As the ages turn, the fulfillment of dharma—righteousness—wanes during the twilight periods called sandhyā and sandhyāṃśa. This decline is a recurring restriction, unfolding in a set order as time moves through its cycles. This method of progression is true for all four yugas—ages—and the cycle of these four ages repeats, multiplied a thousandfold. A thousand such cycles make up what is called a day of Brahmā, the Creator, and his night is remembered to be of equal length. As each age ends, a dullness and lack of integrity arise among beings, marking the inevitable decline that characterizes the close of every era. This pattern is the hallmark of all the ages. When the four ages are multiplied together, they total seventy-one, and their succession forms what is known as a Manvantara. In each Manvantara, everything that happens in the four ages unfolds accordingly, and so too in the Manvantaras that follow, as creation and its distinctions arise again and again in proper order. There are twenty-five such cycles, no more and no less, and thus the great Kalpas—vast epochs—arise, each accompanied by its own ages and their distinctive qualities. This is the essential characteristic of all Manvantaras. Just as the changes of the ages have long continued, so too does the world of living beings persist, revolving through periods of decline and renewal according to the nature of the ages. Thus, the characteristics of the ages have been summarized, encompassing both the past and the future, in every Manvantara. With a single Manvantara, all the intervening periods have been explained, leaving no doubt; for a Kalpa is defined by its own measure. In all Manvantaras, past and future, one who understands should apply this reasoning. In each era, those who possess equal pride become, through their names and forms, the eightfold gods and the rulers of the Manvantaras. The sages and Manus, too, arise with a unified purpose, and thus, in every age, the divisions of caste and stages of life are established. The Lord sets the nature of the ages at the proper time, and the distinctions of caste, life stage, and the ages themselves are accomplished in every cycle. The measure of the ages has thus been explained. Now, let me briefly speak of the divine sonship of the Lotus-born. Once again, when a thousand ages had passed and the dawn of a new day approached, the Blessed One—Brahmā, the Grandfather—created the lost beings as he had done before. At the halfway point of the supreme period, the waters spread over the earth, and fire enveloped the wind. Fire and wind, united with the subtle elements of the sky and the eleven senses, along with the subtle elements themselves, all merged together. These, having reached the ego, were dissolved in that moment. Then pride, pervading the great principle, was instantly dissolved as well. The great principle, having manifested, was also dissolved, and the unmanifest, along with its qualities, merged into mere existence. From this state, creation arose once more, just as before, from the Purusha, Shiva. Those who were created at that time were born from his mind—the mind-born beings. However, the beings created by the Lotus-born did not increase in this world. To ensure their growth, the Blessed Brahmā, together with his mind-born sons, performed rigorous austerities, focusing their efforts on the Lord himself. Pleased by their dedication, Bhava, the Lord, discerned their desire. Then, piercing the middle of Brahmā’s forehead, the Lord—speaking of paternal affection—manifested in a form that was both female and male. His son, Mahādeva, became the Lord who is half-woman. The Blessed One, in his power, burned away all things, including Brahmā, the teacher of the world. Shiva then enjoyed the auspicious half-measure of his own supreme self by the path of yoga, bringing about the growth of the worlds. Within her, the Supreme Lord created both Hari (Vishnu) and Brahmā. The Lord of the Universe, the soul of all, also brought forth the Pāśupata weapon. Thus, from the Great Goddess came Brahmā, and from her portion also Hari—the one born from the cosmic egg, the one born from the lotus, and the one arisen from the body of Bhava. All this ancient history has now been told to you. The prosperity of Brahmā endured for as long as a parārdha—a vast measure of time—summarized here. Now I will briefly tell of Brahmā’s detachment, which arose from darkness. Even the blessed Nārāyaṇa, having divided himself in two, created all moving and unmoving beings from his own limb. Then Brahmā created the Brahmāṇas, and Brahmā, the Grandfather, created Rudra. At the end of a kalpa, Rudra created Hari, Brahmāṇa, and Īśvara. Then, at the end of another kalpa, Hari created Brahmāṇa. Again, Brahmā created Nārāyaṇa, and Bhava created Brahmāṇa. Then Brahmā, reflecting, realized that worldly existence is suffering. Withdrawing creation, he established himself within, restraining the movement of breath and becoming as motionless as a stone. The Lord remained in deep meditation—samādhi—for ten thousand years. The downward-facing lotus, beautiful and situated in the heart, was filled through the act of inhalation and then awakened, its upward face restrained by the retention of breath. In the center of that lotus’s pericarp, he established the Lord, the syllable ‘Om’—Śiva, the supreme god who is beyond all duality. Situated in a hundredth part of a lotus fiber, controlling the Lord in the heart in this way, the self-controlled one, pure in mind, through restraint, worshipped with yam-flower and other offerings, worthy of sacrifice, unaging and undecaying. By the command of the indwelling Lord in the heart-lotus, the mighty one was born from a portion. Thus, the grand cycles of time, the rise and fall of ages, the creation, dissolution, and recreation of the worlds, and the divine play of the Supreme Lord unfold, ever anew.