O sage, a time shall come when twelve suns will rise upon the world, heralding mighty change. When the age of Kali has passed and the Krita Yuga dawns anew, ascetics, the righteous, and Brahmins well-versed in the Vedas will once again grace the earth. Kings and Kshatriyas will honor the Brahmins, steadfast in their own duties, while Vaishyas, engaged in trade, will also be devoted to the Brahmins and the path of righteousness. The noble lineages of Brahmins, Kshatriyas, and Vaishyas will dedicate themselves to Vishnu and the sacred fire of sacrifice. Learned in the Vedas, Smritis, and Puranas, they will be true knowers of dharma and attentive to the proper seasons for all rites. In the Treta Yuga, dharma stands firmly on three feet; in the Dvapara, it is remembered as standing on two. O Brahmin, the reckoning of time is as follows: there are seven days and sixteen lunar phases, as is known. There are two fortnights and two solstices, and a day is divided into four watches. The year itself is of five kinds—listen as I recount the measures of time. When a year is completed, for both men and gods, there is day and night; the yuga of the gods is known by those wise in the science of time. For the gods, a manvantara endures for seventy-one yugas. When the twenty-eighth Indra has passed, then comes the day and night of Brahma. At that time, the dissolution called prākṛta takes place, and the earth becomes unseen, hidden from view. All the sages living at that time merge into Krishna, the Supreme. O sage, when the primordial dissolution arrives and Brahma himself falls, all the universes and all within them are destroyed. There is also a dissolution that lasts but a moment, during which the whole world is submerged in water. Thus, there are many kinds of creation and many kinds of dissolution. O Narada, regarding the creations, the divisions of time, and the universes, know this: He alone is the Lord of all the universes. Brahma and the others are but his portions, and Mahāvirāṭ is a portion of his portion. That Krishna appears in two forms: one with two arms and one with four arms. From Brahma down to the smallest blade of grass, all is of the nature of Prakriti. Yet, the one root of creation is true, eternal, and everlasting. Though without attributes and form, he assumes a form to show grace to his devotees. That form is two-armed, holding a flute, dressed as a cowherd, and eternally youthful. The creator, born from the lotus and whose essence is knowledge, fashions the universe by his wisdom and austerity. From him, the Lord of all arises, and none surpasses him. Mahāmāyā is Prakriti—the supreme goddess endowed with all powers. Savitri is the mother of the Vedas and the presiding deity of all their hymns. She is the goddess of all knowledge, revered by the wise since ancient times. By her service and austerity, she grants all wealth. Through her worship and penance, she has been venerated throughout all the worlds. She is the sovereign of all, worthy of reverence by every being, who won the Lord of all as her husband. Born from the left portion of Krishna, she is the presiding deity of his love, adorned with surpassing beauty, good fortune, and honored dignity. In ages past, she performed severe austerities on the mountain called Shataśṛṅga. Seeing her there, emaciated and breathless from her penance, yet radiant like a slender crescent of the moon, her glory and devotion shone forth for all to behold.