अयं तु ब्रह्मणः कल्पः सविकल्प उदाहृतः विधिः साधारणो यत्र सर्गाः प्राकृतवैकृताः
ayaṁ tu brahmaṇaḥ kalpaḥ sa-vikalpa udāhṛtaḥ vidhiḥ sādhāraṇo yatra sargāḥ prākṛta-vaikṛtāḥ
Synonyms
ayam—this process of creation and annihilation; tu—but; brahmaṇaḥ—of Brahmā; kalpaḥ—his one day; sa-vikalpaḥ—along with the duration of the universes; udāhṛtaḥ—exemplified; vidhiḥ—regulative principles; sādhāraṇaḥ—in summary; yatra—wherein; sargāḥ—creation; prākṛta—in the matter of material nature; vaikṛtāḥ—disbursement..
Translation
This process of creation and annihilation described herein is in summary the regulative principle during the duration of Brahmā's one day, as well as the creation of mahat in which the material nature is dispersed.
Purport
There are three different types of creation, called mahākalpa, vikalpa and kalpa. In the mahākalpa the Lord assumes the first incarnation of Puruṣa as Kāraṇodakaśāyī Viṣṇu with all the potencies of mahat-tattva and the sixteen principles of creative matter and instruments. The creative instruments are eleven, and the ingredients are five, and all of them are products of mahat or materialistic ego, and these creations by the Lord in His feature of Kāraṇodakaśāyī Visnu are called mahākalpa. Creation of Brahmā and dispersion of the material ingredients are called vikalpa, and creation by Brahmā in each day of his life is called kalpa. Therefore each day of Brahmā is called a kalpa, and there are thirty kalpas in terms of Brahmā's days, which is also confirmed in the Bhagavad-gītā as follows:
sahasra-yuga-paryantam ahar yad brahmaṇo viduḥ
rātiṁ yuga-sahasrāntāṁ te 'horātravido janāḥ
(Bg. 8.17)
In the upper planetary system the duration of one complete day and night is equal to one complete year of this earth. This is accepted even by the modern scientist and testified by the astronauts. Similarly, in the region of still higher planetary systems, the duration of day and night is still greater than in the heavenly planets. The four yugas are calculated in terms of the heavenly calendars and accordingly are twelve thousand years in terms of the heavenly planets. This is called divya-yuga, and one thousand divya-yugas make one day of Brahmā. Creation during the day of Brahmā is called kalpa, and creation of Brahmā is called vikalpa, and when vikalpas are made possible by the breathing of Mahā-Viṣṇu they are called mahākalpa. There are regular and systematic cycles of these mahākalpas, vikalpas and kalpas, and in answer to Mahārāja Parīkṣit's question about them, Śukadeva Gosvāmī answered in the Prabhāsa-khaṇḍa of the Skanda Purāṇa, and they are as follows:
prathamaḥ śvetakalpas tu dvitīyo nīlalohitaḥ
vāmadevas tṛtīyas tu tato gāthāntaroparaḥ
saptaviṁśo 'tha vairājo gaurīkalpas tathāparaḥ
māheśvaras tathā proktas tripuro yatra ghātitaḥ
pitṛkalpas tathā cānte yaḥ kuhur brahmaṇaḥ smṛtāḥ
Therefore the thirty kalpas of Brahmā are: 1. Śvetakalpa, 2. Nīlalohita, 3. Vāmadeva, 4. Gāthāntara, 5. Raurava, 6. Prāṇa, 7. Bṛhatkalpa, 8. Kandarpa, 9. Savyotha, 10. Īśāna, 11. Dhyāna, 12. Sārasvata, 13. Udāna, 14.Garuḍa, 15. Kaurma, 16. Nārasiṁha, 17. Samādhi, 18. Āgneya, 19. Viṣṇuja, 20. Saura, 21. Somakalpa, 22. Bhāvana, 23. Supuma, 24. Vaikuṇṭha, 25. Arciṣa, 26. Vallīkalpa, 27. Vairāja, 28. Gaurīkalpa, 29. Māheśvara, 30. Paitṛkalpa.
These are Brahmā's days only, and he has to live months and years up to one hundred, so we can just imagine how many creations there are in kalpas only. Then again there are vikalpas which are generated by the breathing of Mahā-Viṣṇu, as is stated in the Brahma-saṁhitā (yasyaika-niśvasita-kālam athāvalambya jīvanti lomavilajā jagadaṇḍa-nāthāḥ). The Brahmās live only during the breathing period of Mahā-Viṣṇu. So the exhaling and inhaling of Viṣṇu are mahākalpas, and all these are due to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, for no one else is the master of all creations.