Varaha Purana

O Earth, among all the Puranas, there is a verse regarded as universal, and having determined this, I invite you to listen once more to the entirety of this sacred account. Sri Varaha spoke: The five defining marks of a Purana are these—creation, dissolution, genealogies, the periods of Manus, and the accounts of dynasties. Now, radiant one, I shall recount for you the primary creation, the very beginning from which the deeds of gods and kings come to be known, and whereby the eternal Supreme Soul is understood in fourfold aspects. In the very beginning, I was the vast expanse of sky. From myself arose the subtle element—consciousness—as a single, unified entity. That consciousness, through the three qualities of sattva, rajas, and tamas, became divided and took on distinct forms as the elements. Within this triad, I am the darkness known as 'mahat,' which the wise always call the chief. From that mahat, the knower of the field emerged, and from that, intellect was born. From these, the causes of hearing and the other senses arose, and thus the chain of senses was established for the world. By these elements, O blessed one, I fashioned the embodied form by my own will. There was emptiness, sound, and space; from that came air, then light; from light, water; and then, O goddess, I created you, the Earth, as the bearer of all beings. Upon the earth, as in water, there appeared foam, then a lump, and then an egg. When this egg formed and split, I manifested within it, composed of water, revealing myself at the beginning of creation. Having created the waters, I resided therein; and thus my name became Nārāyaṇa, for I dwell in the waters. In every cycle, I return to the waters, and from my navel, as in the beginning, arises the One when I sleep. O goddess, from my navel-lotus, when I was thus, the four-faced Brahmā came forth. I instructed him: “Create the beings, O wise one.” Having spoken thus, I disappeared from his sight. Brahmā, pondering my command, remained alone, but as the sustainer of the world, he found nothing to create. Then, great anger arose within Brahmā, the one born from the unmanifest. From that wrath, a child appeared on his lap. This child, crying, was restrained by Brahmā, who was still in subtle form. The child asked for a name, and Brahmā named him Rudra. Brahmā then said to Rudra, “Create this world, O auspicious one.” Rudra, unable to do so, entered the waters, intent on deep austerity. Immersed in the waters, Brahmā then created another lord of creatures from his right thumb, and from his left thumb he created his wife. In her, the lord begot Manu Svāyambhuva. Thus, in ancient times, the creation of beings was accomplished by Brahmā. The Earth then asked: “Tell me in detail, O lord of gods, about the original creation, and how Brahmā, called Nārāyaṇa, came to be at the beginning of the cycle.” The Blessed Lord replied: “As Nārāyaṇa, he created all beings. Listen, O goddess, as I recount all that happened. At the end of the past cycle, after waking from the night’s sleep, Brahmā, filled with sattva, saw the world empty. Nārāyaṇa is the supreme, inconceivable one, the ancestor even of the highest. The Blessed Lord, in the form of Brahmā, is beginningless and the source of all. There is a verse recited about Nārāyaṇa: the god in the form of Brahmā is the origin and dissolution of the world. The waters are called 'nārā,' the offspring of Nara, and their abode was first his; thus, he is remembered as Nārāyaṇa. As Brahmā pondered creation at the beginning of the cycle, there arose within him, without conscious awareness, a manifestation composed of darkness. This darkness took five forms: darkness, delusion, great delusion, Tamisra, and what is called Andha—fivefold ignorance appeared in the great soul. The creation that emerged in this fivefold form, while Brahmā was absorbed in meditation, was devoid of conscious awareness. It was neither manifest outwardly nor inwardly, its nature concealed, consisting of immobile beings. The wise know this as the primary creation. Then, as Brahmā continued to meditate, another, superior creation arose. Because its current flows sideways, it is known as the 'tiryak-srotas'—the lateral stream. These, beginning with animals, are well known; yet they are led astray from the right path. Considering this 'tiryak-srotas' also as ineffective, the Four-Faced One regarded it as such. The 'urdhva-srotas,' or upward stream, which is threefold and characterized by sattva and righteousness, then arose. From this stream came the gods, who move upward and are born from all wombs. Again, the Lord (Prajapati) created another creation and reflected upon it, considering both those originating from the primary creation and others as ineffective. Then, that Lord contemplated the 'arvāk-srotas,' the downward stream. From this stream arose humans, who are considered effective. These humans are abundant in clarity, but also overwhelmed by darkness and dominated by rajas; therefore, suffering is prevalent among them, and they are repeatedly active. Thus, O fortunate one, these six creations have been described to you: the first is the creation of Mahat, the second of the subtle elements, the third is the Vaikarika creation, and the fourth is the creation of the senses—these together form the Prakrita, or natural, creation, arising through intellect. The fourth is the primary creation, wherein immobile beings are considered primary, and the one called 'tiryak-srotas' is so named because of those beings. Likewise, the best among the 'urdhva-srotas' is the seventh, the human creation. The eighth is the creation of grace, which is both sattvic and tamasic. Of these, five are called 'vaikrita,' or modified, creations, and three are known as 'prakrita,' or natural. The ninth, called 'kaumara,' is both prakrita and vaikrita. Thus, these nine creations of Prajapati have been described—both prakrita and vaikrita—as the fundamental causes of the world. These creations have been explained; what else would you wish to hear? The Earth asked: “The creation of Brahmā, born from the unmanifest, has arisen in nine forms. How did it grow, O god? Tell me this, O Achyuta.” Sri Varaha replied: “First, Brahmā created Rudra and others, who were rich in austerity; then Sanaka and others, as well as Marichi and the rest. These are Marichi, Atri, Angiras, Pulaha, Kratu, Pulastya of great brilliance, Prachetas, Bhrigu, Narada as the tenth, and Vasistha of great austerity.” Thus, O Earth, was the wondrous and profound creation unfolded at the beginning of time.