Padma Purana

Let us contemplate the vast cycles of creation, as revealed in the sacred Padma Purāṇa. The lifespan of Brahma, born from the unmanifest, stretches across countless nights and years. Yet, when Brahma’s time draws to its close, all that exists is destroyed. The worlds within the cosmic egg are consumed by the fire of time, and all living beings are absorbed back into the Prakriti of Vishnu. The elemental coverings of the cosmic egg, too, dissolve into Prakriti, which is sheltered by Hari and stands as the support of all worlds. By her, the Blessed Lord eternally brings about creation and dissolution; for the sake of divine play, the world-illusion was fashioned by the Lord of gods. This Prakriti, always composed of the three gunas—ignorance, Prakriti, and Maya—is the eternal cause of creation, preservation, and destruction. She is Yoganidra, the great illusion, the unmanifest, the primal matter belonging to Vishnu, the master of divine play. From Prakriti arise both creation and dissolution; the abode of countless Prakritis is thick, unfading darkness. Above, at the boundary, lies Viraja—endless and eternal—by whom the entire world is upheld in both its gross and subtle forms. Within her, expansion and contraction are the states in which creation and dissolution are remembered, and thus all beings are contained within Prakriti. In the end, all becomes void, absorbed into the great Prakriti, revealing her supreme glory. Now, O delight of the mountains, hear of the threefold glory. Between Pradhana and the supreme sky flows the Viraja river, auspicious and sacred, its waters born from the sweat of the Vedas’ limbs. Beyond her, in the highest sky, is the eternal threefold being: the immortal, everlasting, infinite, supreme abode—pure, composed of sattva, divine, imperishable—the abode of Brahman. This realm shines with the radiance of countless millions of suns and fires, undecaying, composed of all the Vedas, untouched by creation or dissolution. It is innumerable, ageless, eternal, free from waking, dreaming, and other states—a golden abode of liberation, bestowing the bliss of Brahman. Without equal or superior, without beginning or end, it is auspicious, wondrous in brilliance, delightful, an ocean of perpetual bliss. From the very beginning, this supreme abode of Vishnu possesses such qualities. Neither sun nor moon nor fire illumines it. Those who reach it never return; this is the supreme abode of Hari. Though it is eternal and imperishable, it cannot be described even in hundreds of millions of aeons. Neither I, nor the Creator, nor the assemblies of great sages, can describe the abode of Hari. There, the imperishable Lord dwells; whether one knows it or not, O friend, it is so. That imperishable Vedic mystery, in which all the gods are seated—he who knows it, what need has he of hymns? Those who know it dwell together there. Sages always behold that supreme abode of Vishnu: imperishable, eternal, divine, O goddess, spread out like an eye. Brahma, Rudra, and other deities cannot enter it; only the foremost yogis, through knowledge and the path of scripture, perceive it. Neither I, nor Brahma, nor the gods, nor the great sages know it fully. Having considered the meaning of all the Upanishads, I shall declare it, O virtuous one. In the supreme abode of Vishnu, called the abode of auspiciousness, cows with abundant horns dwell, and the people are supremely happy. Here, the supreme abode of the bow-bearing, cowherd Vishnu shines, radiant with cows and cowherds, called the abode of happiness. It is of the color of the sun, beyond darkness, the imperishable light, the foundation of the worlds of Brahman, pure sattva, eternal. On this eternal earth, in that supreme abode, two eternally youthful ones stand awake, radiant and ancient. From them, their sisters—youthful and beloved of Vishnu—arose. Here dwell the ancient Sādhyas and all the eternal gods. They attain heaven, possessing greatness and auspicious appearance; there, wise Brahmins, awake, shine forth. Wise Brahmins, desiring companionship, reach that abode; this supreme abode of Vishnu is called liberation. Those freed from bondage attain happiness; having reached it, they do not return—therefore, it is called liberation. Liberation is the supreme state, divine, immortal, the abode of Vishnu—the imperishable, highest realm, Vaikuṇṭha, the eternal place. It is the eternal, supreme sky, the highest and most ancient; all these are synonyms for the supreme abode of Acyuta. Now, let me describe in detail the threefold manifestation. Thus, in the glorious Padma Mahāpurāṇa, in the Uttarakhaṇḍa, within the dialogue between Umā and Maheśvara, this is the two hundred and twenty-seventh chapter, named ‘The Description of the Threefold Manifestation.’ Now, let us turn to another tale, as Śrī Rudra speaks. He addresses Hiranyakṣa and Hiranyakashipu, mighty sons of Kaśyapa and Diti, lords of the Daityas. By name, they were Jaya and Vijaya. In Śvetadvīpa, they approached Hari, but there, these two mighty ones stopped the great sages, Sanaka and his brothers, who were eager to see Hari. O Goddess, these two, foremost among the gods and powerful, barred the path of the sages longing for Hari, and were cursed by them. The Sanakas said: Having abandoned your former state, you have become servants of the god on earth. Rudra continued: After pronouncing this curse, the great sages remained there. The Lord, knowing what had transpired, summoned the two as well. Rising up, they were addressed by the Blessed Lord, the creator of beings. The Blessed Lord said: You two, mighty in strength, have committed an offense against the great souls. Such are the mysteries and stories revealed in the sacred scripture, where the cycles of creation and dissolution, the supreme abode, and the destinies of souls are woven together by the timeless wisdom of Sanātana Dharma.