The word "Rakṣa" is given to those who protect, while "yakṣa" refers to those who destroy. These beings, though they withered away, rose up again and again, O heroic one. Because of their childlike nature, they are called "vyālas," and due to their lesser status, they are known as "ahis," or serpents. Their dissolution on earth is likened to the vanishing of clouds under the gaze of the sun and the moon. Into all those serpents born together, he of poisonous nature entered and infused his essence. These fierce beings, tawny in hue, live on flesh. As he sang, the Gandharvas, his sons, were born from him. When he drank, those Gandharvas became manifest as speech, and thus they are remembered by that name. From his desire, he brought forth the metres and the birds. He then created strength from his mouth and formed the Avīs from his chest. From his feet, he produced horses, elephants, donkeys, wild oxen, and deer. From his hair sprang forth medicinal herbs, as well as fruit- and root-bearing plants. At the dawn of this kalpa, at the very start of the Tretā Yuga, it was so in ages past: seven kinds of domestic animals were recognized, and another seven were wild. The sixth group comprises aquatic creatures, and the seventh are reptiles. Among the wild animals, the monkey is counted as the seventh, and these together are known as the wild beasts. From his mouth, he first created the Agniṣṭoma, foremost among sacrifices. From his southern mouth, he produced the Bṛhatsāman and all that is spoken. From his western mouth, he brought forth the Vairūpya and Atirātra rites. From the fourth mouth, he created the Anuṣṭubh and Savairāja metres. Having created all these, the blessed Lord, famed as Parjanya, gave rise from his limbs to beings of many forms, both exalted and humble. First, he brought into being the four great kinds: the gods, the sages, the ancestors, and humans. Then he created the Yakṣas and Piśācas, as well as the Gandharvas and Apsarases. He made both the imperishable and the perishable, the stationary and the moving. These beings, created again and again, return to those very forms. Endowed with their own natures, they attain the states appropriate to them, and thus they are pleased. The Creator himself assigned the functions and roles to all beings. Some wise ones call this order divine, while those who ponder the nature of beings call it inherent nature. Yet, none know of any existence apart from this. Those established in virtue and possessing equal vision speak only of the sphere of one's own actions. In the beginning, the great Lord fashioned all from the very words of the Veda. At the end of the cosmic night, the unborn one once again assigns duties to those who have been created. Then, by his mind, the Lord brought forth five creators. Rudra, when the plants are depleted, restores them again and again. Tryambaka, with his three skulls, revives the plants whenever they are destroyed. These three are known as the Gāyatrī, Triṣṭubh, and Jagatī metres. By means of these threefold forms, united in essence and by his own power, Tryambaka is himself that sacrificial cake, and thus he is known as Tryambaka here. Form is called Ākṛti, beauty is Suruci, and radiance is Ruci; and he is known as the inspirer of faith.