In the beginning, there was the One who possessed a body—the primordial Person. From this Person arose the blessed Brahmā, the four-faced Lord and creator of all beings. This great god, perfect in both cause and effect, manifested himself, abiding in a threefold form. Alone, he was established in this triad, and his qualities were without equal: incomparable knowledge, sovereignty, righteousness, and detachment. From the unmanifest, whatever was desired arose through his mind, for he was master of the three qualities—sattva, rajas, and tamas—and all things depend on these. Brahmā, the four-faced, is known as the creator; as Time, he is the destroyer, the ender of all; and as the thousand-headed Person, the self-born, he exists in three states. In the form of Brahmā, he creates worlds; as Time, he withdraws them; and as the Person, he remains indifferent—these are the three modes of the Lord of creatures. Brahmā is likened to the one born from the lotus; Rudra, to the fire of time; and the Person, with lotus-like eyes, is the very form of the supreme self. Maheśvara, though one, becomes twofold, then threefold, and again manifold, creating and transforming bodies at will. By his own play, he assumes various forms, actions, appearances, and names, shaping and reshaping existence. Because he exists in a threefold manner in the world, he is called threefold in quality; and when divided into four, he is known as the fourfold emanation. Whatever he attains, whatever he takes, whatever objects he enjoys, and whatever his constant state, by these he is called the self. He is the seer, all-pervading; embodied, he is the lord of that body; as the master of all, he is Viṣṇu, for he enters all. He is called Bhagavān for his divine qualities, pure he is remembered as Śiva, supreme because he is the most exalted, and as protector, he is remembered as Om. He is all-knowing, possessing all knowledge; he pervades all, and by dividing himself threefold, he sets the three worlds in motion. He himself creates, devours, and protects with these three forms; being the first, he is called the original god, and being unborn, he is remembered as the unborn. Because he protects all beings, he is called the Lord of creatures; among the gods, the great god is Mahādeva. Since he pervades all and is lord of the gods, he is called Īśvara; vast, he is remembered as Brahmā; as being itself, he is called Bhūta. He is the knower of the field, for he knows all; being one, he is the sole one; and because he dwells in the city of the body, he is called Puruṣa. He is without beginning, existing before all, and so is remembered as the Self-born; because he is to be worshipped, he is called the Sacrifice; he is the Seer, famed for his mighty vision. He is called the Stepper for his movement, and Protector for his preservation; he is known as Āditya, Kapila, the Eldest, and is remembered as Agni. He became the golden embryo, and from gold was born as an embryo; thus, in this Purāṇa, he is called Hiraṇyagarbha—the Golden Womb. Even the time of the Self-born, the soul of the universe, cannot be measured—not even in hundreds of years. The supreme period of Brahmā is called a parārdha, when the reckoning of time itself ceases; the remainder of his time is another, which is dissolved at its end. Countless billions of days have passed in previous kalpas; just as many remain for the future. Now, listen to the account of the present kalpa, called Vārāha. O twice-born, among those kalpas, this present one is the first, in which the fourteen Manus, beginning with Svāyambhuva, have appeared. In the past, present, and future, these Manus govern the entire earth, with its seven continents and mountains. For a full thousand yugas, the great lords protect the earth and its people through their austerities. Hear now the details of these. With each Manvantara, all the intermediate periods are also described, as it is with each kalpa. The past kalpas, with their secondary creations and lineages, and those yet to come—one who knows should reason about them in this way. In the very beginning, only water existed, for the earth had disappeared. In that calm, single expanse of water, nothing at all could be perceived. Then, in that single ocean, when all that is fixed and moving was lost, Brahmā arose—he of a thousand eyes and a thousand feet. The Person with a thousand heads, golden in color and beyond the senses, called Brahmā and also Nārāyaṇa, then slept upon the waters. Awakening through the predominance of sattva, he beheld the empty world. Here, the wise recite this verse about Nārāyaṇa: the waters are called 'nārās,' and he is their son; having filled them, he made them his resting place. Because he lies upon the waters, he is called Nārāyaṇa. He remains in night for a thousand fourfold yugas. At the end of the night, he assumes the role of Brahmā for creation; and as Brahmā, he acts in the waters, becoming the wind. Then, just as a firefly in the night during the rainy season, he perceived the earth submerged within the waters. By inference, undeluded, he again raised up the earth, as he had done in previous cycles, assuming a subtle form. Then the great-souled Lord, seeing the earth immersed in water on all sides, conceived of a divine form. He thought, “By assuming what form might I lift this earth? Entering the form of a boar, suitable for playing in water, I shall do so.