in respect of all branches of that science,[1608] as Maitravaruni, that foremost of Rishis, was seated the king approaching him with joined hands, asked him in humble words, well pronounced and sweet and destitute of all controversial spirit, the question,—­O holy one, I desire to hear, of Supreme and Eternal Brahma by attaining to which men of wisdom have not to come back.  I desire also to know that which is called Destructible and That into which this universe enters when destroyed.  Indeed, what is That which is said to be indestructible, suspicious, beneficial and free from evil of every kind?

“Vasishtha said, Hear, O lord of Earth, as to haw this universe is destroyed, and, of That which was never destroyed and which will never be destroyed at any time.  Twelve thousand years, (according to the measure of the celestials), make a Yuga, four such Yugas taken a thousand times, make a Kalpa which measures one day of Brahman.[1609] Brahman’s night also, O king, is of the same measure.  When Brahman himself is destroyed[1610].  Sambhu of formless soul and to whom the Yuga attributes of Anima, Laghima, &c, naturally inhere, awakes, and once more creates that First or Eldest of all creatures, possessed of vast proportions of infinite deeds, endued with form, and identifiable with the universe.  That Sambhu is otherwise called Isana (the lord of everything).  He is pure Effulgence, and transcends all deterioration, having his hands and feet stretching in all directions, with eyes and head and mouth everywhere, and with ears also in every place.  That Being exists, overwhelming the entire universe.  The eldest-born Being is called Hiranyagarbha.  This holy one has (in the Vedanta) been called the Understanding.  In the Yuga scriptures He is called the Great, and Virinchi, and the Unborn.  In the Sankhya scriptures, He is indicated by diverse name, and regarded as having Infinity for his Soul.  Of diverse forms and constituting the soul of the universe.  He is regarded as One and Indestructible.  The three worlds of infinite ingredients have been created by Him without assistance from any source and have been overwhelmed by him.  In consequence of His manifold forms, He is said to be of universal form.  Undergoing modifications He creates Himself by Himself.  Endued with mighty energy, He first creates Consciousness and that Great Being called Prajapati endued with Consciousness.  The Manifest (or Hiranyagarbha) is created from the Unmanifest.  This is called by the learned the Creation of Knowledge.  The creation of Mahan (or Virat) and Consciousness, by Hiranyagarbha, is the creation of Ignorance.[1611] Ascription of attributes (worthy of worship) and the destruction thereof, called respectively by the names of Ignorance and Knowledge by persons learned by the interpretation of the Srutis, then arose, referring to this, that, or the other of the three (viz., Akshara, Hiranyagarbha, or Virat).[1612] Know, O king, that the creation of the (subtile) elements