From the apāna of the great being arose the unwavering sage Kratu, and from his samāna, the illustrious Vasiṣṭha was born. Moved by these, Dharma himself took on a human form and was set into motion. With the desire to create the multitude of beings, Dharma engaged his own self in this sacred task. First, from his lower body, he brought forth sons known as the Asuras. These beings were born in the darkness of night, a time when all creatures are enveloped in slumber. Then, as he shone forth, the gods emerged from his mouth, radiant and resplendent. Because of this, O wise one, the gods, endowed with righteousness, honor and worship him as their source. When he contemplated himself as the ancestor of all, the forefathers—those revered Pitṛs—were born. At that very moment, his body, pierced by his own power, became the twilight, that subtle meeting of day and night. Among all his forms, the twilight, the form of the forefathers, is the most exalted. It is at this time that those who are connected with the night perform worship to this middle state, that sacred junction of day and night. Next, his sons, humans enveloped in passion, came into being. The radiance that accompanied this birth became what is known as the morning twilight, O sages. Thereafter, he assumed yet another form, one dominated by darkness and passion, and from him were born sons of great power—those night-wanderers, mighty and mysterious. Continuing his creation, the Lord brought forth other beings, possessed by both passion and darkness. Some he created from his mouth, others he produced from his belly. From his hairs sprang forth the wild women who live on fruits. From his mouth, he first created the Agniṣṭoma, the quintessential sacrifice. From the right side of his mouth came the Bṛhat Sāman and the Uktha; from the western side, the Vairūpa and Atirātra; and from the northern side, the Anuṣṭubh and Savairāja. Thus, as Brahmā, the lord of creatures, continued his creation, he produced beings both immobile and mobile—the imperishable and the perishable, the stationary and the moving. These beings, created again and again, eventually return to him, merging back into his essence. This return pleases him, as all are absorbed in him once more. The creator himself assigns each being its proper function. In the very beginning, this great lord fashioned all from the words of the Veda itself. At the close of the cosmic night, the unborn one restores these beings to existence again. Thus, at the dawn of each age, the very same beings and their states are seen once more. Yet, when the creatures created by this wise one did not increase, he devised intelligence, leading to the discernment of purpose. Enveloping rajas and sattva, and existing according to their own nature, he then suppressed tamas, and from this a pair was born. Brahmā then withdrew his own radiant form. With one half, the Lord fashioned a woman, and with the other, a man—Virāj. The woman, by her greatness, pervaded both heaven and earth and was firmly established. From Virāj, born from the unmanifest, came a son. This goddess, known as Śatarūpā, undertook severe and difficult austerity, her penance marking the beginning of further creation.