In the beginning, there was Narayana—eternal, subtle, greater than all that is manifest, and beyond the reach of the senses. He is the one who dispels darkness, and it was he alone who revealed himself so that all existence might come to light. Moved by a desire to create the manifold world, Narayana, by the power of his thought, brought forth the waters from his own being. Into these primordial waters, he placed his seed. This seed transformed into the vast cosmic egg, resplendent as gold and silver, radiant with the brilliance of ten thousand suns, and it endured for a thousand years. Then, by his own immeasurable radiance, Narayana entered the cosmic egg. Self-born and all-pervading, he took on once more the form of Vishnu. Within the egg, the blessed Sun was the first to be born; as the original being, he became Brahma, the reciter of the Vedas. From the two halves of the egg, Brahma fashioned the heavens and the earth. He created all the directions, and in the midst of them, he set the eternal sky. From this cosmic egg also arose the rivers, the ancestors, and the Manus. The seven oceans came forth from the inner waters, each filled with its own essence—salt, sugarcane juice, wine, and a host of precious gems. Desiring further creation, the god Prajapati brought forth, from that same brilliance, the Sun—Martanda. Because he was born from the dead egg, he is remembered as Martanda. The form of this great soul, composed of the quality of passion, became the four-faced Lord, the grandsire of the worlds. It is he, the great being, the embodiment of passion, who created the entire world—gods, asuras, and humans alike. But how did the grandsire of the worlds come to possess four faces? And how did Brahma, the foremost knower of Brahman, bring forth the worlds? In the beginning, the grandsire of the immortals performed deep austerities. From this, the Vedas—with all their limbs, divisions, and sequences—became manifest. Of all the ancient scriptures, Brahma first remembered that which is eternal, composed of sacred sound, and said to span a hundred crore verses. From his mouths, the Vedas emerged, along with Mimamsa, Nyaya, and the various sciences, all accompanied by the eightfold means of knowledge. Devoted to the study of the Vedas and desiring to create beings, Brahma produced his mind-born sons. These sages, called the mind-born, were brought forth from his mind: first came Marichi, then the venerable Atri, followed by Angiras and Pulastya. After them came Pulaha, then Kratu, from whom Prachetas was born, and again Vasistha. Bhrigu was his son, and soon after, Narada appeared. Thus, Brahma generated these ten mind-born sages as his sons. Now, hear of his bodily sons, those without mothers, born of the Lord of creatures. 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, and death from the eyes. From the middle of his hand, another son was born. These are nine sons, and there was also a tenth daughter, renowned as Angaja, the tenth child of Brahma. It is said that delusion arises from intellect, and ego is remembered; anger and intellect—what do these names imply? The three qualities—sattva, rajas, and tamas—are declared to be the foundation of creation, and their state of equilibrium is called the nature of creation. Some call this Pradhana, others the unmanifest; this alone is the source of all beings and their transformations. From the agitation of these qualities, three gods were born—one form, three divisions: Brahma, Vishnu, and Maheshvara. From the transformed Pradhana arises the great principle, known as 'great' because it is the source of all worlds. From this great principle, ego is born, increasing mankind. From ego arise the five senses, governed by intellect, and the five organs of action. These senses are: hearing, touch, sight, taste, and smell. The organs of action are: excretion, generation, hands, feet, and speech. Their corresponding functions are: sound, touch, form, taste, and smell; and, respectively, elimination, enjoyment, taking, movement, and speech. The mind is the eleventh, endowed with the qualities of both action and understanding. The subtle senses are its components, and the wise declare the mind to be their form. Because the subtle elements reside within it, the body is thus named; and due to its union with the body, the living being is called 'embodied' by the learned. Impelled by the desire to create, the mind produces creation. From the subtle element of sound, space arose, possessing the quality of sound. From the transformation of space came air, possessing both sound and touch. From the subtle element of touch in air, fire arose. Fire, through its transformation, became threefold, possessing sound, touch, and form. From the transformation of fire, water arose, possessing four qualities. Born from the subtle element of taste, water is chiefly characterized by taste. Earth, from the subtle element of smell, arose endowed with all five qualities, and is mostly characterized by smell. This is the superior intellect, and with these elements, the twenty-fifth Purusha experiences the world. Subject to the will of the Lord, this individual self is also described by the wise. Thus, the human body is said to be composed of twenty-six elements. Because it consists of these elements, this system is called Sāṃkhya by Kapila and others. Having established these principles, the Creator fashioned the world. Placing Sāvitrī in his heart for the purpose of creating the worlds, Brahma became absorbed in contemplation. Then, as he recited, breaking through his pure body, creation unfolded.