When the eight radiant, white, divine species had come into being, the Lord, by his own will, brought forth other birds, each according to its age and nature. As he willed, he shaped many kinds of birds, and after them, he produced various groups of animals. From his own mouth, goats were created; from his chest, sheep; from his abdomen, cows; and from his sides, Brahmā fashioned them all. From his feet emerged horses, elephants, donkeys, camels, deer, mules, and other such creatures. Even the medicinal plants, those bearing fruits and roots, sprang from his hair. Thus, having created both animals and plants, the Lord engaged them in the great sacrifice. Among these creatures, the bull, man, sheep, horse, mule, and donkey are known as domestic animals. There are also wild beings: carnivores, two-hoofed animals, elephants, monkeys, birds as the fifth group, aquatic creatures as the sixth, and reptiles as the seventh. Buffaloes, wild oxen, antelopes, monkeys, sharabhas, wolves, and lions are remembered as the seventh group—the wild animals. From his mouth, the Lord created the first sacred sacrifices: Gāyatra, Ṛc, Trivṛt, Sāma, Rathantara, and Agniṣṭoma. He produced the Yajus, the Triṣṭubh meter, Chandastoma, Pañcadaśa, Bṛhatsāma, Ukthya, and Dakṣiṇā from his mouth as well. From his western mouth, he brought forth the Sāma hymns, the Jagatī meter, Chandastoma, Saptadaśa, Vairūpa, and Atirātra. From his northern mouth came the Atharvāṇa, Āptoryāma, Anuṣṭubh, and Savairāja. At the dawn of the cycle, the Blessed Lord created lightning, thunderclouds, the rainbow, and other luminous phenomena. From his own limbs arose beings of every kind, high and low, as Brahmā set about creating the progeny of all living creatures. First, he created four great groups: the gods, asuras, humans, and ancestors. Thereafter, he brought forth all other beings, both those that move and those that are still. He then created the yakṣas, piśācas, gandharvas, hosts of apsarases, as well as nāgas, kinnaras, rākṣasas, birds, cattle, wild animals, and serpents. Both imperishable and perishable, stationary and moving—he created them all. And the actions they had performed in the previous creation, they took up once again. These actions are taken up by beings again and again as they are born—whether violent or peaceful, gentle or fierce, righteous or unrighteous, true or false. According to those actions, beings attain corresponding states; each is drawn to what suits its own nature among the great elements, the senses, and the forms. The Lord himself assigned the functions of all beings, yet some wise men say that effort is the cause of action. Others believe it is fate; those who contemplate the elements say it is inherent nature; and some say that effort, action, and fate all determine results according to their own nature. Yet, it is not known as one, nor as entirely separate, nor as something beyond; it is not simply one, nor merely named differently, nor both together. Those attached to action see only difference; those established in sattva see with equal vision. The names and forms of beings are but the unfolding of what has been made. In the beginning, the Great Lord fashioned, from the words of the Veda, the names of the seers and the rituals prescribed in the Vedas. At the end of the cosmic night, he gives to those who are born then those very same things; such are the creations of Brahmā, whose birth is unmanifest. At the end of the night, beings are seen once more, having attained perfection through the mind; thus, both stationary and moving beings are created anew. But when these excellent beings, having been created, did not increase, Brahmā, veiled by darkness alone, was overtaken by sorrow. He turned his mind toward decisive understanding, and within himself he saw that the covering of darkness was the cause. Abandoning rajas and sattva, he remained in his own nature; and from that sorrow, the Lord of the world created suffering. Afterwards, he dispelled the darkness, and rajas and sattva covered it. When darkness was suppressed, a pair was born. From darkness was born unrighteousness; from sorrow arose violence. From the union of these two, both fierce in nature, another was produced. When the Lord’s vital spirit departed, affection enveloped him. Then Brahmā cast off his own radiant form. Dividing his body in two, with one half he became a man, and with the other, a woman—she was born as Śatarūpā. The Lord, out of desire, created her as Prakṛti, the bearer of beings. By her greatness, she pervaded and established herself in both heaven and earth. That earlier body of Brahmā remains enveloping the heavens; and from the half he shaped as a woman, Śatarūpā was born. That goddess, performing severe and most difficult austerity for countless years, obtained as her husband the illustrious man. That man is known as Svāyambhuva Manu. His period of seventy yugas is here called a Manvantara. This Manu obtained Śatarūpā, a wife not born from a womb. With her he enjoyed union, and thus she is called Rati, Pleasure. Their first union took place at the beginning of the kalpa. Brahmā created Virāj, who became the cosmic man, Virāṭ. Śatarūpā became the empress, and the man born of Virāj is known as Manu. That Manu, born of Virāj, created the progeny of all beings.