Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 3.20.22
देवता: प्रभया या या दीव्यन् प्रमुखतोऽसृजत् ।
ते अहार्षुर्देवयन्तो विसृष्टां तां प्रभामह: ॥ २२ ॥
devatāḥ prabhayā yā yā
[devataah prabhayaa yaa yaa]
dīvyan pramukhato ’sṛjat
[deevyan pramukhato ’srijat]
te ahārṣur devayanto
[te ahaarshur devayanto]
visṛṣṭāṁ tāṁ prabhām ahaḥ
[visrishtaam taam prabhaam ahah]
Word-for-word
devatāḥ
—
the demigods
prabhayā
—
with the glory of light
yāḥ yāḥ
—
those who
dīvyan
—
shining
pramukhataḥ
—
chiefly
asṛjat
—
created
te
—
they
ahārṣuḥ
—
took possession of
devayantaḥ
—
being active
visṛṣṭām
—
separated
tām
—
that
prabhām
—
effulgent form
ahaḥ
—
daytime.
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
devatāḥ prabhayā yā yā
devatāḥ
the demigods
prabhayā
with the glory of light
yāḥ yāḥ
those who
dīvyan pramukhato ’sṛjat
dīvyan
shining
pramukhataḥ
chiefly
asṛjat
created
te ahārṣur devayanto
te
they
ahārṣuḥ
took possession of
devayantaḥ
being active
visṛṣṭāṁ tāṁ prabhām ahaḥ
visṛṣṭām
separated
tām
that
prabhām
effulgent form
ahaḥ
daytime.
He then created the chief demigods, who were shining with the glory of goodness. He dropped before them the effulgent form of daytime, and the demigods sportingly took possession of it.
Purport
Demons were born from the creation of night, and the demigods were born from the creation of day. In other words, demons like the Yakṣas and Rākṣasas are born of the quality of ignorance, and demigods are born of the quality of goodness.
— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Gauḍīya Ācāryas
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura
Gauḍīya
Translation
Shining with his effulgence, Brahmā then created the chief devatās. The devatās accepted that effulgence which Brahmā gave up, and which became the day, and they played with it.
Brahmā shone with an effulgent body composed of sattva. He created the chief devatās. Yāḥ refers to te. They accepted that effulgent body which he gave up, which took the form of the day. Why? They accepted the day in order to play with it. Just as the night resides with the Yakṣas and Rākṣasas, the day is the abode of the devatās. Jīva Gosvāmī says that div, belonging to the cur class of verbs, means “to wish for.” The devatās wished for or requested the day. Purity, the mentality of sattva appeared in the mind of Brahmā. From that the devatās appeared. That purity became the day. The devatās then accepted the day. That is the sequence.
Related lectures
Personal Guidance
The cosmology here is not abstract scenery — it locates the reader inside a vast, intelligent order. Seeing your tiny role in this design quietly cools the urge to make yourself the centre.
Reflection Questions
- Where have you been demanding outcomes from a system you did not design?
- Which 'cosmic' problem are you trying to solve when your actual task is just to play your small part well?
My note
Source: vedabase.io