Moments and the measures of time—sticks, fractions, hours, junctions, nights, and days—unfolded in their order. Over every place and its presiding beings, each kept their distinct role. The great cycles of time, the Krita, Treta, Dvapara, and Tishya ages, and the yugas themselves, moved forward. The beings I have spoken of before, those from the previous cycle, remained present—those who had not yet attained the world of asceticism, who lingered upon the earth. They stayed, observing, awaiting the next creation. Among them, those who had accomplished dharma, artha, kāma, and mokṣa are remembered with honor. Endowed with austerity, they filled the ancient places, their presence shaping the world in ages past. Through actions joined with both attachment and aversion, some ascended to heaven. By the remaining fruits of their karma, they became known for their particular natures. He who is the cause among the waters, awakening awareness through action, is indeed that One. These beings take on bodies of many forms, entering diverse wombs. Most of their actions are pure, and again and again, through each cycle, they are born anew with various names and forms. As he meditates, these beings come forth, for his will is true and creative. Those who are born are endowed with abundant goodness and great energy. Yet all are touched by passion, vigorous and quick to anger. Those who are shaped by passion and darkness become known as householders. Both the deceitful and the honest are born among those destined to die. From this time onward, in this cycle, the origin of sexual union arises. The pure objects of sense—sound and the rest—each possess five characteristics. Thus, those born in succession fill the world. But, finding little satisfaction, they wander in conflict. Moved by desire, these beings seek the perfection of the mind. In that earliest age, at the beginning of the cycle, righteousness and unrighteousness did not yet exist. Four thousand years passed, measured in divine reckoning. After this, as people became renowned, their numbers grew into the thousands. They dwelled on mountains and by the oceans, without fixed abodes. Always free to act as they wished, their hearts were joyful. There was neither fear nor harshness; such was the practice of dharma then. The time was wholly blissful, neither too hot nor too cold. Through meditation, they rose upon the earth from the netherworld. With bodies that needed no ritual purification, these people possessed enduring youth. Birth and appearance were equal, and they delighted together in harmony. There was no distinction among them in form, lifespan, skill, or activity. Action was absent, as the doors to good and evil deeds were closed. They lived together, free from desire and aversion. Mostly happy and without sorrow, they were born in the Krita age. For those without longing, enjoyment of objects arose only through the mind. At that time, they neither harmed nor supported one another; such was the nature of their existence.