Content
Emergence of daksha
vaiśampāyana uvāca
vaiśampāyana continued:
saḥ sṛṣṭāsu prajāsu evam āpavo vai prajāpatiḥ |
lebhe vai puruṣaḥ patnīṁ śatarūpām ayonijām ||1-2-1
Thus, that half male entity prajāpati āpava, called swayambhuu manu, got śata-rūpa of non-vaginal birth as his wife.
arthena nārī iti – sūchita rītyā, [saḥ, āpavaḥ,] puruṣo bhūtvā, patnīm ca lebhe.
āpavasya mahimnā tu divam āvṛtya tiṣṭhataḥ |
dharmeṇa eva mahārāja śata-rūpā vyajāyata ||1-2-2
Then, oh, king, swayambhu manu, or āpava prajāpati stayed encompassing the firmament by virtue of his yogic power, and his wife designate śata-rūpa manifested herself diversely by the dint of svayambhu's yogic power.
mahimnā – mahatvena; dharmeṇa – yoga-ja puṇyena; sā patnī śata-rūpā= ananta rūpa; vyajāyata – vividha rūpā abhavat.
sā tu varṣa āyutaṁ taptvā tapaḥ parama-dushcharam |
bhartāraṁ dīpta-tapasaṁ puruṣaṁ pratyapadyata ||1-2-3
On following her resplendent husband swayambhu, or āpava, in his impracticable ascesis, which he conducted it for ten thousand years in order to streamline further creation, śata-rūpa gave rise to living beings.
pratyapadyata – santānāyeti śeṣaḥ
sa vai svyāyambhuvaḥ tāta puruṣo manur ucyate |
tasya eka-saptati-yugaṁ manvantaram iha ucyate ||1-2-4
Thus that āpava prajāpati alone is called swāyambhuva manu… oh, sire, janamejaya, a time-cycle consisting seventy one yugas, eras, is named after him, known as a manvantaram…
kimchit adhikām eka saptatim chtur yugam, manvantaram.
vairājāt puruṣāt vīraṁ śata-rūpā vyajāyata |
priya-vrata uttānapādau vīrāt kāmyā vyajāyata ||1-2-5
Then, shata-ruupa gave birth to a son called vīra through this virāṭ, swayambhu manu, and this vīra begot two sons, namely priya-vrata and uttāna-pāda, from a damsel named kāmya.
kāmyā nāma mahābāho kardamasya prajāpateḥ |
kāmya putrāḥ tu catvāraḥ samrāṭ kukṣiḥ virāṭ prabhuḥ |
priya-vrataṁ samāsādya patiṁ sā suṣuve sutān ||1-2-6
There is another damsel named kāmya who is the daughter of kardama prajāpati. This girl on taking priyavrata as her husband gave rise to four sons called sāmrāṭ, kukshi, virāṭ, and prabhu - thus vīra has six sons in total.
vāyupuraṇokta priyavrata mātā kāmyā anyo ityarthaḥ; priyavratasya bhāryā kardama putrī kāmyā anyeti āha.
uttānapādaṁ jagrāha putram atriḥ prajāpatiḥ |
uttānapādāt caturaḥ sūnṛta ajanayat sutān ||1-2-7
Then prajāpati atri adopted uttānapada as his son, and uttānapāda begot four sons from a damsel called sūnṛta, or also called as sunīta.
dharmasya kanyā suśroṇī sūnṛtā nāma viśrutā |
utpannā vāji-medhena dhruvasya jananī śubhā ||1-2-8
dhruvaṁ ca kīrtimantaṁ ca śivaṁ śāntam ayaspatim |
uttānapādaḥ ajanayat sūnṛtāyāṁ prajāpatiḥ ||1-2-9
This curvaceous damsel well-known as sūnṛta is the daughter of dharma. That is to say, this girl actually emerged from the horse-ritual of dharma, hence she is the daughter of dharma, and she is the auspicious mother of dhruva, too. uttānapāda-prajāpati begot four sons through this sūnṛta, who are dhruva, kīrti-manta, a calm-and-collected boy shiva, and ayaspati.
