat-tattva when further influenced by käla,  the time potency of the Lord, gives rise to the three kinds of ahaìkära. The three classes of ahaìkära are the vaikärika, false ego in the mode of goodness; taijasa, false ego in the mode of passion; and tämasa, false ego in the mode of ignorance.

            The vaikärika ähaëkära gives rise to the mana, or mind element, and the presiding deities. The taijasa ahaìkära gives rise to the buddhi, or the intelligence, and the senses, which are of two types, knowledge acquiring senses and working senses. When the käla potency acts on the tämasa ahaìkära it gives rise to sound, the sky, and the ears. In this way the other subtle and gross sense objects and the seats of the sense organs come into existence one by one. This primary phase of creation is performed by the Lord Himself and is called sarga. The word artha in this verse (SB. 12.7.11) is indicative of the presiding deities of these elements.

            These are the stages of the material creation in the primary phase (sarga):

PRAKÅTI OR PRADHÄNA (Balanced state of Nature) Glance of the Lord (Käla)
MAHAT-TATTVA (Citta) (Pradhäna becomes disturbed)
AHAÌKÄRA (False Ego)

 

VAIKÄRIKA (In Goodness)	TAIJASA         (In Passion)	TÄMASA (In Ignorance)
MIND AND PRESIDING DEITIES	INTELLIGENCE AND SENSES	FIVE TAN MATRAS (Sound, Touch, Form, Taste, Smell, and five materi     al elements

             It should be noted that in the Bhägavata philosophy a distinction is made between the senses and the physical sense organs, or the seats of the senses. The above chart shows that false ego in the mode of passion gives rise to intelligence and to the senses. This does not refer to the sense organs. These are the subtle forms of the senses, which go along with the jéva from body to body, whereas the physical sense organs suffer the same fate as the gross body.

            Each of the five tan mätras, which are the subtle manifestations of the material elements, when mixed with the time energy of the Lord, gives rise progressively to its corresponding gross elements and the corresponding seats of sense organs: 

TAN MÄTRA	MATERIAL ELEMENTS	SEATS OF SENSES
SOUND	SKY	EARS
TOUCH	AIR	SKIN
FORM	FIRE	EYE
TASTE	WATER	TONGUE
SMELL	EARTH	NOSE

             The mahat-tattva, ahaìkära, mind, and intelligence are considered the internal senses. These four, plus the five working senses (legs, hands, anus, tongue, and genitals), plus the five knowledge acquiring senses (ears, eyes, nose, skin, and tongue), plus the five material objects (sky, air, fire, water, and earth), plus the five subtle elements or sense objects (sound, touch, form, taste, and smell) add up to 24 elements, with the jéva and Paramätmä as the twenty-fifth and twenty-sixth. Time (käla), being an energy of Paramätmä, is not counted seperately.

            These elements are further combined by the process called païcékaraëam,  because pure elements are unfit for the creation. Then Lord Brahmä uses these mixed elements to further the creation in the secondary phase, called visarga. He creates the bodies of various living beings according to their stored-up impressions from their previous lives. This includes the creation of his sons born of his mind, such as Atri, Vaçiñöhä, Dakña, Manu, and others. Some of these sons are Prajäpatis, or progenitors, whose offspring populate the universe. The phases of creation continues in cycles, one act giving rise to another, like one seed giving rise to another seed. The fruitive activities of the living entities are the seeds.

            By nature the tiger is a carnivorous animal and the cow is a vegetarian. In either case, one living entity thrives on another, as is said in the Çrémad Bhägavatam (1.13.47):    

"Those who are devoid of hands are prey for those who have hands; those devoid of legs are prey for the four-legged. The weak are the subsistence of the strong, and the general rule holds that one living being is food for another." 

            The various forms of sustenance is called våtti.  Generally immovable beings are the food for the movable beings, but some movable beings, such as the tiger, prey on other movable beings. Human beings are special because of their ability to be either vegetarian or carnivorous. Their livelihood in this regard is decided by their desire or by scriptural injunction. By following their own desires they glide down to hellish species and by following scripture they progress towards liberation.

            Since it is Lord Viñëu's responsibility to maintain law and order He incarnates in every millenium to give protection to His devotees and uproot the demoniac. This is called rakñä or protection. The Lord's appearance is not restricted to any one species.  This is confirmed in the prayers of Prahläda Mahäräja in the Seventh Canto of Çrémad Bhägavatam (7.9.38): itthaà nå-tiryag-åñi-deva jhañävatärair lokän vibhävayasi haàsi jagat pratépän, "My Lord, You appear in various incarnations as a human being, an animal, a great saint, a demigod, a fish, or a tortoise, thus maintaining the entire creation in different planetary systems and annihiliate the miscreants."

            The material creation is manifest for the duration of Lord Brahmä's life span, who lives one hundred years according to his time scale. By human calculation his one day equals one thousand cycles of the four yugas, Satya, Tretä, Dväpara, and Kali. A grand total of four billion, three hundred and twenty million human years. For managerial purposes, a day of Lord Brahmä is divided into fourteen divisons. Each of these divisions is called a Manvantara. The person in charge of this division is called Manu, and along with him are the demigods, such as Candra and Varuëa, Manu's sons, Lord Indra, the seven great sages called the Saptaåñis, and a partial incarnation of the Supreme Lord. They are all appointed for one

Manvantara period. The exploits of these great personalities are called ñaò-dharma. 

            At present we are in the seventh Manu (28th yuga cycle 5,092 year of Kali-yuga in Çveta-Varäù Kalpa), called Vaivasvata Manu, which corresponds to the middle of Brahmä's day, who is in his 51st. year. The Çrémad Bhägavatam names the fourteen Manus, the corresponding incarnations, and the name of Indra in that period: 

MANU	FATHER	CORRESPOND-ING AVATAR	NAME  OF INDRA
1. Sväyambhuva	Brahmä	Yajïa	Yajïa
2. Svärociña	Agni	Vibhu	Rocana
3. Uttama	Priyavrata	Satyasena	Satyajit
4. Tämasa	Priyavrata	Hari	Triçikha
5. Raivata	Priyavrata	Vaikuëöh	Vibhu
6. Cäkñuña	Cakñu	Ajita	Mantradruma
7.Vaivasvata (Sraddhadeva)	Vivasvän	Vämana	Purandara
8. Sävarëi	Vivasvän	Särvabhauma	Bali
9. Dakña Sävarëi	Varuëa	Åñabha	Adbhuta
10. Brahma Sävarëi	Upaçloka	Viñvaksena	Çambhu
11. Dharma Sävarëi	Upaçloka	Dharmasetu	Vaidhåta
12. Rudra Sävarëi	Upaçloka	Svadhämä	Åtadhämä
13. Deva Sävarëi	Upaçloka	Yogeçvara	Divaspati
14. Indra Sävarëi	Upaçloka	Båhadbhä	Çuci

             Two prominent dynasties of kings come from Lord Brahmä--the Sun Dynasty and the Moon Dynasty. The descriptions of the activities of the kings appearing in these dynasties are called the vaàçyänucaritam.

     In the next section, Çréla Jéva Gosvämé defines the remainder of the ten items and concludes Çré Tattva Sandarbha by explaining their purpose.