Vayu Purana

तेजसा प्रथमनो धीमानव्यक्तः संप्रकाशते। स वै शरीरी प्रथमः कारणत्वे व्यवस्थितः

He, the unmanifest, endowed with intelligence, shines forth first by his radiance; he, possessing a body, is established first as the cause.

अप्रतीघेन ज्ञानेन ऐश्वर्येण च सोऽन्वितः। धर्मेण चाप्रतीघेन वैराग्येण समन्वितः

He is endowed with unobstructed knowledge, with sovereignty, with unobstructed righteousness, and with detachment.

तस्येश्वरस्याप्रतिघं ज्ञानं वैराग्यलक्षणम्। धर्मैश्वर्यकृता बुद्धिर्ब्राह्मी जज्ञेऽभिमानिनः

His knowledge, unobstructed, is characterized by detachment; the intellect, produced by righteousness and sovereignty, is called Brāhmī, belonging to the self-conscious one.

अव्यक्ताज्जायते चास्य मनसा च यदिच्छति। वशीकृतत्वाद्वैगुण्यात् सुरेशत्वात्स्वभावतः

From the unmanifest, whatever he desires by mind is produced; due to mastery, difference in qualities, lordship over the gods, and by his own nature.

चतुर्मुखस्तु ब्रह्मत्वे कालत्वे चान्तकोऽभवत्। सहस्रमूर्द्धा पुरुषस्तिस्रोऽवस्थाः स्वयम्भुवः

Brahmā, four-faced, became Brahmā and, as time, became the ender; the thousand-headed Puruṣa, the self-born, has three states.

सत्त्वं रजश्च ब्रह्मत्वे कालत्वे च रजस्तमः. सात्विकं पुरुषत्वे च गुणवृत्तिः स्वयम्भुवः

Sattva and rajas are present in the state of Brahma, while rajas and tamas are present in the state of Time. The quality of sattva is predominant in the state of Purusha; such is the operation of the qualities of the self-born.

लोकान् सृजति ब्रह्मत्वे कालत्वे संक्षिपत्यपि। पुरुषत्वे ह्युदासीन स्तिस्रोऽवस्थाः प्रजापते

In the state of Brahma, he creates the worlds; in the state of Time, he withdraws them. In the state of Purusha, he remains indifferent—these are the three conditions of the Lord of creatures.

ब्रह्मा कमलगर्भाभः कालो जात्याञ्जनप्रभः। पुरुषः पुण्डरीकाक्षो रूपं तत्परमात्मनः

Brahma has the appearance of being born from a lotus; Time has the radiance of black collyrium by nature; Purusha is the lotus-eyed one—this is the form of the Supreme Self.

योगेश्वरः शरीराणि करोति विकरोति च। नानाकृतिक्रियारूपनामवृत्तिः स्वलीलया

The Lord of Yoga creates and transforms bodies; by his own play, he assumes various forms, actions, appearances, names, and functions.

त्रिधा यद्वर्त्तते लोके तस्मात्रिगुण उच्यते। चतुर्द्धा प्रविभक्तत्वाच्चतुर्व्यूहः प्रकीर्तितः

Because it operates in three ways in the world, it is called threefold in quality; and because it is divided in four ways, it is called the fourfold emanation.

यदाप्नोति यदादत्ते यच्चास्ति विषयं प्रति। तच्चास्य सततं भावस्तस्मादात्मा निरुच्यते

Whatever he attains, whatever he takes, and whatever exists as an object—such is always his state; therefore, he is called the Self.

ऋषिः सर्वगतत्वाच्च शरीराद्यत्स्वयं प्रभुः। स्वामित्वमस्य तत्सर्वं विष्णुः सर्वप्रवेशनात्

He is called seer because he is all-pervading; he is the master of the body and so on, by his own power. All this is his lordship; he is called Vishnu because he enters into all.

भगवान् भगसद्भावाद्रागो रागस्य शासनात्। परश्च तु प्रकृतत्वादवनादोमितिः स्मृतः

He is called Bhagavan because of the presence of fortune; he is called Raga because he governs attachment; and he is called Parashu because of his primal nature and as Avanada because he is the protector.

सर्वज्ञः सर्वविज्ञानात् सर्वः सर्वं यतस्ततः। नराणामयनं यस्मात्तेन नारायणः स्मृतः

He is called omniscient because of all knowledge; he is called all because everything arises from him; and because he is the resting place of men, he is remembered as Narayana.

त्रिधा विभज्य स्वात्मानं त्रैलोक्यं सम्प्रवर्त्तते। सृजते ग्रसते चैव वीक्षते च त्रिभिस्तु यत्। अग्रे हिरण्यगर्भः स प्रादुर्भूतश्चतुर्मुखः

Dividing himself threefold, he sets the three worlds in motion; by these three, he creates, devours, and observes. In the beginning, he appeared as Hiranyagarbha, the four-faced one.

