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.