मनुरुवाच
ब्रह्मासृजत्स्वमुखतो युष्मानात्मपरीप्सया ।
छन्दोमयस्तपोविद्या योगयुक्तानलम्पटान् ॥२॥

manur uvÄca
brahmÄsá¹›jat sva-mukhato
yuá¹£mÄn Ätma-parÄ«psayÄ
chandomayas tapo-vidyÄ-
yoga-yuktÄn alampaá¹­Än

 manuḥ - Manu; uvÄca - said; brahmÄ - Lord BrahmÄ; asá¹›jat - created; sva-mukhataḥ - from his face; yuá¹£mÄn - you (brÄhmaṇas); Ätma-parÄ«psayÄ - to protect himself by expanding; chandaḥ-mayaḥ - the form of the Vedas; tapaḥ-vidyÄ-yoga-yuktÄn - full of austerity, knowledge and mystic power; alampaá¹­Än - averse to sense gratification.


Text

Manu replied: To expand himself in Vedic knowledge, Lord BrahmÄ, the personified Veda, from his face created you, the brÄhmaṇas, who are full of austerity, knowledge and mystic power and are averse to sense gratification.

Purport

The purpose of the Vedas is to propagate the transcendental knowledge of the Absolute Truth. The brÄhmaṇas were created from the mouth of the Supreme Person, and therefore they are meant to spread the knowledge of the Vedas in order to spread the glories of the Lord. In Bhagavad-gÄ«tÄ also Lord Kṛṣṇa says that all the Vedas are meant for understanding the Supreme Personality of Godhead. It is especially mentioned here (yoga-yuktÄn alampaá¹­Än) that brÄhmaṇas are full of mystic power and are completely averse to sense gratification. Actually there are two kinds of occupations. One occupation, in the material world, is sense gratification, and the other occupation is spiritual activity — to satisfy the Lord by His glorification. Those who engage in sense gratification are called demons, and those who spread the glorification of the Lord or satisfy the transcendental senses of the Lord are called demigods. It is specifically mentioned here that the brÄhmaṇas are created from the face of the cosmic personality, or virÄá¹­-puruá¹£a. Similarly, the ká¹£atriyas are said to be created from His arms, the vaiÅ›yas are created from His waist, and the śūdras are created from His legs. BrÄhmaṇas are especially meant for austerity, learning and knowledge and are averse to all kinds of sense gratification.