In the beginning, the great grandsire of the worlds, Brahma, came to possess four faces and undertook the sacred task of creation. Desiring to know the essence of Brahman and to bring forth the worlds, Brahma, revered among the immortals, first performed intense austerities. Through his deep tapas, the Vedas manifested, complete with their various limbs, divisions, and sequences. Among all ancient scriptures, Brahma first recalled the primordial text: eternal, sacred, woven of sound, and vast beyond measure, spanning a hundred crore verses. From Brahma’s mouths, the Vedas themselves emerged, accompanied by Mimamsa, Nyaya, and the various sciences, all joined with the eightfold means of knowledge. Devoted to the study of the Vedas and desiring progeny, Brahma brought forth his mind-born sons, those created from his mind alone. First appeared Marichi, then the venerable sage Atri, followed by Angiras and Pulastya. Pulaha was born next, then Kratu; from Kratu came Prachetas, and again, Vasistha became his son. Bhrigu arose, and soon after, Narada. Thus, Brahma generated these ten illustrious mind-born sages as his sons. Now, hear of Brahma’s bodily sons, those born without mothers. From his right thumb emerged Daksha, the great progenitor. From his breast arose Dharma; from his heart, Kamadeva; from between his brows, anger; and from the lower regions, greed. 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 again a tenth daughter, Angaja, renowned as Brahma’s tenth child. It is said that delusion springs from intellect, ego is remembered, and anger and intellect are named as such. Sattva, rajas, and tamas are declared as the three qualities; when they are in equilibrium, creation arises. Some call this Pradhana, others the unmanifest; it alone creates and transforms all beings. From the agitation of these qualities, three gods were born—one form, three divisions: Brahma, Vishnu, and Maheshvara. From the modified Pradhana arose the great principle, Mahat, which is the source of all worlds. From Mahat, ego arises, increasing mankind. From ego, the five senses governed by intellect and the five senses governed by action came forth. Hearing, touch, sight, taste, and smell are the senses, while excretion, generation, hands, feet, and speech are the organs of action. Their respective functions are sound, touch, form, taste, and smell; elimination, enjoyment, taking, movement, and speech. The mind is the eleventh, endowed with qualities of action and understanding; the subtle senses are its components, and the wise declare it to be their form. Because the subtle elements reside within, the body is named so; and through union with the body, the living being is termed ‘embodied’ by the learned. The mind, impelled by the desire to create, produces creation. From the subtle element of sound, space was born, possessing the quality of sound. From the transformation of space came air, with 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 fire’s transformation, water arose, endowed with four qualities. Water, born from the subtle element of taste, is mostly characterized by taste; and earth, from the subtle element of smell, arose, endowed with five qualities and mostly characterized by smell. With these, the superior intellect enables the twenty-fifth Purusha to experience the world. Subject to the will of the Lord, this individual self is described by the wise; thus, the body of man is composed of twenty-six elements. Because it consists of these elements, it is called Sāṃkhya by Kapila and others. Having established these principles, the Creator fashioned the world. Brahma placed Sāvitrī in his heart for the purpose of creating the worlds, and became absorbed. As he recited, breaking through his pure body, he divided himself: one half became a female form, the other a male. The female became known as Śatarūpā, also called Sāvitrī. She is also Sarasvatī, Gāyatrī, and Brahmāṇī. Brahma regarded her, born from his own body, as his daughter. Upon seeing her, Brahma was agitated, struck by the arrows of desire, exclaiming, “Oh, her beauty! Oh, her beauty!” The mind-born sons, led by Vasiṣṭha, cried out, “Sister!” Yet Brahma saw nothing but her face. Again and again, he exclaimed, “Oh, her beauty!” Bowing low, he gazed at her once more. Out of modesty before her sons, Śatarūpā circled her father, wishing to avoid his gaze. Thereupon, a face appeared on Brahma’s right, pale-cheeked and astonished; another, beaming with wonder, arose on the western side. A fourth appeared behind, on the left, afflicted by the arrows of desire; then, due to his passion, yet another face arose in the same way. As she rose up, taking that form, out of curiosity to see, Brahma’s severe austerity for creation was undone by his desire to approach his own daughter. For that wise one, a fifth face appeared above, and Brahma covered that face with matted locks as it manifested. Thus, through divine austerity, wisdom, and the play of qualities, Brahma came to possess five faces and brought forth the worlds and their beings, establishing the foundation of creation.