Shiva Purana (Books 1 & 7)

कथं जगदिदं कृत्स्नं विधाय च निधाय च आज्ञया परमां क्रीडां करोति परमेश्वरः

How does the Supreme Lord, having created and then withdrawn this entire world, perform his supreme play by his command?

किं तत्प्रथमसंभूतं केनेदमखिलं ततम् केना वा पुनरेवेदं ग्रस्यते पृथुकुक्षिणा

What is that which first came into being? By whom is all this pervaded? And by whom again is all this consumed, whose belly is vast?

शक्तिः प्रथमसम्भूता शांत्यतीतपदोत्तरा ततो माया ततो ऽव्यक्तं शिवाच्छक्तिमतः प्रभोः

Power is the first to arise, surpassing the state beyond peace; then comes māyā, then the unmanifest, from Śiva, the lord endowed with power.

शान्त्यतीतपदं शक्तेस्ततः शान्तिपदक्रमात् ततो विद्यापदं तस्मात्प्रतिष्ठापदसंभवः

From the power comes the state beyond peace, then, in sequence, the state of peace; from that, the state of knowledge, and from that, the state of foundation arises.

निवृत्तिपदमुत्पन्नं प्रतिष्ठापदतः क्रमात् एवमुक्ता समासेन सृष्टिरीश्वरचोदिता

From the state of foundation, the state of withdrawal arises in order; thus, in summary, the creation prompted by the Lord has been described.

आनुलोम्यात्तथैतेषां प्रतिलोम्येन संहृतिः अस्मात्पञ्चपदोद्दिष्टात्परस्स्रष्टा समिष्यते

In the natural order, these arise; in the reverse, they dissolve. Beyond the fivefold method prescribed, another creator is not accepted.

कलाभिः पञ्चभिर्व्याप्तं तस्माद्विश्वमिदं जगत् अव्यक्तं कारणं यत्तदात्मना समनुष्ठितम्

Therefore, this entire universe is pervaded by the five energies; that unmanifest cause, which is established by itself, is what is intended.

महदादिविशेषांतं सृजतीत्यपि संमतम् किं तु तत्रापि कर्तृत्वं नाव्यक्तस्य न चात्मनः

It is agreed that it creates from the great principle down to the particular; yet, even there, neither the unmanifest nor the self possesses agency.

अचेतनत्वात्प्रकृतेरज्ञत्वात्पुरुषस्य च प्रधानपरमाण्वादि यावत्किञ्चिदचेतनम्

Because nature is insentient and the person is unknowing, everything from the primary substance down to the atom is without consciousness.

तत्कर्तृकं स्वयं दृष्टं बुद्धिमत्कारणं विना जगच्च कर्तृसापेक्षं कार्यं सावयवं यतः

It is seen that an intelligent cause is necessary for action; for the world, being an effect, composed of parts, depends on an agent.

तस्माच्छक्तस्स्वतन्त्रो यः सर्वशक्तिश्च सर्ववित् अनादिनिधनश्चायं महदैश्वर्यसंयुतः

Therefore, he who is powerful, independent, all-capable, all-knowing, without beginning or end, and endowed with supreme sovereignty—

स एव जगतः कर्ता महादेवो महेश्वराः पाता हर्ता च सर्वस्य ततः पृथगनन्वयः

He alone is the creator of the world, the great god, the supreme lord; he is also the protector and destroyer of all, thus the sequence is distinct.

परिणामः प्रधानस्य प्रवृत्तिः पुरुषस्य च सर्वं सत्यव्रतस्यैव शासनेन प्रवर्तते

The transformation of the primary substance and the activity of the person—all proceed only by the command of the ever-truthful one.

इतीयं शाश्वती निष्ठा सतां मनसि वर्तते न चैनं पक्षमाश्रित्य वर्तते स्वल्पचेतनः

Thus, this eternal conclusion abides in the minds of the wise; and the one of little understanding does not act by relying on this doctrine.

यावदादिसमारंभो यावद्यः प्रलयो महान् तावदप्येति सकलं ब्रह्मणः शारदां शतम्

From the beginning of creation until the great dissolution, all this endures for a hundred divine years of Brahmā.

