sṛṣṭvā purāṇi vividhāny ajayātma-śaktyā
sṛṣṭvā purāṇi vividhāny ajayātma-śaktyā
vṛkṣān sarīsṛpa-paśūn khaga-dandaśūkān |
tais tair atuṣṭa-hṛdayaḥ puruṣaṁ vidhāya
brahmāvaloka-dhiṣaṇaṁ mudam āpa devaḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 11.9.28)
“After creating trees, reptiles, animals, birds, snakes, and various [other] bodies with his own śakti ajā [i.e., māyā] and being unsatisfied at heart with them, Deva [i.e., Bhagavān] made the human being, endowed with an intellect for perception of Brahman [i.e., with the capacity to realize the him, the Supreme,] and became pleased.”