dhruvo varṣa-sahasrāṇi trīṇi divyāni bhārata |
tapaḥ tepe mahārāja prārthayan sumahat yaśaḥ ||1-2-10
tasmai brahmā dadau prītaḥ sthānam apratimaṁ bhuvi |
achalaṁ caiva purataḥ saptarṣīṇāṁ prajāpatiḥ ||1-2-11
And oh, bharata, dhruva undertook ascesis for three thousand divine years, praying for the grace of most glorious almighty. Pleased with his ascesis, brahma, the foremost prajāpati, bestowed upon him a nonpareil and changeless station in the vault of heaven loftier than that of seven-sages constellation, ūrsa Major. This is called dhruva maṇḍala - sphere of North ṣtar.
tasya ati-mātrām ṛddhiṁ ca mahimānaṁ nirīkṣya ca |
deva-asurāṇām ācāryaḥ ślokam api uśanā jagau ||1-2-12
aho'sya tapaso vīryam aho shrutam aho balam |
yad enaṁ purataḥ kṛtvā dhruvaṁ saptarṣayaḥ sthitāḥ ||13
Observing the remarkable achievement and efficacy of ascesis of dhruva, the mentor of gods and demons, namely śukra-ācārya, sung a verse in his honour… 'what a rigour in ascesis… what knowledge in scriptures… what a resolvedness this dhruva has… whereby the seven-sages are standing there keeping him in their van…'
tasmāt śliṣṭiṁ ca bhavyaṁ ca dhruvaṁ ca śambhuḥ vyajāyata |
śliṣṭeḥ ādhatta succāyā paṣca putrān akalmaṣān || 1-2-14
ripuṁ ripuṣjayaṁ puṇyaṁ vṛkalaṁ vṛka-tejasam |
dhruva begot two sons, named śliṣṭi and bhavya, from his wife, namely lady shambhu. And śliṣṭi begot five blemishless sons, namely ripu, ripun-jaya, puṇya, vṛkla, vṛka-teja from his wife named su-ccāyā.
ripoḥ ādhatta bṛhatī cākṣuṣaṁ sarva-tejasam || ||1-2-15
And from ripu his wife named bṛhati gave rise to most effulgent son named cākśuṣa.
ajījanat puṣkariṇyāṁ vīraṇyāṁ cākṣuṣo manum |
There emerged a son, called manu, to this cākśuṣa through his wife named puṣkariṇi, the daughter of vīraṇa.
prajāpateḥ ātmajāyām araṇyasya mahātmanaḥ ||1-2-16||
manoḥ ajāyanta daśa naḍvalāyāṁ mahaujasaḥ |
kanyāyām abhavat śreṣṭhā vairājasya prajāpateḥ ||1-2-17
From this highly resplendent manu who took birth in the lineage of virāṭ, there emerged ten sons of outstanding nature through manu's wife, called lady naḍvala, who incidentally is the daughter of the great-souled araṇya.
ūruḥ puruḥ śata-dyumnaḥ tapasvī satyavān kaviḥ |
agniṣṭut ati-rātraḥ ca sudyumnaḥ ca iti te nava ||1-2-18
abhimanyuḥ ca daśamo naḍvalāyāḥ sutāḥ smṛtāḥ |
ūru, puru, shata-dyumna, tapasvi, satyavān, kavi, agni-ṣṭuta, ati-rātra, and sudyumna - these are nine, and the tenth one is abhimanyu; these are renowned as the sons of lady naḍwala.
