Within the vast, unmanifest expanse, Brahmā—together with the great beings and all creation—is enveloped, much like the tender kernel of a coconut is wrapped in its many layers. This cosmic egg, the very seed of the universe, is covered by seven natural sheaths, each enclosing the next in ever-deepening mystery. Within this cosmic egg, Lord Hari, the sovereign of all, delighting in the dynamic energy of rajas, takes on the form of Brahmā and initiates the creation of the worlds. Once creation is set in motion, he preserves it through the endless cycles of time, maintaining order and harmony as the blessed Viṣṇu, the embodiment of sattva, whose power knows no bounds. Yet, when the end of an age arrives and darkness prevails, Janārdana assumes the fearsome form of Rudra. In this aspect, O Maitreya, he devours all beings in a most dreadful manner, bringing dissolution to all that is manifest. When all has been consumed and the worlds dissolve into a single, boundless ocean, the supreme Lord reclines upon the serpent couch, resting in the stillness of cosmic night. When the time comes for creation again, he awakens and, assuming once more the form of Brahmā, sets forth the cycle anew. Thus, the blessed Janārdana alone is known by the names Brahmā, Viṣṇu, and Śiva, as he enacts creation, preservation, and destruction. He is himself the creator, the preserver, and the destroyer—bringing forth, sustaining, and withdrawing all that exists. The five great elements—earth, water, fire, air, and space—together with the senses and the inner faculties, comprise this world, which is called the Puruṣa. He alone is the inner self of all beings, the imperishable one of universal form, within whom creation, preservation, and destruction take place, each fulfilling its purpose. He is at once the created and the creator, the preserver and the preserved, the one who devours and the bestower of boons. Viṣṇu, supreme among all, takes on every form, including those of Brahmā and the others. Hearing all this, Śrī Maitreya asked: “How can creation and the other acts be attributed to Brahman, who is without qualities, immeasurable, pure, and stainless?” Śrī Parāśara replied: “The powers of all beings are beyond the grasp of thought and knowledge. In the same way, the creative and other powers of Brahman arise from him, O best of ascetics, just as heat naturally arises from fire. Now listen to how the blessed Lord, known as Nārāyaṇa, the grandsire of the worlds, proceeds in creation. He is said to be born, but only in a figurative sense. According to his own measure, his lifespan is reckoned as a hundred years—a span called a parā, and half of that is a parārdha. What I have described as the form of time belonging to Viṣṇu—by this, understand the calculation of his measure. In the same way, time is measured for all other beings, both moving and unmoving, including the earth, mountains, oceans, and all else. Let me tell you the divisions of time: A ‘kāṣṭhā’ is fifteen ‘nimeṣas’; thirty kāṣṭhās make one ‘kalā’, and thirty kalās make a ‘muhūrta’. Thirty muhūrtas constitute a human day and night. Such days and nights combine to form a month, which consists of two fortnights. Six months together make a year, divided into the southern and northern courses—the southern course being night for the gods, and the northern course their day. A thousand divine years make up the four yugas—Kṛta, Tretā, Dvāpara, and Kali. The ancients declare their length in thousands of divine years in the order of four, three, two, and one. Each yuga is preceded and followed by a twilight period (sandhyā), each of equal measure. Thus, the four yugas together, preceded and followed by their twilights, form a cycle, and a thousand such cycles make a single day of Brahmā. In each day of Brahmā, there are fourteen Manus. The Seven Sages, the gods, Indra, Manu, and the kings who are his sons—all are created and dissolved together in each cycle. A manvantara—the period ruled by a Manu and the gods—lasts for seventy-one and a fraction of these yuga cycles, multiplied by four. In divine reckoning, this is eight hundred and seventy-two thousand years, and there are other thousands, twice as many and more, amounting to three hundred million and sixty-seven ‘niyutas’, plus twenty thousand more—this is the measure of a manvantara in human years. Fourteen such manvantaras make a single day of Brahmā. At the end of this day comes the incidental dissolution (naimittika pralaya), when all the three worlds—Bhū, Bhuvaḥ, and others—are dissolved. Those dwelling in Maharloka, seeking relief from the fierce heat, ascend to Janaloka. When the three worlds have become a single ocean, Brahmā, whose essence is Nārāyaṇa, rests upon the serpent-bed, magnified by the absorption of the worlds. The gods and yogis in Janaloka meditate upon the lotus-born one throughout the night of Brahmā, and at its end, he creates again. Thus passes a year of Brahmā, and his life endures for a hundred such years—the supreme span of that great being. O sinless one, one parārdha of Brahmā’s life has already passed, ending with the great kalpa known as Pādya. Now, in the second parārdha, the first kalpa is renowned as the Vārāha Kalpa. Hearing all this, Śrī Maitreya humbly asked: “Tell me, how did that divine one create the gods, sages, ancestors, and Dānavas, as well as humans, animals, trees, and all beings dwelling on earth, in the sky, and in water?