In ancient times, the divine order of the cosmos was established with careful appointments by the supreme lord. Vipracitti was chosen as the king of the Dānavas, while Varuṇa became the sovereign of the waters. Vaiśravaṇa was assigned as the lord over kings, yakṣas, rākṣasas, earthly rulers, and wealth, holding mastery in all these domains. Vaivasvata Yama was anointed as king of the Pitṛs, the ancestors, and Girisha, the mighty wielder of the trident, was made lord of all beings and piśācas. Himavat, the majestic mountain, was made king over all mountains, and the ocean was established as the ruler of rivers. Citraratha was appointed lord of the gandharvas. Uccaiḥśravas, the celestial horse, was crowned king of horses; the tiger, king of beasts; and the bull, king of all quadrupeds. Garuḍa, the foremost among flyers, became king of all birds. Mātula was made lord of fragrances and of beings without bodies. Vāyu, the best among the strong, was made lord of those whose force is sound and space. Śeṣa was crowned king of all those with fangs, and Vāsuki became lord of the nāgas. Among the reptiles, serpents, and nāgas, Takṣaka was appointed. Parjanya was made lord of the oceans, rivers, clouds, rainfall, and among the suns. Of the hosts of apsarases and of Kāma, as well as of the seasons, months, and periods, their rulers were established. The year was made lord of fortnights and their opposites, moments and festivals, measures of time and rays, and of calculation and yoga. Prajāpati, in the eastern direction of the atmosphere, anointed his son Sudhāmā as king. In the western direction, his son Ketumanta, of great soul, was similarly anointed. Manu, his son, was made lord of mankind; and through their governance, the entire earth with its seven continents and cities is still ruled according to righteousness. In the previous interval of Svāyambhuva, Brahmā himself anointed these rulers. Those who become Manus are always anointed as kings. In past Manvantaras, these kings have departed, and new ones are appointed with each new Manvantara, all remembered as lords of their respective eras. Pṛthu, anointed at the Rājasūya by these foremost men, was made a powerful king, following the rites prescribed in the Vedas. Having produced sons for the purpose of continuing the people, the greatly fortunate lord again became master of all beings. Kaśyapa, desiring to establish a lineage, undertook supreme austerity, praying for two sons who would carry on his line. As Kaśyapa meditated, two sons, portions of Brahmā and endowed with great energy, appeared: Vatsāra and Asita, both speakers of Brahman. From Vatsāra came Nidhruva, and from Raibhya, the renowned Raibhya lineage was established. From Raibhya, the Raibhya lineage should be known. From Nidhruva, Sumedha was born to Cyavana and Sukanyā. The wife of Nidhruva became the mother of the Kuṇḍapāyins. From Asita and Ekaparṇā, a Brahmin of highest excellence was born. Hearing the words of the Śāṇḍilyas, Devala of great fame, and the Nidhruvas, Śāṇḍilyas, Raibhyas, and later the Kaśyapas, the gods beginning with Vara became the progeny of Devala. When the four ages have passed, in the eleventh Manu, the progeny remain, and in the Dvāpara, they continue. Of Mānas, while he was living, his son Dama was known; Mānas’ heir was Tṛṇabindu. At the beginning of the Tretā Yuga, in the third age, a king was born whose daughter, Tviḍaviḍā, was unmatched in beauty. This royal sage gave his daughter to Pulastya. Viśravāḥ became the husband of Ṛṣi Tviḍaviḍā, and he had four wives who increased the lineage of the Paulastyas. Bṛhaspati, the renowned preceptor of the gods, married a maiden named Devavarṇinī. Puṣpotkakaṭā and Vākā were the two sons of Mālyavat, and Kaikasī was the daughter of Mālin. Now listen to the offspring of these women. Devavarṇinī bore Vaiśravaṇa, the eldest, endowed with divine qualities, in accordance with sacred law and tradition. He possessed the form of a Rākṣasa and the strength of an Asura. He had three feet, a massive body, a large head, eight fangs, a tawny beard, conch-shaped ears, and was reddish in appearance, with both short and long arms, tawny and very fearsome, endowed with knowledge of transformation, awakened and rich in wisdom. Seeing such a son, possessing a universal form, his father declared, “He is Kubera,” naming him thus. The word ‘kuti’ denotes reproach, and ‘bera’ means body; because of his deformed body, he was marked with the name Kubera. Because he was the son of Viśravas and resembled him, he became known in the world as Vaiśravaṇa. Through prosperity, Kubera begot the famous Nalakūbara. Kaikasī bore Rāvaṇa, Kumbhakarṇa, the daughter Śūrpaṇakhā, and the fourth, Vibhīṣaṇa, as her sons. Rāvaṇa was ten-headed, conch-eared, tawny, with red hair, four-footed, twenty arms, of great size and immense strength. He was black as collyrium by birth, with fangs and a red neck, endowed with royal power, victorious in form and in strength. Rāvaṇa, with true understanding and a strong body, was a Rākṣasa by nature—fierce and cruel, and thus called Rāvaṇa. In a previous birth, he was the king Hiraṇyakaśipu; as a Rākṣasa, he ruled for thirteen cycles of four ages. Those five crore years have been declared by the twice-born as the count; and sixty-one niyutas have been stated by those skilled in reckoning.