Texts 1-2
śrī-rājovāca
devāsura-nṛṇāṁ sargo
nāgānāṁ mṛga-pakṣiṇām
sāmāsikas tvayā prokto
yas tu svāyambhuve ’ntare
tasyaiva vyāsam icchāmi
jñātuṁ te bhagavan yathā
anusargaṁ yayā śaktyā
sasarja bhagavān paraḥ
śrī-rājā uvāca — the King said; deva-asura-nṛṇām — of the demigods, the demons and the human beings; sargaḥ — the creation; nāgānām — of the Nāgas (serpentine living entities); mṛga-pakṣiṇām — of the beasts and birds; sāmāsikaḥ — briefly; tvayā — by you; proktaḥ — described; yaḥ — which; tu — however; svāyambhuve — of Svāyambhuva Manu; antare — within the period; tasya — of this; eva — indeed; vyāsam — the detailed account; icchāmi — I wish; jñātum — to know; te — from you; bhagavan — O my lord; yathā — as well as; anusargam — the subsequent creation; yayā — by which; śaktyā — potency; sasarja — created; bhagavān — the Supreme Personality of Godhead; paraḥ — transcendental.
The blessed King said to Śukadeva Gosvāmī: My dear lord, the demigods, demons, human beings, Nāgas, beasts and birds were created during the reign of Svāyambhuva Manu. You have spoken about this creation briefly [in the Third Canto]. Now I wish to know about it elaborately. I also wish to know about the potency of the Supreme Personality of Godhead by which He brought about the secondary creation.