Listen, and understand the measure of a manvantara, as it is reckoned in human terms: the twice-born count thirty crores as the full span, and to this are added twenty thousand more, excluding any excess. At the beginning, with the addition of a divine year, the next period after Manu is spoken of, and to this, fifty-two thousand more are to be added. A full thousand yugas make up what is considered a single day of Brahma. At the forefront of each cycle, Brahmas are established, accompanied by gods, sages, and demons. Time and again, in each kalpa and its cycles, He—the Creator—brings forth all beings anew. Consider, then, the junctions of all manvantaras. The four yugas—Kṛta, Tretā, Dvāpara, and Kali—are remembered in their sequence. The venerable Lord instructed Manu about this sacred authority, describing the cycles of time as they pertain to the past, the present, and the future. Now, the transition from one period to another will be explained. By the force of destiny, each manvantara comes to its proper end. The Seven Sages, the gods, the ancestors, and the Manus themselves—all, when their authority wanes, become aware and anxious at the knowledge that their time is passing. As one manvantara concludes, those deities destined to rule in the next are born. When a manvantara is complete, this is recognized in the Kali age, just as the wise say the Krita age is always preceded by Kali. When the previous manvantara ends and the next begins, the Seven Sages and Manu are established anew according to the ordained time. This is done for the celebration of the manvantara and to ensure the unbroken continuity of the world. At these times—when pairs arise, when medicinal plants appear, when people begin to earn their livelihood, and when righteousness is established—even in places where the distinctions of caste and the stages of life are absent, the Seven Sages and Manu are established for the sake of continuity. Indeed, when the former sages and Manus pass away, new ones are born in their place, just as before. Alongside them are born serpents, spirits, ghosts, Gandharvas, Yakshas, and Rakshasas. At the beginning of each manvantara, the Seven Sages and Manu, by practicing celibacy, free themselves from all debts. For a hundred thousand years, these sages remain steadfast in righteousness, according to their order. Establishing their hermitages, they set their minds on the higher realms. The gods of former times, too, remain wholly established in righteousness. With the power of mantras, they ascend to the sinless Maharloka. There, those self-controlled sages remain, watching over the worlds until the time of dissolution. When the divine abodes of the three worlds become empty, these sages, endowed with austerity, fill the stations again, restoring order. Thus, the Seven Sages, Manu, the gods, and the ancestors, their succession never broken, continue their line even at the end of a manvantara. In this way, the cycles of time and the guardians of the world are renewed, ensuring the unbroken flow of creation.