O wise ones, listen as the vastness of creation is revealed. The earth stretches out with a breadth and circumference that is mirrored by the sky above it, embracing all in its expanse. The sun, radiant and steadfast, traces its orbit a hundred thousand yojanas from the earth, and at that same distance from the sun, the moon journeys in its own celestial path. High above the moon, at another hundred thousand yojanas, the region of the stars shines forth, illuminating the night. Beyond this stellar realm, two hundred thousand yojanas higher, Mercury is established in its own space, with Venus positioned above Mercury at an equal measure. Mars, too, is set at the same distance above Venus, and two hundred thousand yojanas beyond Mars stands Jupiter, the priest of the gods. Saturn is found two hundred thousand yojanas above Jupiter, and, O best of the twice-born, one hundred thousand yojanas further lies the sacred region of the Seven Sages. Above the sages, at the staggering height of a hundred thousand times a thousand yojanas, Dhruva is fixed—the steadfast axis around which the wheel of lights turns. Thus, the threefold world is briefly described: earth, the fruit of sacrifice, where all offerings are established. Ascending further, above Dhruva resides Maharloka, the dwelling place of those who remain for an aeon, spanning ten million yojanas. Beyond Maharloka, at twenty million yojanas, lies Janaloka, home to the sons of Brahma such as Sanandana and other sages of pure mind. Four times higher than Janaloka is Tapoloka, where radiant gods, free from physical bodies, dwell. Six times higher than Tapoloka, Satyaloka shines, a realm untouched by death, served by Siddhas and the foremost sages. Whatever is accessible by foot and composed of earth is called Bhurloka, whose extent has been described. The region between earth and sun, attended by Siddhas and great sages, is Bhuvarloka, the second world. The space between Dhruva and the sun, measuring fourteen hundred thousand yojanas, is known as Svarloka by those who contemplate the worlds. This threefold world—Bhurloka, Bhuvarloka, and Svarloka—is considered created by the sages, while Janaloka, Tapoloka, and Satyaloka are said to be uncreated. Maharloka stands in between, remembered as neither created nor uncreated; it becomes empty at the end of an aeon, yet does not perish. O twice-born, these seven great worlds have been described, along with the seven nether regions, forming the vast expanse of the cosmic egg. This cosmic egg is enclosed above, below, and across, just as a wood-apple seed is surrounded on all sides by its shell. The egg is covered by water to a depth of ten units, and this watery enclosure is itself surrounded by fire. Fire is enveloped by wind, wind by the sky, and the sky is surrounded by the great principle (mahat). These ten plus one, and all the rest, as well as the seven worlds, encompass the great principle and are established in primordial matter (pradhāna). There is no end to the infinite, nor can it be counted; it is endless, uncountable, and beyond measure. That supreme nature, O twice-born, is the cause of all. There are thousands upon thousands, and tens of thousands, of cosmic eggs. In the same manner, there are hundreds of millions of such cosmic eggs, just as fierce fire resides in oil within sesame seeds, so too does the spirit dwell within each. Abiding in primordial matter, all-pervading, self-aware, and conscious, both matter and spirit experience all beings. By the power of Viṣṇu, O best of brahmins, both are sustained and possess the nature of support; their distinction is itself the cause of dependence. At the time of creation, that which causes agitation is present, just as coldness is carried by water within a drop. So too, the power of Viṣṇu, consisting of primordial matter and spirit, pervades the world, like a tree composed of root, trunk, branches, and so forth. From the original seed arise other seeds, and from them others are produced; thus, further trees come into being. Those, O twice-born, follow the characteristics, substances, and causes of the original; from the unmanifest, the great elements and others are born. From those, further distinctions arise, and from them come the gods and others; from them their sons, and from their sons, the supreme offspring. Just as a tree does not diminish when it sprouts from a seed, so too, in the creation of beings, there is no decrease. Just as space, time, and other factors are present by proximity as causes for the tree, so too, by transformation, is the universe sustained by the blessed Hari. From a grain of rice come the root, stalk, leaves, sprout, stem, sheath, flower, milk, and grain. The husk and grains, indeed, come forth from themselves, having obtained the necessary means for sprouting. In the same way, through many actions, the bodies of gods and others remain; having attained the power of Viṣṇu, they proceed to sprout forth. And that Viṣṇu is the supreme Brahman, from whom this entire universe arises, and into whom this world will ultimately dissolve. That Brahman is the supreme abode, the highest state beyond being and non-being, by whose indivisible essence this entire world, moving and unmoving, exists. He alone is the root-prakriti, manifest in form, and He is the world; into Him alone all things dissolve, and in Him they abide.