Canto 2 -
Ayodhyā-kāṇḍa
Chapter 110: Vasiṣṭha Requests Rāma to Accept the Throne
Text 2.110.3
सर्वं सलिलमेवासीत्पृथिवी यत्र निर्मिता।
ततः समभवद्ब्रह्मा स्वयंभूर्दैवतैः सह॥
sarvaṁ salilam evāsīt pṛthivī yatra nirmitā
tataḥ samabhavad brahmā svayam-bhūr daivataiḥ saha
sarvam salilam eva = an ocean was all that; āsīt = was there; pṛthivī = and the earth; yatra = on it; nirmitā = was created; tataḥ = then; samabhavat = appeared; brahmā = Brahmā; svayam-bhūḥ = the self-born; daivataiḥ saha = with the deities.
“An ocean was all that was there and the earth was created on it. Then Brahmā, the self-born, appeared with the deities.
1 Rāmāyaṇa-bhāva-dīpa: salilaṁ lakṣmy-ātmakam.
GLOSS. The ocean was a manifestation of Lakṣmī.1