Hear now the sacred account of creation as revealed in the Viṣṇu Purāṇa. The Supreme Lord Viṣṇu alone is all: He is the created and the creator; the preserver and the preserved; the one who devours at the end. He is the bestower of boons, the most excellent, manifesting in all forms—including those of Brahmā and other gods. Maitreya, the devoted sage, then asked Parāśara: “How can creation and its authorship be attributed to Brahman, who is without qualities, immeasurable, pure, and of spotless nature?” Parāśara replied, “O best of ascetics, the powers of all beings are beyond thought and knowledge. The creative, preservative, and destructive powers of Brahman arise naturally from Him, just as heat arises from fire.” He continued, “Listen to how the blessed Lord, called Nārāyaṇa—the grandsire of the worlds—proceeds in creation. Though He is said to be born, it is only figuratively. His lifespan is described as a hundred years according to His own measure; this is called a parā, and half of that is a parārdha.” Parāśara explained, “The form of time belonging to Viṣṇu, which I have described, is the basis for understanding His measure. Likewise, all other creatures—moving and unmoving, earth, mountains, oceans, and all else—are governed by time.” He detailed the divisions of time: “A ‘kāṣṭhā’ is fifteen ‘nimeṣas’; thirty ‘kāṣṭhās’ make one ‘kalā’, and thirty ‘kalās’ constitute a ‘muhūrta’. Thirty ‘muhūrtas’ make a day and night for humans. Such days and nights form months of two fortnights. Six months make a year, divided into the southern and northern courses—the southern course being night for the gods, the northern their day.” He continued, “A thousand divine years comprise the four yugas: Kṛta, Tretā, Dvāpara, and Kali. The ancient knowers declare their durations as four, three, two, and one thousand divine years respectively. Each yuga is preceded and followed by a twilight period (sandhyā) of equal measure. The interval between these twilights is the yuga itself. A thousand cycles of these four yugas make a day of Brahmā.” “In Brahmā’s day, O brāhmaṇa, there are fourteen Manus. The Seven Sages, the gods, Indra, Manu, and his sons are all created and dissolved together. Seventy-one and a little more multiplied by four is the period called a manvantara—the time of Manu and the gods. In divine reckoning, it amounts to eight hundred seventy-two thousand years, plus other thousands, twice as many and more. In human years, three hundred million plus sixty-seven ‘niyutas’, and twenty thousand more, make the full measure of a manvantara.” “Fourteen times that period is a day of Brahmā. At its end comes the incidental (naimittika) dissolution. Then, all three worlds—Bhū, Bhuvaḥ, and others—are dissolved. Those dwelling in Maharloka, seeking relief from the intense heat, ascend to Janaloka. When the three worlds become a single ocean, Brahmā, whose essence is Nārāyaṇa, rests upon the serpent-bed, absorbed in the worlds.” “The gods and yogis in Janaloka contemplate the lotus-born one. After a night of equal measure, creation begins anew. Thus, a year of Brahmā is as described, and a hundred such years is his lifespan—the supreme span of that great being.” “One parārdha of Brahmā has passed; at its end occurred the great kalpa known as Pādya. Now, in the second parārdha, the first kalpa is renowned as the Vārāha Kalpa.” Maitreya then asked, “Tell me how the divine one created the gods, sages, ancestors, Dānavas, humans, animals, trees, and all beings dwelling on earth, in the sky, and in water. Please describe the qualities, natures, and forms Brahmā created in the world at the beginning of creation.” Parāśara replied, “Listen attentively, O Maitreya. As the divine Lord contemplated creation at the beginning of the kalpas, an unconscious creation arose, consisting of darkness. This darkness is delusion—great delusion—also called Tāmisra and Andhasa. This ignorance, in five forms, arose from the great soul.” “The creation, existing in fivefold form, appeared as He contemplated, but it was without awareness—both inner and outer, without light, veiled in its own nature, and tree-like in form. The primary trees are declared to be the main creation, thus this is called the primary creation. Seeing that this creation was ineffective, He made another.” “As He contemplated, a creation with a horizontal current arose; because their activity was horizontal, it is known as the Tiryaksrotas creation. These beings, beginning with cattle, are well known; dominated by darkness and ignorance, following wrong paths, and though ignorant, they imagine themselves to possess knowledge. Driven by ego and pride, numbering twenty-eight types, they are manifest yet mutually obscured.” “Considering that creation also ineffective, as He meditated further, the third creation, the Sāttvika, arose upward as the Ūrdhvasrotas.” Thus, the sacred process of creation unfolded, as revealed by Parāśara to Maitreya, with each stage arising from the contemplation of the divine Lord, manifesting the worlds and beings according to His will and wisdom.