Brahma, the Creator, stood before the divine Mother and spoke with humility: “O Creator, you have fashioned me to play and shape the primordial creation in its fourfold ways. I know this, but who else could truly comprehend your supreme Māyā? Forgive my offense, born of ego.” He continued, reflecting on the world’s confusion: “Those foolish ones who exert themselves in the eightfold path of yoga, lost in meditation, do not know your name, nor its power to bestow liberation—even when uttered by the Mother with intent. Deluded, they abandon your name, lost in the enumeration of ultimate principles and inquiry. Are they not bewildered in the ocean of existence? O Bhavāni, you alone grant liberation from the cycle of worldly life. “Those who have experienced the supreme knowledge of truth through the ancient ones—why do they forsake it? Even for half a blink, your pure conduct—named Śivā, Ambikā, Śakti, Īśa—remains. Are you not capable of creating the universe, instantly dividing all into fourfold forms by your sight? For amusement, you have appointed me to this task of primordial creation, and thus I perform it as you wish. “Is Hari the protector by your grace, or was he preserved from Madhu and Kaiṭabha in the midst of the ocean? Was Hara destroyed by you at the proper time? How did he arise from the region between my brows? Your birth is neither seen nor heard anywhere—whence is your origin? No one here knows. Surely, you are the primordial Śakti, O Bhavāni, independent of all; thus you are understood. “By you, I am empowered to create; Hari is empowered by you to protect, O Mother; Hara is empowered by you to destroy. Today, all are powerless without you. Just as I, Hari, and Śaṅkara exist, so do others not arise, nor are they present here, nor will they be. Who is not bewildered in this wondrous play of yours, the source of disputes among those of little desire? “The primordial deity is indeed non-agent, manifest in qualities, inactive, always without attributes, and unchanging. Yet, O Lord, you have distributed this play, observing it well—so say those who know the ordinances. In this distinction between seen and unseen, the supreme person arises from you alone; there is no other, no third, when the object of knowledge is thoroughly examined. “Never should the words of the Veda be considered false or imagined; this contradiction has been deeply pondered in my heart. That which the Vedas declare as the one, non-dual Brahman—are you that, or is it someone else? Remove my doubt. My mind is not free from doubt, nor is it unwavering; in this inquiry into duality and unity, my small mind is immersed. You should dispel my doubt with your own words; by the merit of my past deeds, I have attained the fortune of reaching your feet. Are you male or female? Tell me in detail; knowing your supreme power, I may be liberated from the ocean of worldly existence.” Thus, Brahma questioned the primordial Bhagavati with humility and reverence. The Goddess, gentle and compassionate, spoke: “There is always oneness, no division, between myself and this one; I am that, and that am I—any sense of difference arises from confusion of the mind. He who knows the subtle distinction between us, being truly wise, is liberated from worldly existence; there is no doubt about this. Brahman is truly one, without a second, eternal and ancient; but when the desire to create arises, duality appears again. “Just as a lamp, by association with a limiting adjunct, appears as two; so too, like a shadow or a reflection in a mirror, is the distinction between us. Difference arises at the time of creation, O unborn one, for the purpose of manifestation; this division into seen and unseen always exists when there is duality. “I am neither woman, nor man, nor neuter at the dissolution of creation; when creation exists, difference is imagined again by the mind. I am intellect, I am prosperity, fortitude, fame, memory, faith, intelligence, compassion, modesty, hunger, thirst, and forgiveness. I am beauty, peace, thirst, sleep, drowsiness, old age and youth; knowledge and ignorance, desire and longing, power and powerlessness as well. “I am fat, marrow, and skin; I am sight, speech, truth and falsehood; I am the supreme, the intermediate, and the seeing speech, and all the various channels in the body. What is there in this world that is not myself? What exists apart from me? Know with certainty, O Lotus-born, that all is truly myself. Tell me, what exists that is devoid of these forms of mine? Therefore, O Creator, in this creation I have become all-pervading. “Indeed, among all the gods, I am the underlying basis of their various forms; I become power itself and perform mighty deeds. I am Gauri, Brahmi, Raudri, Varahi, Vaishnavi, Shiva; also Varuni, Kauberi, Narasimhi, and Vasavi. When all effects arise, I enter them and perform every action, establishing that cause. “In water, I am coolness; in fire, heat; in the sun, light; in the moon, chill—wherever desired, I manifest accordingly. Without me, O Creator, nothing can stir; all living beings in the world depend on this certainty, which I declare to you. “Shankara is powerless to slay demons when deprived of me; the world calls a man without power exceedingly weak. People do not speak of one lacking Rudra or Vishnu, but all call a powerless man base among men. One fallen, stumbling, fearful, subdued by enemies, is called powerless in the world; none is ever called ‘non-Rudra.’ Know that power is the cause; as you wish to create, when joined with power, the agent accomplishes everything. “So too Hari, Shambhu, Indra, Agni, the moon, the sun, Yama, Tvaṣṭā, Varuṇa, and Vāyu—the earth remains firm only when endowed with power; otherwise, it is unable even to support an atom. So also Śeṣa, Kūrma, and all other guardians of the directions, when joined with me, are capable of accomplishing their own tasks.” Thus, the Goddess revealed her nature and the secret of all power, dissolving Brahma’s doubts and bestowing the wisdom of unity, the source and sustenance of all creation.