In the sacred assembly, surrounded by dear friends—the Vaikhānasas, the Vālakhilyas, and the Marīcis—there gathered a host of exalted beings. The Pitṛs, the gods, the radiant Apsarases, Siddhas, Gandharvas, Nāgas, and Cāraṇas all joined together. Through hymns and weapons, in their dwellings and through rituals dedicated to the gods, ancestors, and ancestral spirits, they honored the divine. In every act of worship and in all their rites, they remembered and revered these higher powers. The sages assembled there spoke only auspicious words, their speech adorned with varied syllables and meaningful expressions. Through wise debate and disputation, they overcame all opposition. In that hallowed place, nothing was ever lost; even the Brahma-rākṣasas entered, seeking knowledge and grace. There, neither penance nor poverty found any place, for abundance and virtue prevailed. Thus, for twelve years, the sacrificial assembly of the wise flourished. The officiating priests, beginning with the elders, each performed the Jyotiṣṭoma sacrifices in their own manner. Wherever the sacrifice reached completion, Vasudeva, the great lord himself, was present. Moved by a desire to uphold his own lineage, the Lord addressed the assembly. He was endowed with eight subtle powers, beginning with aṇimā and the others, and the branches of his lineage, bearing seven trunks, were ageless and ever-flowing with water—symbols of eternal vitality. The mighty one presided over the sacrificial assembly for the charioteers of the three divisions, ensuring that each of the five vital functions, beginning with prāṇa, performed their own activities, belonging to the dhāraṇās. From space as its source, possessing a double nature and endowed with sound and touch, the Lord spoke with gentle, pleasant words, delighting all the assembled sages. Long ago, O twice-born, the mighty one narrated this tale, revealing to the seers the supreme and excellent truth of the worlds—a truth that grants complete liberation from all sins for gods and sages alike. Now, I shall recount its sequence in detail and in proper order. Hear, then, this wondrous and profound account, approved by the Vedas, which I now narrate. By upholding one’s own lineage, one is honored in the heavenly world. Understand the praise being offered, for it increases the glory of the ancients—the praise of all those whose fame is steadfast and whose deeds are virtuous. To that Hiranyagarbha, the Supreme Person and Lord, I offer my reverence. Having bowed to Brahma, the self-born ruler of the worlds, I begin. This knowledge is established by five proofs, rests upon six systems, and is presided over by the Supreme Person. It is the unmanifest cause, eternal, possessing the nature of both being and non-being, devoid of smell, form, taste, sound, and touch. This unmanifest took the form of all beings. That Brahman, which is beyond both being and non-being, is unknowable and inaccessible to ordinary perception. In the beginning, when the qualities were in perfect equilibrium, it did not shine forth, being composed of darkness. But when the qualities became manifest, the great principle—mahat—arose. With the predominance of sattva at the outset, it shone forth as pure existence. From the unmanifest, the great principle emerged, presided over by the knower of the field. Freed from pride, it undertook the great creation, impelled by the desire to create. From this great principle arose the mind, O Brahman, known as the difficult-to-comprehend power from the Lord. This mind perceives all beings; thus, the all-pervading one is revealed as the result of action.