ūror ajanayat putrān ṣaḍ āgneyī mahāprabhān |
aṅgaṁ sumanasaṁ khyātiṁ kratum aṅgirasaṁ gayam ||1-2-19
From ūru, the daughter of agni, namely lady āgneyi, gave rise to six highly brilliant sons, and they are - anga, sumana, khyāti, kratu, angīrasa, and gaya.
angīrasam - shibim iti arthaḥ - angīrasa is shibi cakravarty.
aṅgāt sunītha apatyaṁ vai venam ekam ajāyata |
apacārāt tu venasya prakopaḥ sumahān abhūt ||1-2-20
From anga, his wife named lady sunītha, the daughter of mṛtyu, gave rise to one son, whose name is vena. But, vena invited utmost wrath of sages owing to his sacrilegious acts, whereby sages cursed him to die.
sunīthā anga bhāryā mṛtyoḥ putrī...
prajārtham ṛṣayo yasya mamnthur dakṣiṇaṁ karam |
venasya pāṇau mathite babhūva munibhiḥ pṛthuḥ ||1-2-21
But the sages put vena's arms to friction with a view to obtain his progeny, and while sages are thus chafing, there emerged emperor pṛthu, from the right palm of vena.
vena inherited all heartless features of death from his maternal grandfather, namely the Death, and terrorised all. Then the sages, unable to bear with his cruel acts cursed him to die. When he is dead, the sages have seen in to future, and then they started to rub the thighs of vena, as they would rub two wooden sticks to produce ritual fire - araṇi. There emerged a very black tribal person with gruesome appearance, named bāhuka, from vena's thighs. This black person is the personification of the cruel acts and attitude of vena. The sages drove him away to forests as he is unacceptable. Then again the sages rubbed the arms of vena, i.e., placed one palm on the other and rubbed. Then the prospective emperor pṛthu has emerged out of the right palm of dead vena. This episode comes in later chapters.
taṁ dṛṣṭvā ṛṣayaḥ prāhur eṣa vai muditāḥ prajāḥ |
kariṣyati mahātejā yaśaḥ ca prāpsyate mahat ||1-2-22
On seeing pṛthu, the sages have said in certainty that, "this highly resplendent boy, namely pṛthu, will acquire fame and renown, and he will make people happy…"
eṣa pṛthu prajāḥ muditāḥ kariṣyati - iti anvayaḥ
sa dhanvī kavacī khaḍgī tejasā nirdahan iva |
pṛthur vainyaḥ tadā ca imāṁ rarakṣa kṣtra-pūrvajaḥ ||1-2-23
As if to burn down adversaries, this earliest kshatriya pṛthu wielded bow, armour and sword, whereby he safeguarded this earth.
rāja-sūya abhiṣiktānām ādyaḥ sa vasudha-adhipaḥ |
tasmāt caiva samutpannau nipuṇau sūta-māgadhau ||1-2-24
And pṛthu is the foremost among the kings that are re-anointed through rājasūya ritual, and there emerged sūta-s, the balladeers, who sing the glory of kings; and māgadhā-s, the minstrels, who sing the praise of the dynasties of kings, from the ritual fire of pṛthu's rājasūya ritual.
tena ayaṁ gaur mahārāja dugdhā sasyāni bhārata |
prajānāṁ vṛtti-kāmena devaiḥ sa-rṣi-gaṇaiḥ saha ||1-2-25
In order to make the welfare of people flourishing, oh, king, this pṛthu foregathered the assemblies of sages and gods, made the earth as a milch cow, and milked it; whereby the earth has yielded all kinds of earthly produce, let alone abundant crops - but, how it has happened… you listen...
pitṛbhir dānavaiḥ caiva gandharvaiḥ sa apsaro-gaṇaiḥ |
sarpaiḥ puṇya-janaiḥ caiva vīrudbhiḥ parvataiḥ tathā ||1-2-26
teṣu teṣu ca pātreṣu duhyamānā vasundharā |
prādāt yathā īpsitaṁ kṣīraṁ tena prāṇān adhārayan ||1-2-27
When the assemblages of manes, dānavā-s, gandharvā-s, apsara-s, reptiles, yaksha-s [puṇya jana], together with trees and mountains have taken up milking vessels and milked cowlike earth, earth has given milk / produce according as their requirement, and all of them felt that their livelihood is unhindered. That is to say, pṛthu met with all the requirements of earthlings by propitiating mother earth.
pṛthu's activities will be detailed in chapter 5 of harivamsha; which can also be found in raghuvamsha of kālidasa.
