In the beginning, when the entire universe was but a vast void, the Supreme Lady beheld this emptiness and filled it with her own radiant light. She is known by many names—Lakṣmī, Earth, and Nīlādevī—and as the very foundation of the world, she assumes the form of the earth itself. Taking on the essence of water and other elements, she appears as Nīlā, and when she manifests as Lakṣmī, she becomes the very embodiment of wealth. In her own true form, the goddess is Śrī, the prosperity of the world, and all forms of knowledge are but aspects of Lakṣmī. Every expression of beauty is her form; loveliness, good character, noble conduct, and good fortune among women—all these are her manifestations, placed at the forefront of all women, O daughter of the mountain. By her sidelong glance or her fierce gaze, Brahmā, Śiva, Indra the king of heaven, the moon, the sun, Kubera, and Agni attain great sovereignty and power. She is Lakshmi, Śrī, Kamala, Vidya, Mother, beloved of Vishnu, Sati; she dwells within the lotus, holds a lotus, is lotus-eyed, and is the beauty of the worlds. She is the eternal ruler of beings—patient, all-pervading, auspicious—wife of Vishnu, the great goddess, daughter of the milk ocean, known also as Rama. Endless and dark-hued, she is the mother of the worlds, giver of all happiness, appearing as Rukmini and Sita, the embodiment of all the Vedas, and always auspicious. She is Sati, Sarasvati, Gauri, peace itself, Svaha, Svadha, Rati, and Narayani of noble stature, inseparable from Vishnu. Whoever rises in the morning and recites these sacred names of hers attains great prosperity, wealth, abundance of grain, and purity. She is golden-hued, gentle as a deer, adorned with garlands of gold and silver, radiant as the moon, and ever resplendent as Lakshmi, never departing from Vishnu. Fragrant, invincible, ever-nourishing, and the bestower of action, she is the ruler of all beings—her, I invoke as Śrī. Thus, in the Rig Veda, the great goddess is praised, for she grants all prosperity and happiness to Shiva and the celestial beings. She is the sovereign of this world, the eternal wife of Vishnu, and upon her glance depends the entire universe, both moving and unmoving. The goddess dwells on Vishnu’s chest like brilliance within fire, and he is truly the lord of all, the imperishable and immutable person. He is Narayana, possessed of fortune, an ocean of affection and virtues; master, gentle, blessed, all-knowing, and endowed with all powers. Ever fulfilled in desire, he is naturally a friend and companion, an ocean of nectar-like compassion, and the refuge for all embodied beings. Giver of happiness in heaven and liberation, he is the source of compassion for devotees; to that glorious Vishnu, I offer all service. In every place, time, and circumstance, all belongs to the Lord of the Lotus; thus, having realized his nature, one attains the happiness of service. Understanding the meaning of this mantra, one should practice devotion properly, for this entire world—both moving and unmoving—is his servant. The glorious Narayana is the master and lord of the worlds; he is mother, father, son, kin, abode, refuge, and the ultimate goal. The blessed Lord of Śrī, endowed with auspicious qualities and fulfiller of all desires, is called 'without qualities' in the scriptures, yet remains the lord of the world. Any sense of inferiority is said to arise from association with the natural, defective qualities—where the apparent worldliness is spoken of in Vedantic statements. All that is seen here is impermanent; even the cosmic egg’s own form is subject to destruction. Indeed, the impermanence of all forms is thus declared, O great goddess, and this pertains to the origin of Hari from Prakriti. For the sake of divine play, Vishnu, the Lord of gods, created the worlds with four, then ten, oceans and islands. With four kinds of beings and towering mountains, this beautiful, complete cosmic egg arises from Prakriti. Endowed with ten-plus qualities and covered by seven sheaths, time revolves within it in the forms of kala, kashtha, and so on. By time alone, the creation, maintenance, and dissolution of the world occur—a day of Brahma is a thousand cycles of the four yugas. For that many nights and years is the lifespan of Brahma, born from the unmanifest; and when Brahma’s end arrives, all is destroyed. The worlds within the cosmic egg are consumed by the fire of time, and all beings are absorbed back into the Prakriti of Vishnu. The elements forming the coverings of the egg dissolve into Prakriti, and that Prakriti, sheltered by Hari, supports all the worlds. By her, the Blessed Lord always brings about the creation and dissolution of the world; for the sake of divine play, the Lord of gods manifested the world-illusion. Ignorance, Prakriti, and Maya—always composed of the three gunas—are the eternal cause of creation, preservation, and dissolution. Yoganidra, the great illusion, Prakriti endowed with the three gunas, the unmanifest and primal matter, belong to Vishnu, the master of divine play. The creation and dissolution of the world always arise from Prakriti, whose abode is a dense, unfading darkness containing countless Prakritis. Above, at the boundary, is Viraja, endless and eternal; by her, the entire world is upheld in both gross and subtle states. Within her, expansion and contraction are the modes by which creation and dissolution are remembered, and thus all beings are contained within Prakriti. Then, all this becomes void, absorbed into the great Prakriti; such is the supreme form of the glory of Prakriti.