Parāśara, the wise sage, spoke to Maitreya about the profound nature of Brahman, the ultimate reality. He explained that Brahman possesses two forms: one with form, and one without form. These are known as the perishable and the imperishable, and both abide in all beings. The imperishable is the supreme Brahman itself, while the perishable is this entire world. Just as the rays of a fire spread out from a single source, so too does this whole world radiate as the power of the Supreme Brahman. Within this power, there are differences—some aspects are closer, some more distant, some greater, some lesser—just as the rays vary in intensity. Among these powers, Brahmā, Viṣṇu, and Śiva stand as the chief manifestations of Brahman. From them arise the gods, and from them, the lesser beings such as Dakṣa. From these, humans, cattle, wild animals, birds, reptiles, and also plants and shrubs—all forms of life, from the greater to the lesser—came into being. This imperishable, eternal reality, protected by the great sages, appears and disappears, undergoing birth and destruction in countless ways. Viṣṇu, full of all powers, is the supreme form of Brahman. His embodied form is contemplated by yogis at the beginning of their practice. This is the great yoga with support, established with seed, where, when the mind is undisturbed and properly concentrated, realization arises. Viṣṇu is the supreme, following the supreme powers of Brahman. He is the embodied Brahman—Hari, the essence of all Brahman. In him, this entire universe is woven and interwoven; he is the world within the world, and he is the entire universe. Viṣṇu, the Lord, composed of both the perishable and the imperishable, sustains everything, manifesting as the unmanifested person, as ornaments and weapons. Maitreya, eager to understand, asked Parāśara to explain how the Blessed Viṣṇu, abiding as the essence of ornaments and weapons, sustains the entire universe. Parāśara replied, bowing to the immeasurable, all-powerful Vishnu, and promised to relate what he had learned from Vasiṣṭha. He said that the Blessed Hari, in the form of the Kaustubha gem, bears the self of this world—untouched, without qualities, and pure. The principal intellect abides in Mādhava as the form of the mace, established together with the mark of Śrīvatsa, supported by the infinite. The Lord bears the elements, the senses, and the twofold ego in the form of the conch and the bow Śārṅga. He holds the mind, ever restless and swift as the wind, in the form of the discus, established in the hand of Vishnu. The garland Vaijayantī, which has five forms and is borne by the wielder of the mace, is the collection of the causes of beings, and is indeed called the garland of beings. All the senses, both of knowledge and action, are in the form of arrows; Janārdana bears all of them. The spotless sword which Acyuta bears is knowledge itself, established in the sheath of ignorance. Thus, the Lord Hṛṣīkeśa contains within himself all: primordial matter, intellect, ego, the elements, the mind, all the senses, knowledge, and ignorance. Hari, though formless, assumes the forms of weapons and ornaments, taking on the form of māyā for the welfare of living beings. The lotus-eyed Lord sustains both the transformed primordial matter and the entire universe of beings. Thus, the Supreme Lord upholds all. Whatever is knowledge, ignorance, real, unreal, or imperishable—all this is in Madhusudana, the Lord of all beings. Through divisions of time—kalās, kāṣṭhās, nimeṣas, days, seasons, years—the Blessed, sinless, and imperishable Hari is the very form of time. The earth world, the atmosphere, the heaven, Mahar, Janas, Tapas, and Satya—these seven worlds are pervaded by the Supreme. Hari himself, the support of all knowledge, abides as the soul and form of all worlds, and is the ancient origin even of the ancients. Abiding in many forms—of gods, humans, animals, and others—the infinite Lord of all, the source of beings, possesses both form and formlessness. The Ṛg, Yajur, and Sāma Vedas, as well as the Atharva Veda, the Itihāsas, the Upavedas, and the teachings found in the Vedāntas—all the Vedāṅgas, the sayings of Manu and others, all the śāstras, narratives, and whatever recitations exist anywhere—whatever poetry, dialogues, and all other compositions there are—these are the forms of sound that constitute the body of the great-souled Viṣṇu. Whatever things exist, whether with form or without, here or elsewhere—all these are his very body. For one who realizes, “I am Hari, Janārdana; all this is myself—there is nothing else, no other cause or effect,” there is no further birth, nor do the pairs of opposites arise. Thus, Parāśara concluded, this is the first section of this Purāṇa, as it has been properly told. By retaining it, one is freed from sins. The merit gained by bathing at Puṣkara during Kārttikā for twelve years—a man attains that by hearing this. The births among gods, sages, ancestors, Gandharvas, Yakṣas, and others—these, beginning with the gods, are granted to the one who listens. Maitreya, satisfied, addressed Parāśara: “O venerable one, you have properly explained to me all that I asked regarding the creation and arrangement of the world. Of that portion concerning the creation of the world which you have described, I wish to hear more from you. You have mentioned that Priyavrata and Uttānapāda were the two sons of Svāyambhuva; and that Dhruva was the son of Uttānapāda. But you have not yet spoken of the descendants of Priyavrata. I wish to hear about them; may you kindly tell me.