pṛthu putrau tu dharmajṣau jajṣāte antardhi pālitau |
śikhaṇḍinī havirdhānam antardhānāt vyajāyata ||1-2-28
pṛthu had two virtuous sons, namely antar-dhī and pālita, and antardhī begot a son named havidhāna from his wife named lady śikhaṇḍini.
havirdhānāt ṣaḍ āgneyī dhiṣaṇa ajanayat sutān |
prācīna-barhiṣaṁ śuklaṁ gayaṁ kṛṣṇaṁ vraja ajinau ||1-2-29
And the daughter of agni, namely lady dhiṣaṇa, gave rise to six sons of havidhāna. They by their names are: prācīna-barhi, śukla, gaya, kṛṣṇa, vraja, and ajina.
prācīna-barhir bhagavān mahān āsīt prajāpatiḥ |
havirdhānāt maharāja yena saṁvardhitāḥ prajāḥ ||1-2-30
And oh, great king janamejaya, that godly prajāpati prācīna-barhi fared better than his father havirdhāna in the augmentation of people and in kingcraft.
prācīna agrāḥ kuśāḥ tasya pṛthivyāṁ janamejaya |
prācīnabarhir bhagavān pṛthivī-tala-cāriṇaḥ ||1-2-31
Oh, janamejaya, when the sacred grass is spread on earth with their tips pointing to east in his vedic-rituals, that grass looked like sprawling on whole of the earth, indicating the wideness of his sway on earth, and hence he is known as godly prācīna-brahi.
samudra-tanayāyāṁ tu kṛta-dāro'bhavat prabhuḥ |
mahatas tapasaḥ pāre savarṇāyāṁ mahīpatiḥ ||1-2-32
And after a long lasting ascesis that lord and king prācīna-barhi married the daughter of ocean, namely lady sāvarṇi.
savarṇi ādhatta sāmudrī daśa prācīna-barhiṣaḥ |
sarve pracetaso nāma dhanur-vedasya pāragān ||1-2-33
And lady sāvarṇī gave rise to ten sons of prācīna-barhi, where those ten sons are called by a single collective name - prācetasa-s, who are experts in missile-archery.
apṛthag-dharma-caraṇāḥ te'tapyanta mahat tapaḥ |
daśa-varṣa-sahasrāṇi samudra-salileśayāḥ ||1-2-34
That fraternity of ten have a common school in duty and action, and at certain time they undertook a rigorous ascesis for ten thousand years submersed in oceanic water.
tapaḥ caratsu pṛthivīṁ pracetaḥ tu mahīruhāḥ |
arakṣyamāṇām āvavrur babhūva atha prajā-kṣayaḥ ||1-2-35
And when those ten brothers are deep in their ascesis, then the earth has become unprotected because she lacked a protector, whereby the overspread of trees on earth has become so thick that the earth is unventilated, whereof people started to perish.
nāśakan māruto vātuṁ vṛtaṁ kham abhavat drumaiḥ |
daśa varṣa sahasrāṇi na śekuḥ ceṣṭituṁ prajāḥ ||1-2-36
In ten thousand years trees mushroomed overhead, and air ceased to circulate, whereupon living-beings are rendered inanimate.
tat upashrutya tapasā yuktāḥ sarve pracetasaḥ |
mukhebhyo vāyum agniṁ ca te asasṛjur jāta-manyavaḥ ||1-2-37
On noticing this situation with an ascetic intuition, all the ten prācetasa-s furiously vented air as well as fire from their faces.
unmūlān atha vṛkṣāṁ tān kṛtvā vāyur aśoṣayat |
tān agnir adahat ghora evam āsīt druma-kṣayaḥ ||1-2-38
Then that air dried up and uprooted those trees, while the fiery fire burnt them down. Thus those overgrown trees perished.
druma-kṣayam atho buddhvā kiṁcit chiṣṭeṣu śākhiṣu |
upagamya abravīt etān rājā somaḥ prajāpatīn ||1-2-39
Noticing the near-extinction of trees in a non-stop manner, the king of vegetation, namely soma, or candra - the presiding deity of the moon, also called rāja, the king, approached the ten prācetasa brothers and spoke to them in this way.
