In the unfolding of creation, a host of mysterious beings came into existence, each with their own peculiar forms and habits. Among them were the Nitundaka Piśācas, well-known for their hanging bellies, beak-like noses, short bodies, heads, and arms. These beings were especially fond of sesame seeds. Then there were the Anarka and Marka Piśācas, dwarf-like in form, ever talkative, and moving about by leaping from place to place. They made their homes in trees and, curiously, had a distaste for food. Another group, the Pāṃśava Piśācas, could be recognized by their arms, hair, and even the trees they inhabited, all pointing upward. Dust would fall from their bodies as they moved about. The Upavīra Piśācas, on the other hand, were dry, with visible veins and beards, clad in garments made of bark. They found their abodes in cremation grounds. There were others with fixed, glaring eyes and large, licking tongues. Their bodies were shaped like mortars, and their heads were as large as those of elephants or camels. These beings were withdrawn, with lumpy forms. The Sumbhapātra Piśācas survived by eating food unseen by others. Some among them were subtle, covered in tawny hair, and could move about both visibly and invisibly. Among these goblins, there were those skilled in mischief, with unrestrained natures—mouths torn open to the ears, drooping lips, and thick noses. Some groups were trampled by hands and feet, dwarfish, always gazing at the ground. These goblins were known to seize children and frequent the houses of women in childbirth. Others had hands and feet set backward, moved as swiftly as the wind, and were also dwarfish. These fierce ones ate flesh and drank blood in battle. Some were naked and homeless, their hair hanging loose and their bodies lumpy. These were called Skandins, while others among them fed on the remains of offerings. In all, sixteen kinds of goblins were thus described. When Brahma beheld these pitiful beings in such distressing forms, he was moved by compassion for their limited understanding. Out of his mercy, he granted them a boon: the power to become invisible and to assume any form at will. Their dwelling places and means of living were found at the junctions of day and night, in houses that were broken, deserted, or sparsely inhabited. They also took up residence in ruined dwellings, those inhabited by impure people, left unswept or smeared with filth, and in places lacking proper rites. You could find them along royal roads and side streets, at unclean crossroads, doorways, thresholds, and in places where people crossed without ownership. They were established on roads, by rivers, at sacred fords, in trees at shrines, and along great highways. Goblins and spirits also gathered among the unrighteous—those whose livelihoods were prescribed by the gods, such as mixed castes, artisans, and craftsmen. They haunted the company of thieves, betrayers of trust, and those who acquired wealth unjustly. Wherever such acts began, there the goblins and spirits would dwell. To appease and honor these beings, offerings were made of honey, meat, rice, curds, sesame flour, spirituous liquors, incense, turmeric rice, oil, molasses, and rice cooked with jaggery. With black garments, incense, and flowers, they were thus equipped and empowered, especially at the junctions of sacred days, for Brahma had granted them this permission as their lord. For all beings and goblins, Brahma, seeing Girisha—the wielder of the trident—produced sons: tigers and lions. He also had sons who were leopards, and serpents who consumed flesh. O wise ones, now listen to the creation of beings in its fullness, beginning with the names of his five daughters: Mina, Mata, Vrtta, Parivrtta, and Anuvrtta. From these daughters arose their own offspring: the thousand-toothed crocodiles, the Pāṭhīnas, the Tamara, and the Rohitas, forming the extensive group known as the Mainas. There were four kinds of crocodiles, along with their younger and elder ones. The Nishkas and Shishumaras too were considered to have produced offspring. Many forms of turtles and various kinds of aquatic creatures came into being, as well as different forms of conches. The forms of frogs appeared in succession, followed by fish and snails. Likewise, oysters and crabs, and more varieties of conches, arose in turn. Poisonous creatures and those generated by leeches also appeared, thus completing the fivefold lineage of the sage. The expansion of the lineage of animals born from sweat was vast, arising from various causes, as was the case with lesser creatures. From the bodies of lizards came twice-born creatures; humans arose from sweat and dirt, as did beings called Uśanā, and various kinds of ants, insects, and those with fixed feet. There were also forms of conches, stones, and those that moved like pins, and many other earth-born beings arising from sweat. Likewise, from water heated by the sun and other sources, and from rain, various creatures were born from the bodies of animals. Fish, pippalā insects, mosquitoes, and the offspring of partridges, as well as many kinds of blue and variegated creatures, all came into being in this way. Among these aquatic and sweat-born creatures were reeds, gnats, cane-boring insects, and many-footed beings. Sihalā, Romalā, and Picchalā were also mentioned, remembered as part of this group of aquatic and sweat-born beings. From clarified butter, and from black gram and green gram, creatures were born in succession. Similarly, the fruits of jambu, bael, mango, and others gave rise to new beings. From green gram, jackfruit, and rice, as well as from dry hollows and stored grains, creatures indeed came into being. Creatures also arose from other sources, though they did not remain long; beings were born from horses and other animals, and likewise from poisons. When cow dung was left for many days, numerous worms were produced, O sages, and in wood, insects such as borers would arise. In succession, various blue flies were born from trees; likewise, from dry substances, offspring were produced. Thus, the wondrous diversity of life—visible and invisible, gentle and fearsome, aquatic and terrestrial—came forth in manifold ways, each with its own place and purpose in the grand tapestry of creation.