O revered sages, listen as the mystery of creation and the order of the cosmos are revealed. Fire, though powerful, is itself enveloped by wind; wind, in turn, is surrounded by the vastness of the sky; and even the sky is encompassed by the great cosmic principle, the mahat. These elements—ten plus one and all their companions—as well as the seven higher principles, encircle the great principle and are ultimately established in the primordial matter, pradhāna. This infinite, primordial source has no end, no measure, and cannot be counted; it is boundless and beyond the grasp of enumeration. This supreme nature, O twice-born, is the ultimate cause of all things. From it arise thousands upon thousands, and tens of thousands, of cosmic eggs—each a universe in itself. Indeed, there exist countless millions of such eggs, just as fierce fire lies hidden within the oil of sesame seeds; so too does the spirit dwell, subtle and pervasive, within all. Abiding within the primordial matter, the spirit is all-pervading, self-aware, and conscious. Both the primordial matter and the spirit experience all beings, sustaining existence itself. By the power of Viṣṇu, O best of brahmins, these two—matter and spirit—are maintained and serve as the foundation of all. Their very distinction is the cause of their interdependence. At the dawn of creation, agitation arises within the primordial matter, just as coldness is carried by water within a single drop. In this way, the power of Viṣṇu, composed of both matter and spirit, pervades the world, much like a tree is formed of root, trunk, branches, and leaves. From the original seed come forth other seeds, and from them, yet more, giving rise to further trees. Each new being follows the characteristics, substances, and causes of its origin; thus, from the unmanifest, the great elements and all else are born. From these elements arise further distinctions, giving birth to the gods and other beings; from them come their sons, and from their sons, supreme offspring. Yet, just as a tree does not diminish when it sprouts from a seed, so too is there no loss in the creation of beings. Space, time, and other factors, present by proximity, serve as causes for the tree’s growth; in the same way, by the transformation of the blessed Hari, the universe is sustained. From a single grain of rice spring the root, stalk, leaves, and sprout, then the stem, sheath, flower, milk, and finally the grain itself. The husk and the grains emerge from themselves, given the proper conditions for sprouting. Likewise, in the many actions of the world, the bodies of gods and all beings remain; when they attain the power of Viṣṇu, they too spring forth into existence. That Viṣṇu is the supreme Brahman—from whom this entire universe arises and into whom, at the end, it dissolves. That Brahman is the supreme abode, the highest state beyond being and non-being, whose indivisible essence pervades all that moves and does not move. He alone is the root-prakriti, manifest in form, and He is the world itself; into Him all things dissolve, and in Him they abide. He is the agent of all actions, the worshipped sacrifice, and the very fruit of those actions. From Him arises the beginning of each age, and apart from Hari, nothing else exists. Now, O sages, behold the form of the Lord in the sky: among the stars, He appears as a great dolphin, with Dhruva fixed at its tail. As this form revolves, it causes the revolution of the planets, including the Moon and Sun; the stars follow its path as spokes revolve around the hub of a wheel. Sun, Moon, stars, and planets are all bound to Dhruva by invisible bands of wind, securely fastened in their courses. This celestial form, known as the dolphin among the luminaries, is the supreme abode of Nārāyaṇa, who is the very support of all, established within the heart. Dhruva, the son of Uttānapāda, having worshipped the Lord of creatures, is fixed at the tail of the constellation-dolphin. Janārdana, the sustainer of all, is the support of the dolphin and the overseer of the cosmos; the dolphin supports Dhruva, and the Sun is established within Dhruva. By this divine support, all the worlds—gods, asuras, and humans—are upheld. Hear now how this sustenance unfolds. Vivasvān, the radiant Sun, in eight months absorbs the waters—the very essence of sap—from the earth. He then returns them as rain, from which food is produced, and thus all beings are nourished by food. With his sharp rays, the Sun draws up the water of the world; then Soma, the Moon, nourishes it through channels of air in the sky. The waters, transformed into vapor by the action of fire and wind, are gathered into clouds, and these clouds, retaining the waters, do not lose them. When the time is right, the winds drive the purified waters from the clouds, and they fall to earth, cleansed by the passage of time. The blessed Sun draws up four kinds of water: from rivers and oceans, from the earth, and from living beings. Most sacred of all, the Sun takes the water of the celestial Ganges and, even in the absence of clouds, sends it down to earth with his rays. One who is purified by contact with this water, O twice-born, is freed from sin and does not descend to hell; for this is the divine bath. When water, seen by the Sun, falls from the sky without clouds, it is the celestial Ganges, cast down upon the cows by the Sun’s rays. When water falls upon the uneven constellations, beginning with Kṛttikā, after seeing the Sun, it should be recognized as Ganges water, born from the elephants of the directions. When water falls upon the paired constellations rising with the Sun, it is immediately taken up and removed by the Sun’s rays. Both kinds of water are exceedingly holy, O twice-born, removing sin from all people. The celestial Ganges water is divine, most excellent for bathing. The water released by clouds nourishes all living beings, sustains every plant, and is truly the nectar that gives life to the world.