Hear now the supreme secret, revealed as it was at the dawn of creation: just as it was then, so it remains, and whoever lives in accordance with this truth is regarded as one whose form encompasses the entire universe. This, O Lord, is the seat of Brahmā, which you have attained; yet above you lies the auspicious state of Viṣṇu. From my left side, Viṣṇu—pure and known also as Vaikuṇṭha—has arisen, and from that time, this marks the thirty-third kalpa. Countless cycles have passed—hundreds upon hundreds of thousands—since the era of the self-born. O Lord of gods, listen well to this, O great-minded one. He who is established in bliss is known as Ānanda, of the lineage of Māṇḍavya; through austerity, he became my son. Within you reside Yoga and Sāṃkhya, austerity, knowledge, ritual acts, truth, reality, compassion, Brahman, non-violence, good intellect, and forgiveness. Meditation and its object, self-control, peace, knowledge and ignorance, understanding, fortitude, beauty, ethics, fame, intelligence, modesty, vision, and Sarasvatī—all these are present in you. Contentment, nourishment, action, and grace are also established. These thirty-two virtues are known by the name of thirty-two syllables. O Brahman, nature is ordained; the great goddess is your offspring, as well as that of the blessed Viṣṇu and others, O Lord. This blessed Goddess is my offspring, established, four-faced, the womb of the world, nature, the cow, firmly established. She is called Gaurī, Māyā, Vidyā, Kṛṣṇā, Haimavatī, the chief, and Prakṛti, as those who contemplate reality declare. Know her as the unborn, the one, red, white, and black, creating all beings in similar form. I am the unborn; know me as her—the universal form, Gāyatrī, the universal cow—by understanding. Having spoken thus, the great god, the Supreme Lord, created; then, from the side of the Goddess, boys of all forms appeared—some with matted hair, some shaven-headed, some crested, and some half-shaven—born by the yoga as described, full of great energy. At the end of a thousand divine years, having worshipped Maheshvara, he firmly established himself in the yoga composed of the complete teaching of dharma. And his disciples, with controlled selves, entered into Rudra, the Lord. Thus, in brief, has the origin of the Sahya and other mountains been spoken. Whoever recites, hears, or causes the best of twice-born to listen attains union with Brahma by the grace of the Supreme Lord. Now, how did the linga arise in the linga, having worshipped Shankara? What is the linga, and who is the lingin? Suta, you ought to speak here. The gods and sages, having bowed to the Grandfather, asked, "O Lord, how did the linga come to be? How is Maheshvara Rudra to be worshipped in the linga? What is the linga, and who is the lingin?" The Grandfather replied: "The principal linga has been declared, and the lingin is the Supreme Lord." For the sake of protection in the ocean, O best of gods, Vishnu was for me. When the creation of the celestial beings had gone to the world of Janas with the sages, and when the period of maintenance was complete, then, when it was withdrawn, at the end of a thousand cycles of four ages, the gods went to the world of truth. When equality prevailed without rulership at the end of Brahma's time, and all immovable things dried up everywhere due to total drought, cattle, humans, trees, flesh-eating spirits, Gandharvas and others, in succession, were burned by the rays of the sun. In the single, dreadful ocean, enveloped in darkness on all sides, the self of yoga, pure and undisturbed, slept upon the waters. With a thousand heads, the soul of the universe—possessing a thousand eyes, a thousand feet, a thousand arms—he was all-knowing, the origin of all gods. Hiranyagarbha, by rajas and tamas, is Shankara himself; by sattva, Vishnu is all-pervading; Maheshvara is the soul of all. The soul of time, whose navel is time, is white; the black one is without qualities; Narayana, mighty-armed, is the soul of all, composed of existence and non-existence. Seeing him thus, lotus-eyed, lying down, I was deluded by his maya and spoke to him, angered. "Who are you?" I demanded, raising the eternal one by the hand. Then, with a strong and intense blow of the hand, awakened, he rose from his bed and sat for a moment, controlled; he saw, with eyes unclouded by sleep, pure and clear. Before me stood the blessed Hari, radiant and resplendent. Rising up, the Lord spoke to me with a single sweet smile: "Welcome, welcome, child, O illustrious Grandfather!" Hearing these words, the foremost of the gods smiled in response. Bound by passion and enmity, I spoke to Janardana: "Why do you call me 'child, child,' you who are the cause of creation and dissolution? Here, with a slight smile, you address me—faultless one—as a teacher does his disciple, though I am the direct creator of the worlds and the initiator of Nature. You call me the eternal, unborn Viṣṇu, the creator, the source of the universe, the soul of all, the maker, the supporter, the lotus-eyed one. For what reason, out of delusion, do you speak thus? You should quickly declare the truth." Then he said to me, "I am the creator of the worlds—behold! You are the sustainer and destroyer, descended from my imperishable body. You have forgotten Nārāyaṇa, the lord of the universe, free from affliction. The supreme person, the supreme soul, the much-invoked, the most praised among men, Viṣṇu, the unchanging lord, the origin and source of the universe.