O king, hear now of the wondrous dissolution of the worlds. Among all the deities, beginning with Brahmā himself, and among the Daityas, Dānavas, Yakṣas, Rākṣasas, and even the birds of the sky, as well as the Gandharvas and Apsarases, the serpents, the mountains, rivers, animals, the noblest of beings, those born in non-human wombs, and even the smallest worms—none are exempt from the great end. When the time of dissolution approaches, the Lord of the great elements, for the purpose of withdrawing the world, gathers back into himself the five elements. He brings about a vast destruction: becoming the sun, he takes away the sight of all beings; as the wind, he draws in the vital airs; as fire, he burns all the worlds; and as a fierce cloud, he pours forth rain once again. Assuming the radiant form of Nārāyaṇa, the supreme yogi ablaze with divine rays, he dries up the oceans. He drinks up all the waters—oceans, rivers, and wells—and with his rays, draws even the water hidden in the mountains. His rays pierce the earth, reaching down to the netherworld, Pātāla, and he drinks the finest essence from there as well. Whatever moisture, blood, or fluids exist in all living beings, the Supreme Person, O lotus-eyed one, absorbs them all. Then, becoming the powerful wind, Hari shakes the entire world and draws in all the vital airs—prāṇa, apāna, samāna, and others—from every creature. In this way, all the hosts of gods and beings, and all the qualities that reside in the elements—scent, smell, and body in earth; taste, tongue, and moisture in water; form, sight, and ripening in light; touch, breath, and movement in wind; sound, hearing, and space in ether—are withdrawn. In but a single moment, the Lord dispels the world’s illusion, including mind, intellect, and the knower of the field. At this time, the most excellent Lord Hṛṣīkeśa is sought for refuge, and is surrounded by the rays of the Blessed One. As beings shelter in the branches of trees, these branches, struck by the wind, kindle fire through friction. That fire blazes in a hundred ways, and the all-consuming fire of dissolution envelops everything, burning up mountains, trees, shrubs, vines, creepers, and grasses. When all the worlds are reduced to ashes, Hari, the teacher of the worlds, extinguishes the fire by his own act at the epoch’s end. Then Kṛṣṇa, of great might, becomes a thousandfold rain, and with divine water as an offering, he satisfies the earth. The earth is then bathed in pure, sweet, auspicious, and holy water like milk, and attains supreme peace. Covered by this flood, the earth becomes a single ocean, devoid of all living beings. Even the greatest beings enter into the Lord of immeasurable power, as the subtle world is enveloped and sun, wind, and sky are lost from view. Having dried up even the oceans by his power, and having burned and flooded all beings, the Eternal One alone remains, sleeping. Assuming his ancient form, the one of boundless might lies in the single ocean of water, the yogi established in perfect yoga. For many thousands of ages, in the waters of this single ocean, none can know him—neither in manifest nor unmanifest form. Who is this Person? What is his yoga? Who is the possessor of yoga? For how long does the Lord maintain the state of the single ocean? This, no one understands; no one knows what the Blessed Lord will do. At this time, there is no seer, no goer, no knower, nor anyone besides him; nothing at all is known except that best of gods. Having pacified the sky, earth, wind, waters, the illuminator, the lord of creatures, the supporter of worlds, the lord of gods, the grandsire, the abode of the Vedas, and the great sage, he again chooses to lie down. Thus, when all has become a single ocean, the radiant Lord Nārāyaṇa, covering the earth with water, lies in the form of a swan. In the midst of the great darkness, in the expanse of the vast ocean, is known that stainless, mighty, imperishable Brahman. The Lord, veiled by darkness, reveals his own true form; when the mind is established in purity, there truth alone exists, not untruth. That supreme knowledge, which existed before all, was declared by Brahman as a secret in the forest texts, and is remembered as the Upanishadic teaching. It is said that the Person is the sacrifice; that which is called supreme, and any other called ‘person’—he is indeed the highest Person. And those Brahmins who perform sacrifices, and those remembered as officiating priests, all these arose from him in the beginning. Now hear how they came forth from the sacrifice itself. From his mouth, the Lord created Brahman as the first, and the chanter of the Sāma, the Hotṛ priest, and also the Adhvaryu from his arms. From Brahman’s mouth, he created the Brahman priest, the Prastotṛ in every way; from the back, Mitra and Varuṇa, and also the Pratiprastotṛ. From the belly, he created the Pratihartṛ and the Potṛ, O King; from the thighs, the Acchāvāka, and from the knees, the Neṣṭṛ. Then from the hands, the Agnīdhra, and from the knees, the Subrahmaṇya; from the feet, the Grāvastut, and the Unnetṛ of the Yajurveda. Thus, the Blessed Lord, ruler of the world, created these sixteen foremost officiants, the proclaimers of all sacrifices. This very Person, called the sacrifice, is composed of the Veda; all these Vedas, with their limbs, Upanishads, and rituals, are made of him.