soma is the lord of the power of assimilation and taste, giver of plant life whereby animals thrive on plants, deity for music and the measures of time, giver of medicinal touch to certain plants through moonbeams etc. Instead of saying every time that soma is the adhi-devata, or pratyadhi-devata of moon, the planet etc., it is usually said that soma is moon, or candra.
kopaṁ yacchata rājānaḥ sarve prācīnabarhiṣaḥ |
vṛkṣa-śūnyā kṛtā pṛthvī śāmyatām agni-mārutau ||1-2-40
"All of you, oh, prācetasa-kings, may please leave off your fury… oh, sons of prācīna-brahi… you have almost bared the earth of her trees… now let the blazing fire and eroding air surcease…" So started soma to advice prācetasas...
ratna-bhūtā ca kanya iyaṁ vṛkṣāṇāṁ vara-varṇinī |
bhaviṣyaṁ jānatā tāta dhṛtā garbheṇa vai mayā ||1-2-41
"This girl, a jewel among beauties, is the daughter of vegetation, and as I am aware of the futurity I have contained and nurtured her in my womb…
māriṣā nāma kanyā iyam vṛkṣāṇām iti nirmitā |
bhāryā vo'stu mahā-bhāgāḥ soma-vaṁśa-vivardhinī ||1-2-42
"She who is formulated by vegetation is māriṣa by her name, and oh, high-minded prachetā-s, she being the augmenter of lunar dynasty, you accept her as your wife…
As sun depletes the moisture on earth to return it as rain, moon also takes the sap in plants, especially from herbs, and plants yielding oil, only to shower it back on those plants, after processing it with his nectarine touch. Hence moon is the presiding deity of medicinal plants. vṛṣṭirvai vṛṣṭvā candramasamanupravishyati - shruti.
yuṣmākaṁ tejaso'rdhena mama ca ardhena tejasaḥ |
asyām utpatsyate putro dakṣo nāma prajāpatiḥ ||1-2-43||
sa imāṁ dagdha-bhūyiṣṭhāṁ yuṣmat tejo-mayena vai |
agninā agni-samo bhūyaḥ prajāḥ saṁvardhayiṣyati ||1-2-44
"You can give rise to a prajāpati named daksha through her, combining half of your vitality and half that of mine… and that daksha will be blazing like fire, and he will regenerate people on this earth that is almost burnt down with your yogic fire…" So said soma to prācetasas.
tataḥ somasya vacanāt jagṛhuḥ te pracetasaḥ |
saṁhṛtya kopaṁ vṛkṣebhyaḥ patnīṁ dharmeṇa māriṣām ||1-2-45
Then, pracetasā-s on listening to the words of soma, the moon, controlled their anger towards trees, and took māriṣa as their collective wife, ritually.
māriṣa is the forerunner to draupadi in polyandry, minus physical marital relation with her husbands. Next it is said that her husbands implanted an astral pregnancy in her - manasā garbham…
māriṣāyāṁ tataḥ te vai manasā garbham ādadhuḥ |
daśabhyas tu pracetobhyo māriṣāyāṁ prajāpatiḥ |
dakṣo jajṣe mahā-tejāḥ somasya aṁśena bhārata||1-2-46
Then, oh, king janamejaya, all the ten prācetasā-s have astrally impregnated māriṣa, and through her they begot a highly resplendent prajāpati named daksha, who emerged with a shade of anima of soma, the moon…
He is daksha II, not to be confounded with daksha from among nava-brahma-s, or nava-prajāpati-s, who emerged out of the thumb of four-faced brahma.
putrān utpādayāmāsa soma-vaṁśa-vivardhanān |
acarāṁ ca carāṁ caiva dvipado atha catuṣ-padaḥ |
sa dṛṣṭvā manasā dakṣaḥ paścāt api asṛjat striyaḥ ||1-2-47
Later, daksha prajāpati started to bring forth those living beings that can augment the kindred of moon. He also brought forth sessile, mobile, bipeds, and quadrupeds. And then he devised females, on envisioning the need for the recipient of seed.
dadau saḥ daśa dharmāya kaśyapāya trayodaśa |
śiṣṭāḥ somāya rājṣe atha nakṣatra-ākhyā dadau prabhuḥ ||1-2-2-48
And that lord daksha gave ten of those females to dharma; thirteen to kashyapa prajāpati; and the remaining ones, twenty-seven of them, to the king soma, namely moon, since those twenty-seven females bear the names of constellations like ashvini, bharaṇi, kṛttika etc.