आदित्वाच्चादितेवोऽसावजातत्वादजः स्मृतः। पाति यस्मात्प्रजाः सर्वाःप्रजापतिरतः स्मृतः

Because he is the first, he is called Aditeya; because he is unborn, he is called Aja. Because he protects all creatures, he is called Prajapati.

देवेषु च महान् देवो महादेवस्ततः स्मृतः। सर्वेशत्वाच्च लोकानामवश्यत्वात्तथेश्वरः

Among the gods, he is the great god; therefore, he is called Mahadeva. Because he is the lord of all worlds and because all are subject to him, he is also called Ishvara.

बृहत्त्वाच्च स्मृतो ब्रह्मा भूतत्वाद्भूत उच्यते। क्षेत्रज्ञः क्षेत्रविज्ञानाद्विभुः सर्वगतो यतः

Because of his greatness, he is called Brahma; because he is the source of beings, he is called Bhuta. He is the knower of the field because of his knowledge of the field, and he is all-pervading because he is present everywhere.

यस्मात् पुर्यनुशेते च तस्मात् पुरुष उच्यते। नोत्पादितत्वात् पूर्वत्वात् स्वयम्भूरिति स स्मृतः

Because he dwells within the city (body), he is called Purusha; because he is not produced and is prior, he is called the self-born.

इज्यत्वादुच्यते यज्ञः कविर्विक्रान्तदर्शनात्। क्रमणः क्रमणीयत्वाद्वर्णकस्याभिपालनात्

Because he is to be worshipped, he is called Yajna; he is called Kavi because he sees all with surpassing vision; he is called Kramana because he advances, and Varṇaka because he protects the castes.

आदित्यसंज्ञः कपिलस्त्वग्रजोऽग्निरिति स्मृतः। हिरण्यमस्य गर्भोऽभूद्धिरण्यस्यापि गर्भजः। तस्माद्धिरण्यगर्भः स पुराणेऽस्मिन्निरुच्यते

He is called Aditya, Kapila, and Agni, the eldest. His womb was golden, and from gold he was born; therefore, in this Purana, he is called Hiranyagarbha.

स्वयम्भुवो निवृत्तस्य कालो वर्षाग्रजस्तु यः। न शक्यः परिसंख्यातुमपि वर्षशतैरपि

The time of the self-born, after dissolution, is the eldest of years; it cannot be measured even by hundreds of years.

कल्पसंख्यानिवृत्तेस्तु पराख्यो ब्रह्मणः स्मृतः। तावच्छेषोऽस्य कालोऽन्यस्तस्यान्ते प्रतिसृज्यते

When the reckoning of aeons ceases, he is called Para Brahma; the remaining time is different, and at its end, it is reabsorbed.

कोटिकोटिसहस्राणि अन्तर्भूतानि यानि वै। समतीतानि कल्पानान्तावच्छेषाः परास्तु ये

The countless hundreds of millions that are included, those kalpas that have passed, and those that remain at the end—

यस्त्वयं वर्त्तते कल्पो वाराहन्तं निबोधत। प्रथमः साम्प्रतस्तेषां कल्पोऽयं वर्त्तते द्विजाः

Now, learn about this present kalpa, the Varaha Kalpa; among those, O twice-born, this is the first and current kalpa.

तस्मिन् स्वायम्भुवाद्यास्तु मनवः स्युश्चतुर्द्दश। अतीता वर्त्तमानाश्च भविष्या ये च वै पुनः

In it, there are fourteen Manus beginning with Svayambhuva—those who have passed, those who are present, and those who will come again.

तैरियं पृथिवी सर्वा सप्तद्वीपा समन्ततः। पूर्णं युगसहस्रं वै परिपाल्या नरेश्वरैः। प्रजाभिस्तपसा चैव तेषां श्रृणुत विस्तरम्

By them, this entire earth with its seven continents is protected for a full thousand yugas by kings and peoples through austerity; hear now the details of these.

मन्वन्तरेण चैकेन सर्वाण्येवान्तराणि वै। भविष्याणि भविष्यैश्च कल्पः कल्पेन चैव ह

With each Manvantara, all the intervening periods indeed occur; and with future kalpas, kalpa follows kalpa.

अतीतानि च कल्पानि सोदकानि सहान्वयैः। अनागतेषु तद्वच्च तर्क्कः कार्यो विजानता

The kalpas that have passed, along with their waters and lineages, and likewise those yet to come—such reasoning should be applied by the wise.