O wise one, know that the year itself is of five distinct kinds; listen as I recount the subtle reckoning of time. When a year is completed, both for humans and for the gods, their days and nights are measured accordingly. The yuga of the gods—their grand age—is known by those who understand the mysteries of time’s passage. For the gods, a manvantara—an era of Manu—spans seventy-one such yugas. And when the twenty-eighth Indra has passed, the day and night of Brahma, the Creator, arises. At that time, a great dissolution, known as prākṛta, occurs, and the earth becomes unseen, withdrawn from manifestation. In that profound dissolution, all the sages who were living are merged back into Krishna, the Supreme Lord. O sage, when this primordial dissolution takes place, even Brahma himself falls, and all the universes, along with everything within them, are destroyed. Sometimes, there is a dissolution that lasts only a moment, when the entire world is submerged in water. Thus, there are many kinds of creation and many kinds of dissolution as well. O Narada, concerning these various creations, the divisions of time, and the countless universes—know that over all these, He alone is the Lord. Brahma and the other gods are but portions of Him, and even Mahāvirāṭ is a portion of His portion. That Krishna, the Supreme, appears in two forms: one with two arms, and one with four arms. Everything, from Brahma down to the smallest blade of grass, is of the nature of Prakriti—primordial matter. Yet, the one root of all creation is true, eternal, and everlasting. Though without attributes and without form, He assumes a form to bestow grace upon His devotees. He is seen as a two-armed youth, holding a flute, dressed as a cowherd, ever young and radiant. The Creator, Brahma, born from the lotus and whose essence is pure knowledge, fashions the universe by his power. By the knowledge and austerity of the Supreme Lord, Brahma arises, and there is none greater than Him. Mahāmāyā, the Great Illusion, is Prakriti herself—the supreme goddess endowed with all powers. Savitri is the mother of the Vedas and their presiding deity, the goddess of all knowledge, revered by the wise since time immemorial. Through her service and austerity, she grants all wealth, and by her worship in all the worlds, she is honored as the sovereign of all, worthy of reverence, who obtained the Lord of all as her husband. Born from the left portion of Krishna, she is the presiding deity of Krishna’s love, endowed with surpassing beauty, good fortune, and honored dignity. In ages past, she performed severe austerities on the mountain called Shataśṛṅga. Emaciated and breathless from her penance, yet shining like a crescent moon, she was beheld by the Lord, who granted her a boon—rare even among all boons—bestowing upon her good fortune, honor, love, and dignity. Thus, she became the most excellent and revered, praised and worshipped by me. Having thus spoken, the Lord of the worlds then created that supreme consciousness. The goddesses who were worshipped by those who served her also undertook great austerities: for a thousand divine years on the Himalaya, Sarasvati performed penance on Mount Gandhamadana, Lakshmi engaged in divine austerity for a hundred ages at Pushkara, and Savitri, having performed austerity at Malaya, became worthy of worship by the twice-born. Even Shankara, in ancient times, performed austerity for a hundred manvantaras, O Lord. Thus, the cycles of time, creation, dissolution, and the glory of the Supreme and the goddesses are revealed to those who seek to know.