This son of prachetasā-s and māriṣa is daksha II. He got sixty daughters from his wife named asikni. Apart from the following daughters, he gave four to ariṣṭanemi, two to angīrasa, two to kṛśāśva, two to bahuputra.
Names of daksha prāpatis's 10 daughters given to dharma their progeny arundhati earth with all her paraphenalia vasu eight vasu-s - bhīṣma is one of them in earlier birth yāmi / jāmi presiding deity of thick forest langha / lamba ghoṣa / vidyota bhānu bhānu-s marudvati marutvanta; jayanta samkalpa samkalpa-s - the volition to do anything positive muhūrta mauhīrtika-s sādhya sādhyā-s viśva viśve-devā-s
Names of daksha's 13
daughters given kashyapa their progeny 1. diti daityā-s 2. aditi ādityā-s 3. danu dānavā-s 4. anāyu, or anuaga siddhā-s 5. prātha gandharvā-s 6. muni apsarasa-s, and gandharvā-s called māneyā-s 7. surasa yakśā-s, rākśasā-s 8. ila vṛkśa, latā, tṛṇa - trees, plants, creepers - all flora 9. krodhavasha lions, tigers - all carnivorous fauna 10. tāmra avians like eagles, birds, and horses, asses, camels etc 11. kapila, or, surabhi go gaṇa - cows and cattle 12. vinata anūru, garuḍa 13. kadruva reptiles
The names of 27 constellations given to moon: ashvini, bharani, kṛttika, rohini, mRigashira, ārdra, purnavasu, pushya, āśsleṣa, magha, pūrva-phalguṇi, uttara-phalguṇi, hast, citra, swāti, viśākha, anurādha, jyeṣṭha, mūla, pūrva- āṣāḍha, uttara- āṣāḍha, śravaṇa, dhaniṣṭha, śata-bhiṣa, pūrva-bhādra, uttara-bhādra, and revati.
tāsu devāḥ khagā nāgā gāvo ditija-dānavāḥ |
gandharva apsarasaḥ caiva jajṣire anyāḥ ca jātayaḥ ||1-2-49
And from those females and respective males, gods, birds, serpents, cows, daitya-dānava-gadharvā-s, apsara-s have emerged, besides a host of other living beings of diverse species.
tataḥ prabhṛti rājendrāḥ prajā maithuna-sambhavā |
saṁkalpāt darśanāt sparśāt pūrveṣāṁ sṛṣṭir ucyate ||1-2-50
From then on, the biogenetic creation prospered, whereas creation earlier to this is just based on volition, sight and touch - samkalpa, darshana, sparsha…
janamejaya uvāca -
then janamejaya asked vaiśampāyana:
devānāṁ dānavānāṁ ca gandharva-uraga-rakṣasām |
sambhavaḥ kathitaḥ pūrvam dakṣasya ca mahātmanaḥ ||1-2-51
aṅguṣṭhāt brahmaṇo jāto dakṣaḥ proktaḥ tvayā anagha |
vāma aṅguṣṭhāt tathā caiva tasya patnī vyajāyata ||1-2-52
kathaṁ prācetasatvaṁ sa punar lebhe mahātapāḥ |
etan me saṁśayaṁ vipra samyak ākhyātuṁ arhasi |
dauhitraḥ caiva somasya kathaṁ śvaśuratāṁ gataḥ ||1-2-53
"Oh, sage, earlier you have narrated about the generation of deva-dānava-gandharva-rākśa-s by the noble souled daksha… and oh, blemishless sage, you yourself have said that daksha has emerged from the right thumb of brahma, and his wife from the left thumb… but how daksha has emerged as the son of prachetasā-s once again; and how daksha being the grandson of soma, the moon, has become a father-in-law of that soma… these are my doubts… and, oh, brahmaṇa, it will be apt of you to clear this doubt of mine…
vaiśampāyana uvāca
vaiśampāyana replied in this way:
utpattiḥ ca nirodhaḥ ca nityau bhūteṣu pārthiva |
