O wise one, listen as the ancient teachings unfold, revealing the tapestry of the universe and the subtle web of words that describe it. There is Brahmā, the creator, the staff-bearing sage, the very blood of existence, the subtle and the small, and the primal beginning from which all arises. The world moves not just forward, but sideways too—sometimes with difficulty, sometimes with generosity, always in the rhythm of becoming, consuming, and striking. Let me declare to you the multitude of qualities, substances, actions, unions, and even the distinctions of gender that pervade creation. There is the skilled one, the self-born, the active doer, and the mother—yet, curiously, not the father. Wealth flows through the world, as does the moon’s cool light, the hand of the cow, the rolling chariot, and shining gold—these and countless other forms. Some beings are born from the rim, some from poison, from the thunderbolt, and from the serpent. Thus, all things—the universe, the dualities, and their mutual relations—are encompassed. There is the former and the latter, the southern, the upper, and the lower realms; the first, the last, the lesser, and the half, all relating to you and to us. There is opposition between one’s own and another, reversal, and that which is imperishable. Consider Gārgya, Nāḍāyana, Ātreya, and Gāṅgeya, who are maternal cousins, each carrying their lineage. Of two joined in action, one is the agent of the deed, steadfast as saffron. In pursuit of one’s own interest, one may be called a thief; in equal dealings, he gazes at the other’s face, fair as the moon. A cow is wealth, and the wealthy man, in times of distress, measures his resources carefully. One adorned with a garland, an ascetic, a man of intelligence, and even a deceiver—these are known only in relation to the matter at hand. When something is only slightly incomplete, it is called “almost” or “nearly so.” The Paṭu caste is mentioned in blame, while the physician’s noose is cited in praise. In abundance and the like, things may be made of food, of clay, or of gold. Some things are darker, some the whitest—what is their true name? They are the imperishable ones. In measurement, we say “knee-deep” or “equal to both knees.” Words like “which” and “which of two” specify numbers; “so many,” “a few,” “how many times,” and “how many” all serve to count, O Nārada. “In two ways,” “in duality,” “in two parts”—these are modes of number, O best of sages. “A pair,” “a triad,” and in number, “two,” “three”—such is the language of enumeration. Now, hear the names: Traiṇa, Pauṣṇa, Tuṇḍibha, Vṛndāraka, and Kṛṣīvala; Avaṭīṭa, Vanāṭa, Nibiḍa, and Cekṣuśākin; Vidyāthuñcu, Bahutitha, Parvata, and Śṛṅgiṇa; Cilla, Cipiṭa, Cikva, Vātūla, and Kutapa; Ūrṇāyu, Marūta, Ekākī, and Carmaṇvatī; Āsaṃdī, Vañca, Cakrīvat, Tūṣṇīkā, and Jalpatakī; Śanta, Śanti, Śaṃyaśanta, Śaṃyohaṃyu, and Śubhaṃyu. Further, the forms of the verb “to be” unfold: Bhavati, Bagabhūva, Bhavitā, Bhaviṣyati, Bhavat, Abhavat, Bhagavat, and Bhavecca. Likewise, the forms of “to eat”: Atti, Jaghāsa, Attāt, Syati, Attvā, Dadat, Dviraghasa, Dātsyat. And those of “to play”: Dideva, Devitā, Deviṣyati, Adīvyat, Dīvyet, Dīvyāt. And “to press” or “to extract”: Sunot, Asunot, Sunuyāt, Sūyāt, Aśāvit, Asoṣyat, Utudati. Verbs for “to go”: Ataut, Sīdat, Otsyat, Iti; “to block”: Ruṇaddhi, Rūrodha, Roddhā, Rotsyati. And “to stretch”: Tanoti, Tatāna, Tanitā, Taniṣyati, Tanot, Atanot, Tanuyāt. For “to buy” and “to steal”: Akrīṇāt, Krīṇāt, Krīṇīyāt, Krīyāt, Akraiṣīt, Akreṣyat, Corayati, Corayāmāsa, Corayitā, Corayiṣyati, Corayatu. In the vast collection of actions, O sage, the learned one is called “Bobhūyate.” When the root carries an anudātta accent, so too does the interchange of actions. The verb in the parasmaipada form is used for the agent, as the grammarians teach, except in the remaining cases. Thus, O seeker, is the universe described—in qualities, actions, forms, and words—so that the wise may know the ways of all that is, was, and will be.