When the destined hour arrived, Vāsudeva opened his mouth, and from it emerged the horned one—Janārdana, taking the wondrous form of a fish. At Manu’s side appeared a serpent, transformed into a rope. Gathering all living beings, Manu, the knower of righteousness, placed them aboard the great vessel through the power of yoga. With the serpent-rope, Manu fastened the boat securely to the fish’s horn. Standing above the vessel, he bowed reverently to Janārdana. After the immense flood had subsided, Manu addressed the fish-formed Lord, who reclined in yoga, seeking knowledge of ancient wisdom. Listen closely, O best of sages, for I now relate what transpired. O twice-born, the very questions you once posed to me—regarding the origin of creation and its mysteries—Manu asked of Keshava as they drifted upon the primeval ocean. Manu inquired about the processes of creation and dissolution, the lineages and the Manus, the deeds of their descendants, and the vastness of the worlds. He sought to understand the rules of charity and righteousness, the eternal rites of ancestor worship, the divisions of class and stage of life, and the acts of sacrifice and beneficence. He asked about the establishment of the gods and all that exists upon the earth, requesting a full explanation of dharma. At the end of the great dissolution, all creation was shrouded in darkness—unfathomable, unmanifest, and without discernible traits, as if the world were in deep sleep. Both the stationary and moving realms became unknowable and unknown. Then, the self-born, unmanifest source of all virtuous deeds arose. He, the dispeller of darkness, beyond the senses, greater and subtler than the manifest, eternal Narayana, alone revealed himself to illuminate all. Desiring to create the diverse world, Narayana willed it forth from his own body. He first produced the waters and placed his seed within them. That seed became the cosmic egg—vast, radiant like gold and silver, shining with the brilliance of ten thousand suns, enduring for a thousand years. Entering within by his own great brilliance, the self-born Lord, by his power and pervasion, again assumed the form of Vishnu. Within the cosmic egg, the blessed Sun was first born. Because he was the original being, he became Brahma, the reciter of the Veda. From the two halves of the egg, Brahma fashioned the heavens and the earth, created all the directions, and, in the center, established the eternal sky. Rivers arose from the cosmic egg, as did the ancestors and Manus. The seven oceans also emerged from the inner waters, each filled with salt, sugarcane juice, wine, and precious gems. Desiring creation, Prajapati—the god of creatures—brought forth the Sun, Martanda, from that brilliance. Because he was born from the dead egg, he is remembered as Martanda. That great soul’s form, composed of the quality of passion, became the four-faced Lord—Brahma, the grandsire of the worlds. Know that the one by whom all—gods, asuras, and humans—were created, is called the great being, the embodiment of passion. Now, let us explore how the grandsire of the worlds came to possess four faces, and how Brahma, the best knower of Brahman, created the worlds. At first, the grandsire of the immortals performed austerities, and then the Vedas, with their limbs, sub-divisions, and sequences, manifested. Of all the ancient scriptures, the first was remembered by Brahma: eternally composed of sound, sacred, and spanning a hundred crore verses. From his mouths, the Vedas emerged, along with Mimamsa, Nyaya, and the sciences, joined with the eightfold means of knowledge. As Brahma devoted himself to the study of the Vedas and desired offspring, he first created mind-born sons from his mind, those known as the mind-born sages. First came Marichi, then the venerable sage Atri, followed by Angiras and Pulastya. After that, Pulaha was born, then Kratu, from whom Prachetas arose, and again Vasistha became his son. Bhrigu followed, and soon Narada appeared. Thus, Brahma generated these ten mind-born sages as his sons. Now, I will speak of Brahma’s bodily sons, those born without mothers. From his right thumb, Daksha, the progenitor, was born. Dharma arose from his breast, Kamadeva from his heart, anger from between his brows, and greed from the lower regions. Delusion was born from intellect, pride from ego, delight from the throat, death from the eyes, and from the middle of the hand, another son of Brahma was born. These are nine sons, O king, and again a tenth daughter, renowned as Angaja, the tenth child of Brahma. It is said that delusion arises from intellect, ego is remembered, and anger and intellect—these names signify subtle qualities. Sattva, rajas, and tamas are declared the three qualities; their equilibrium is the nature of creation. Some call it Pradhana, others say it is the unmanifest; this alone creates and transforms all beings. From the agitation of the qualities, three gods were born—one form, three divisions: Brahma, Vishnu, and Maheshvara. From the modified Pradhana, the great principle arises; always known as ‘great’, it is the source of all worlds. Ego arises from the great principle, increasing mankind; from it, I will speak of the five senses governed by intellect, and likewise the five governed by action. Hearing, touch, sight, taste, and smell are the five senses; excretion, generation, hands, feet, and speech are the five organs of action. Their objects are sound, touch, form, taste, and smell; their actions are elimination, enjoyment, taking, movement, and speech. Thus, the story of creation, the unfolding of beings, and the emergence of the world was revealed by the Lord to Manu, and so it is recounted to you, O wise one.