ṛṣayo atra na muhyanti vidvāṁsaḥ caiva ye janāḥ ||1-2-54
yuge yuge bhavanti ete sarve dakṣa ādayo nṛpa |
punaḥ caiva nirudhyante vidvān tatra na muhyati ||1-2-55
jyaiṣṭhyaṁ kāniṣṭhyamapyeṣāṁ pūrvaṁ na āsīt janādhipa |
tapa eva garīyo ābhūt prabhāvaḥ caiva kāraṇam ||1-2-56
imāṁ visṛṣṭiṁ dakṣasya yo vidyāt sa carācarām |
prajāvān āpat-uttīrṇaḥ svarga-loke mahīyate ||1-2-57
"Oh, king, birth and death are consecutive factors to living beings… scholars and sages are not deluded by them… and oh, king, these daksha and others come to being and depart, era after era, for which scholars are not intrigued… likewise, who is first and who is next - is also not reckoned earlier… ascesis and its impact used to be the main criterion… thus, oh, king, whoever comes to know that the creation of sessile and mobile universe is owing to daksha prajāpati, he will flourish with a vast family as long as he is on earth, and attain heaven at the end of it…
janamejaya's point seems to have remained unanswered. The names of daksha, prajāpati, even brahma, viṣṇu, maheshvara etc are not names of some people, but titles of some entities. These entities occur in every yuga, era, and evanish with that era. Here, daksha-s are two, one came out of the thumb of brahma at the start of creation, and the second daksha who procreated mobile and sessile, is a later time entity. Generally the time gap indicated in subtext will be missed. Here itself two kinds of creation, one samkalpa śṛṣṭi and the other biogenetic are clearly said.
The same scene is there in viṣṇu purāṇa, with almost verbatim dialog:
ṁāīṭREYā.--ḍakśa, as I have formerly heard, was born from the right thumb of Brahm*: tell me, great Muni, how he was regenerate as the son of the Prachetasas. Considerable perplexity also arises in my mind, how he, who, as the son of M*rish*, was the grandson of Soma, could be also his father-in-law.
PAR**āRā.--Birth and death are constant in all creatures: Rishis and sages, possessing divine vision, are not perplexed by this. Daksha and the other eminent Munis are present in every age, and in the interval of destruction cease to be of this the wise man entertains no doubt. Amongst them of old there was neither senior nor junior; rigorous penance and acquired power were the sole causes of any difference of degree amongst these more than human beings. - HH Wilson's translation.
The same will be in brahma purāṇa:
munaya ūcuḥ:
devānāṁ dānavānāṁ ca gandharvoragarakṣasām |
saṁbhavas tu shruto asmābhir dakṣasya mahatmanaḥ ||1-2- 51
anguṣṭhād brahmaṇo jajjṅe dakṣaḥ kila śubhavrataḥ |
vāmāṅguṣṭhāt tathā caivaṁ tasya patnī vyajāyata ||1-2- 52
kathaṁ prācetasatvaṁ ca punar lebhe mahātapāḥ |
etaṁ naḥ saṁśayaṁ sūta vyākhyātuṁ tvam ihārhasi |
dauhitrash caiva somasya kathaṁ śvaśuratāṁ gataḥ ||1-2- 53, brahma purāṇa
--o)0(o--
iti śrī-mahābhārate khila-bhāge hari-vaṁśe hari-vaṁśa-parvaṇi prajā-sarge
dakṣotpatti-kathane dvitīyo'dhyāyaḥ || 2
Thus, this is the second chapter of first canto called harivamsha-parva, in harivamśa-purāṇa, the sequel of mahābhārata, narrating the the emergence of dakśa-prajāpati.
--o)0(o--