Creation, Preservation and Dissolution

The sages asked

Engaged in his supreme play, how does Parameshvara make and place this whole universe? Of all this, what was brought into being first, and by whom? Who with a vast belly swallows it all?

Vayu answered

Shakti came forth first, then Shantyatita-pada. By the lord's will, through Shiva and Shakti, Maya came forth, then the unmanifest. From Shakti came Shantyatita-pada, from Shantyatita-pada Shanti-pada, from Shanti-pada Vidya-pada, from Vidya-pada Pratishtha-pada, and from Pratishtha-pada in order Nivritti-pada. So I have briefly told creation as Ishvara urged it. That is the order, and withdrawal runs in reverse. Beyond these five padas is a supreme maker. The whole universe is filled by these five stages. The unmanifest may be the cause, but the urge comes from the atman. It is agreed that creation starts with Mahat and ends with Vishesha, yet neither the unmanifest nor the atman can be called the doer. Prakriti has no consciousness and Purusha is ignorant. From Pradhana down to an atom everything is insentient. The maker must himself see and have intelligence. The universe is made of parts, and no other can be the cause of its creation. The maker must have capacity, rule himself, have every power and know everything. He must be without beginning or end and have great prosperity. The maker of the universe is Mahadeva Maheshvara. He is distinct from it and preserves and destroys everything. Pradhana has its transformation and Purusha its inclination, but all this happens by the instruction of the one true to his vows. Lasting faith is found only in the minds of the virtuous, who, unlike those of limited understanding, do not take one side or another.

From the start of creation to the great dissolution is a hundred years of Brahma. This is the lifespan of Brahma, whose birth is not manifest. It is called para, and half of it a parardha. When two parardhas are over, dissolution comes. The unmanifest has finished its work, withdraws into the atman and stays there, and its transformations are drawn in. Then Pradhana and Purusha follow a similar dharma. Sattva and tamas balance each other, neither in excess, woven together like warp and weft. When the gunas are in equilibrium, darkness rises. The wind and water are still and nothing can be told apart. With no wisdom in the universe, Maheshvara spends the whole night worshipping the supreme Maheshvari alone. When the night ends and morning comes, by Maheshvara's yoga, Maya enters Pradhana and Purusha and stirs them. In this way all things are made again. By the command of Parameshthi creation proceeds from the unmanifest. He is beyond the universe and his wishes are wonderful. Everything begins and ends with a small portion of his powers. Those who know the path of the atman call him the path. I bow to him whose attributes differ from those of all worlds.