સમય, પરિપક્વતા, યજ્ઞ, કરનાર અને અભ્યાસ—all these are embodiments of the same supreme being. He is known by many forms, yet ultimately, he alone is the highest reality. Although he appears to do everything, he himself never acts; through his will, all others act, and their deeds are fulfilled by him. We worship that પ્રાચીન, blessed one, the very source from whom all arises. He is both the speaker and the subject spoken; I am merely conveying his message to you. Whatever has been heard or is yet to be heard, all discourse, all stories—every teaching and righteous act—is dedicated to him alone. This Lord, who is both the universe and its master, is remembered as નારાયણ. All truth and untruth, beginnings, middles, and ends, all that is boundless or yet to come—everything is contained within him. Whatever moves or does not move, all that exists, is the supreme Purusha, the principal cause. It is said that four thousand years make a કૃત યુગ. Its twilight period is one hundred years, and its double is also counted. In this time, righteousness stands firmly on four feet, while unrighteousness is but a single limb. During that age, people are devoted to their own duties and remain peaceful. બ્રાહ્મણs are established in righteousness, and kings uphold royal conduct. વૈશ્યas are dedicated to agriculture, and શુદ્રas are intent on service. At that time, truth, virtue, and righteousness flourish everywhere. Righteousness, practiced by the virtuous, governs the world; this is the conduct of all in the કૃત યુગ, O king. For those who know righteousness and for men of low birth, the ત્રેતાયુગ is said to last three thousand years. Its twilight period is one hundred years, and its double is declared; here, unrighteousness stands on two feet, and righteousness on three. In that age, truth, virtue, and prescribed rites are established; but in ત્રેતાયુગ, the classes become corrupted, overcome by greed. The duties of the four classes, forbearance, and weakness are present; this is the varied course of the ત્રેતાયુગ, created by the gods. O descendant of Kuru, the દ્વાપર યુગ lasts two thousand years; its twilight period is one hundred years, and the yuga is said to be double that. Here, beings are excessively attached to wealth, overcome by passion; deceitful, unrighteous, and base people are born. In that age, righteousness stands on two feet, and unrighteousness arises on three. Through hundreds of reversals, righteousness declines in Kali Yuga. Devotion to Brahman wanes, and faith is abandoned; vows and fasts are given up at the end of the yuga, in Kali. Then, Kali Yuga is a thousand years, and two hundred years more; in that age, unrighteousness stands on four feet, and righteousness is but a single limb. People become lustful, ascetics are base, and men are born lowly; there is no one steadfast, no one virtuous, and no one who speaks the truth. In that age, બ્રાહ્મણs are known to be atheists and devoted to base pursuits; seized by pride, they lose the bonds of affection. In Kali Yuga, all બ્રાહ્મણs behave like શુદ્રs; the proper order of the આશ્રમs is reversed. And at the end of the age, O descendant of Kuru, there is confusion among the castes. This account of the ages, numbering twelve thousand years, was composed in former times. A day of બ્રહ્મા is said to last as long as a thousand cycles of ages; when that time comes to an end, all living beings—when he sees the dissolution of bodies, Time, intent on destruction, brings about the end for all the gods and all the બ્રાહ્મણs, O king—for the daityas, dānavas, yakṣas, rākṣasas, birds, gandharvas, apsarases, and serpents as well, O ruler—for the mountains, rivers, and also the animals, O best of beings, and for those born in nonhuman wombs, for worms and biting creatures likewise. The Lord of all beings, having become the five elements and the creator of beings, for the purpose of dissolving the world, brings about a great destruction. Becoming the sun, he takes away sight; becoming the wind, he takes the breath of living beings; becoming fire, he burns up all the worlds; becoming a fierce cloud, he rains down again. Becoming નારાયણ, the yogi, the all-formed, the radiant one, with blazing rays he dries up the oceans. Then, having drunk up all the oceans, rivers, and wells everywhere, he takes all the water from the mountains as well, knowing the practice of yoga. And then, with hands like flames, he pierces the earth and, reaching the netherworld, delights in drinking up the supreme essence of water. Whatever is manifest or unmanifest, and whatever else exists among living beings, all of that, the lotus-eyed, supreme person takes in. Becoming the powerful wind, shaking the entire world, હરિ moves through the vital breaths, having seized the life and expiration. Then, of all the hosts of gods and all embodied beings, all the qualities of the five senses, and whatever beings there are—the objects of smell, the nose, the body, and the qualities based in earth—all these, the Lord destroys in a moment, along with the world’s activity. Taste of the tongue and moisture, the qualities based in water; form, the faculty of sight, and the light in the eye, the qualities based in fire—touch, breath, and movement, the qualities based in wind; sound, hearing, and the faculty of listening, the qualities based in space—all these, mind, intellect, consciousness, and the knower of the field, are based in the supreme, and the highest Lord, હૃષીકેશ, is their refuge. Then, surrounded by the rays of that Lord, and pressed by the wind, all take refuge in the branch of the earth. Thus, O king, is the grand cycle of ages and the supreme dissolution, all governed by that one Lord, the source and refuge of all.