The sages, eager for knowledge, approached Sūta, the illustrious knower of the Purāṇas, and asked, “How were the seven ancient seers and the seven mind-born sons first created and regarded as sons? Please tell us, O noble one. And how did the seven perfected seers, who lived during the Svāyambhuva Manvantara, return again in the Vaivasvata Manvantara?” Sūta replied with auspicious words: “Listen, O wise ones. In the distant past, those seven great seers were struck by a curse from Bhava. Because of this, they were unable to attain the highest fruits of ascetic practice at that time. Yet, being destined to return, they were born again among people in the world. All the great sages then gathered together and discussed among themselves, just as they had done at the splendid sacrifice of Varuṇa. They resolved, ‘Let us all be born in the Cākṣuṣa Manvantara as sons of the Grandfather (Brahmā); from this, greater good will arise.’ Thus, in the Svāyambhuva Manvantara, Bhava’s curse befell them for the sake of seven. But, after being reborn, they ascended from the world of men to the heavens. At the great sacrifice of the gods, when the deity took the form of Vāruṇī, Brahmā, desiring progeny, offered the pure essence into the sacrificial fire. At this moment, the seers were first born—this is known as the second creation. From Brahmā were born eight great sages: Bhṛgu, Aṅgirā, Marīci, Pulastya, Pulaha, Kratu, Atri, and Vasiṣṭha. At that grand sacrifice, all the gods assembled, along with the personified elements of the sacrifice and the embodied Vaṣaṭkāra. There, thousands of Sāman hymns and Yajus formulas appeared in living form, and the Ṛgveda arose, beautifully arranged in sequence. The Yajurveda, resplendent with meters and radiant with the sound of Oṃ, stood there, filled with sacrificial intent, hymns, Brāhmaṇa passages, and mantras. The Sāmaveda, foremost among songs and rich in meter, was present with the Gandharvas led by Viśvāvasu. The Brahma Veda, fierce in its ritual instructions and linked to the Atharvāṅgirasas, appeared with two bodies and two heads. Accents, musical notes, stobha syllables, divisions of etymology and accentuation, the Vaṣaṭkāra as their support, and the rules of restraint and release were all present. The radiant goddess Ilā, the directions and their lords, divine maidens, wives, and the Mothers—all these, each with their own forms and names, appeared as the very life in the mouth of the god performing the sacrifice. When Svayambhu (the self-born) beheld this, his creative energy was stirred. His seed fell upon the earth, impelled by the creative urge of a Brahmarshi. There is no doubt about this. Gathering it up with a ladle and spoon, Brahmā offered it as clarified butter into the fire, reciting mantras as the Grandfather. From this act, the Lord of Creatures generated hosts of beings. From his energy, in that sacrifice, arose the fiery principle in the worlds, along with the pervasiveness of darkness, the quality of sattva, and likewise rajas. From that energy, endowed with qualities and ever abiding in space and darkness, all beings were born, due to the fiery nature of darkness. When, at that time, sons born of action were produced, Brahmā took his own seed and offered it into the vessel of clarified butter. As the seed was thus offered, great seers appeared, radiant in form and endowed with sevenfold creative qualities. When the seed was offered into the fire, from the flames emerged Kavi. Seeing him arise from the fire, Hiranyagarbha declared, ‘You are Bhṛgu,’ and thus he became known as Bhṛgu. Mahadeva, witnessing this Brahmin’s manifestation, said, ‘This one, born of my desire for a son and my consecration, has been produced by you, O Lord; let this Bhṛgu be my son.’ Thus, with Svayambhu’s permission, Mahadeva accepted Bhṛgu as his own son, and because he was born of Varuṇa, Bhṛgu is also called the son of Varuṇa. Next, a second portion of the seed fell upon glowing coals; from these coals, the limbs united, and thus Aṅgirā was born. Seeing his birth, Agni said to Brahmā, ‘Since I have received the seed, let this second one be mine.’ Brahmā, the lord of the assembly, agreed, ‘So be it.’ Therefore, Aṅgirā is known as the son of Agni. Then, as Brahmā offered the seed six more times, six Brahmas were born, as tradition declares. Marīci was the first among them, arising from the rays; in that sacrifice, his son was born, and thus he is called Kratu. The third, declaring ‘I am the third,’ became known as Atri. Pulastya was produced from sharp hair, Pulaha from long hair, and Vasuman, who rests upon the earth, arose from the midst of the Vasus. This Vasuman is known as Vasiṣṭha by those who speak of Brahman and know the truth. Thus, these six great seers are the mind-born sons of Brahmā. These progenitors of the world increased the number of living beings; hence, Brahmā’s sons are called the lords of creation. Other ancestors, renowned by that name, were also produced by these great sages—seven groups of seers, celebrated throughout the worlds. The lineages of Marīci, Bhṛgu, Aṅgirā, as well as the Paulastyas, Paulahas, the famous Vāsiṣṭhas, and the Ātreyas—these ancestral groups are well known across the worlds. In summary, these ancient beings possessed three qualities: they were unprecedented, radiant, and luminous. Among them, Yama, the god, is king, and those with faults are restrained by the Yamas. Others are lords of beings, whose names you should hear: Kardama, Kaśyapa, Śeṣa, Vikrānta, Suśruvas, Bahuputra, Kumāra, Vivasvān, and Śuciśravā. Also, Pracetas, Ariṣṭanemi, Bahulasva, Prajāpati, and many others are counted among the lords of progeny. Thus, O seekers, is the story of the seven ancient seers, the mind-born sons, and the lineages that arose from the creative power of Brahmā, as celebrated in the worlds.