Listen, O seeker, to the blessed and auspicious teaching of Garuda, which grants all desires and is to be recited by you. In this sacred narrative are described creation and dissolution, the genealogies of beings, and the ages of Manu. Hear, O Rudra, for I shall declare the mysteries of creation and other subjects that destroy sin. Within this account, the divine Nara-Narayana, Vasudeva, and the stainless one are spoken of. All existence is revealed in both manifest and unmanifest forms, as well as in the form of the cosmic person and in the form of time itself. The manifest is Vishnu, the unmanifest is the person, and time is also an aspect of the divine. The creator is without beginning or end, infinite and supreme. From him arises intellect; from intellect comes mind; then space, followed by wind. The golden egg is Rudra, and within it, he himself abides. Brahma, with his four faces, always possesses the predominance of rajas. Within the golden egg lies the entire world, with gods, demons, and humans. At the end of the cycle, all is withdrawn, and Hari himself becomes the destroyer. When dissolution comes, Hari takes the form of Rudra and destroys the entire world. Assuming the form of a boar, he lifts the world with his tusks, thus enacting the cosmic drama. The first creation is the deformed one, belonging to Brahma. The third creation is called vaikārika, the creation of the senses. The fourth creation is the principal one, consisting of the principal immovable beings. The sixth creation, above the upward-flowing ones, is remembered as the creation of the gods. The eighth creation is favor, consisting of both sattvic and tamasic qualities. The prākṛta and vaikṛta creations, along with the kaumāra, are remembered as the ninth. As Brahma was engaged in creation, his mind-born sons were produced. Desiring to create the waters, he worshipped his own self. Seeking to create, first from his lower part, the asuras were born. Having abandoned the body composed of tamas, night arose, resembling Shankara. Those with abundant sattva were born from Brahma’s mouth, O Hara! Thus, the powerful asuras are of the night, and the gods are of the day. Sandhyā was created, existing between day and night. When she was abandoned, she became the luminous one called Prāk-sandhyā. Taking only a portion of rajas, she became thin, and from hunger, anger arose. Those known as Yakṣas were born from her yawning, and serpents from the shaking of her hair. The Gandharvas and Apsarases, singing, were born as speech. The Lord of creatures created the Rākṣasas from his abdomen and others from his sides. Plants bearing fruits and roots were born from his hairs. These are called domestic animals; now hear about the wild ones. The sixth are aquatic animals, and the seventh are reptiles. From his mouth were born the Brāhmaṇas, and from his arms the Kṣatriyas. The world of Brahmā is for Brāhmaṇas, and the world of Indra for those born as Kṣatriyas. For those who observe the vow of the student, the world of Brahmā is attained. So also is the abode of the seven sages and of those who dwell in the forest. Having described existence in this world and beyond, now the story turns to the mental creation of beings. Thus unfolds the sacred account of creation, dissolution, and the origins of all creatures.