“The First Story of Woman and Man The Story Before Creation

An excerpt from my upcoming book, “Woman + Man: Why do they fight even though they are complementary?

“The First Story of Woman and Man

The Story Before Creation

A woman from the left side of Brahma and a man from the right side, a long, long time ago, when nothing existed. There was no earth, no sky, no sun, no moon. All around there was only deep darkness and water everywhere.

At that time, there was only one Supreme Being whom we call Parabrahma. He was without attributes, without form, and all alone. Then, in the mind of that formless Parabrahma, a desire arose—“Eko’ham Bahusyam,” meaning “I am one; may I become many.” With that one desire, creation began. By His own divine play, that Parabrahma took three forms of Himself so that the work of creation could go on—for creation, Brahma; for preservation, Vishnu; and for dissolution, Shiva. We call them the Trinity.

To Brahma—the work of creating the universe (Creation) To Vishnu—the work of sustaining the universe (preservation). Just as parents nurture their child, Vishnu sustains the entire creation. Whenever unrighteousness increases on earth, He incarnates to protect righteousness. To Shiva—the work of dissolution. Dissolution does not mean to end but to remove the old and impure to make space for the new. Just as a farmer harvests the old crop so that a new one can grow. Shiva destroys ego and evil. In this way, Brahma creates, Vishnu preserves, and Shiva dissolves to make way for new creation again. The work of all three is incomplete without each other.

Brahma Ji first created 4 Kumars, 7 sages, and Daksha from his mind. They are called “Manas Putras” (mind-born sons). The 4 Kumars were ascetics from childhood and left for penance. In the beginning, everyone was born from the mind, not from marriage. Therefore, creation was not growing rapidly. Brahma Ji became worried. How will creation move forward? Brahma Ji understood that creation will not grow like this, from the mind alone. Then he did intense penance. Due to the intensity of penance, his body vibrated. Because of the penance, Brahma Ji’s body divided into two parts. From the left part, an extremely beautiful woman appeared. Compassion, love, and motherly affection radiated from her body. From the right part, a radiant man appeared. An aura of power and knowledge emanated from his body. It is written in the scriptures that they were the first couple of creation. The woman was named “Shatarupa” because her beauty was equal to a hundred forms. The man was named “Swayambhu Manu” because he manifested on his own. This is called “Maithuni Srishti,” meaning creation will now grow through the union of women and men.

For the nourishment of the human form, Brahma Ji first created food, water, medicines, and other resources in the entire creation from his mind. When the complete arrangement for living and sustenance was done, then Brahma Ji himself performed the marriage of Swayambhu Manu and Shatarupa, who had appeared from his body, and ordered them, “You both go to earth and take creation forward.” It was Brahma Ji who solemnized the marriage of Manu and Shatarupa so that Maithuni Srishti could begin. With this marriage, for the first time “Maithuni Srishti” started, meaning children being born from the union of woman and man. The human race slowly developed from the union of the first man, Swayambhu Manu, and the first woman, Shatarupa. Because we are the children of Manu, we are all called Manav, Manushya, or Manush. The daughters of Manu and Shatarupa were then married to those sages and Daksha Prajapati, and then the entire human lineage progressed.

According to Indian culture, the first marriage of the universe is of Shiv-Parvati, which is a symbol of the union of Purusha and Prakriti. While the first marriage of human creation was of Manu and Shatarupa, from whom the human lineage grew. This proves that from the beginning, woman and man are complementary to each other. Manu and Shatarupa did penance.

Then they had two sons, Priyavrata and Uttanapada, and three daughters, Akriti, Devahuti, and Prasuti. Priyavrata became a very glorious king. Uttanapada’s son was Dhruva, who did intense penance and attained God. Akriti was married to Sage Ruchi; Devahuti was married to Sage Kardam, in whose house Lord Kapil incarnated; and Prasuti was married to Daksha Prajapati. Later, Daksha Prajapati had 60 daughters. They were married to different sages and deities. Similarly, Kardam Rishi and Devahuti had 9 daughters and 1 son. Slowly, the entire earth was filled with the lineage of Manu and Shatarupa. Humans, deities, Gandharvas, and sages all originated from them. That is why Manu is called the “Father of Mankind” and Shatarupa is called the “Mother of Mankind.”

We learn 3 lessons from this story:

First, a woman and a man are equal. Both emerged from the same body of Brahma Ji. Neither is smaller nor bigger.

Second, creation is not complete without one. Creation cannot run with only a man or only a woman alone. A balance of both is necessary.

Third—The importance of family and domestic life. Creation does not run on renunciation alone. That is why Maithuni Srishti began. In this way, woman originated from the left part of Brahma Ji and man from the right part.

The entire human civilization started from Manu and Shatarupa. Even today we are a part of that same tradition. That is why in every puja, in every yagna, the presence of both woman and man is considered necessary. Therefore, woman and man are complementary to each other, not competitors. To run creation beautifully, not competition but coordination and harmony are needed.

Request: Stories of creation are found in many forms in many Puranas. I have made a small attempt to weave my heart’s feelings into this story according to my understanding and devotion. If any mistake has been left in it, I sincerely apologize from my heart.