परमित्यायुषो नाम ब्रह्मणो ऽव्यक्तजन्मनः तत्पराख्यं तदर्धं च परार्धमभिधीयते

This is called the supreme lifespan of Brahmā, who is born from the unmanifest; that which is called 'para' is its half, known as 'parārdha.'

परार्धद्वयकालांते प्रलये समुपस्थिते अव्यक्तमात्मनः कार्यमादायात्मनि तिष्ठति

At the end of two parārdhas, when dissolution arrives, the unmanifest, taking the effect of the self, remains within itself.

आत्मन्यवस्थिते ऽव्यक्ते विकारे प्रतिसंहृते साधर्म्येणाधितिष्ठेते प्रधानपुरुषावुभौ

When the unmanifest is established in the self and transformation is withdrawn, both the primary substance and the person remain together in similarity.

तमः सत्त्वगुणावेतौ समत्वेन व्यवस्थितौ अनुद्रिक्तावनन्तौ तावोतप्रोतौ परस्परम्

These two, darkness and the quality of goodness, remain in equilibrium, neither increasing nor decreasing, mutually interwoven and endless.

गुणसाम्ये तदा तस्मिन्नविभागे तमोदये शांतवातैकनीरे च न प्राज्ञायत किंचन

Then, in that state of equality of qualities, in the absence of distinction, when darkness prevails, and in the stillness of a single windless ocean, nothing is perceived.

अप्रज्ञाते जगत्यस्मिन्नेक एव महेश्वरः उपास्य रजनीं कृत्स्नां परां माहेश्वरीं ततः

When the world is unperceived, the one supreme lord alone exists, worshipping the entire night, the supreme Māheśvarī.

प्रभातायां तु शर्वर्यां प्रधानपुरुषावुभौ प्रविश्य क्षोभयामास मायायोगान्महेश्वरः

But when the night has passed, the supreme lord, by the power of illusion, enters both the primary substance and the person and stirs them.

ततः पुनरशेषाणां भूतानां प्रभवाप्ययात् अव्यक्तादभवत्सृष्टिराज्ञया परमेष्ठिनः

Then again, by the command of the supreme lord, creation arises from the unmanifest, and the coming into being and dissolution of all beings takes place.

विश्वोत्तरोत्तरविचित्रमनोरथस्य यस्यैकशक्तिशकले सकलस्समाप्तः आत्मानमध्वपतिमध्वविदो वदंति तस्मै नमः सकललोकविलक्षणाय

Homage to the One who is utterly distinct from all worlds, in whom the entirety of the universe, with all its wondrous and ever greater desires, is fully contained within but a fragment of his single power, whom the knowers of the path call the Lord of the path and the Self.

पुरुषाधिष्ठितात्पूर्वमव्यक्तादीश्वराज्ञया बुद्ध्यादयो विशेषांता विकाराश्चाभवन् क्रमात्

Before the Purusha was established, from the unmanifest, by the command of the Lord, intellect and the other evolutes down to the specific elements, along with their modifications, arose in succession.

ततस्तेभ्यो विकारेभ्यो रुद्रो विष्णुः पितामहः कारणत्वेन सर्वेषां त्रयो देवाः प्रजज्ञिरे

Then, from those modifications, Rudra, Vishnu, and the Grandfather (Brahma) were born as the causes of all things—these three gods.

सर्वतो भुवनव्याप्तिशक्तिमव्याहतां क्वचित् ज्ञानमप्रतिमं शश्वदैश्वर्यं चाणिमादिकम्

He possesses the unobstructed power to pervade all worlds, incomparable knowledge, perpetual lordship, and the supernatural powers such as aṇimā.

सृष्टिस्थितिलयाख्येषु कर्मसु त्रिषु हेतुताम् प्रभुत्वेन सहैतेषां प्रसीदति महेश्वरः

In the three acts known as creation, preservation, and dissolution, Maheshvara, together with his sovereignty, is the cause and bestower of favor to them.

कल्पान्तरे पुनस्तेषामस्पर्धा बुद्धिमोहिनाम् सर्गरक्षालयाचारं प्रत्येकं प्रददौ च सः

At the end of a kalpa, due to their rivalry and confusion of understanding, he assigned to each of them, individually, the conduct of creation, preservation, and dissolution.