, felt this very doubt about the creation of the
universe. Re-straining speech, they remained immovable, engaged in
(ascetic) contemplation. Having given up all food, they subsisted upon
air alone, and remained thus for a thousand celestial years. At the end
of that period, certain words as sacred as those of the Vedas
simultaneously reached the ears of all. Indeed, this celestial voice was
heard in the firmament to say, "Formerly there was only infinite Space,
perfectly motionless and immovable. Without sun, moon, stars, and wind,
it seemed to be asleep. Then water sprang into existence like something
darker within darkness. Then from the pressure of water arose wind. As an
empty vessel without a hole appears at first to be without any sound, but
when filled with water, air appears and makes a great noise, even so when
infinite Space was filled with water, the wind arose with a great noise,
penetrating through the water.[553] That wind, thus generated by the
pressure of the ocean of water, still moveth. Coming into (unobstructed)
Space, its motion is never stopped. Then in consequence of the friction
of wind and water, fire possessed of great might and blazing energy,
sprang into existence, with flames directed upwards. That fire dispelled
the darkness that had covered Space. Assisted by the wind, fire drew
Space and Water together. Indeed, combining with the wind, fire became
solidified. While failing from the sky, the liquid portion of fire
solidified again and became what is known as the earth. The earth or
land, in which everything is born, is the origin of all kinds of taste,
of all kinds of scent, of all kinds of liquids, and of all kinds of
animals."'"'"

SECTION CLXXXIV

"'"Bharadwaja said, 'When the high-souled Brahman has created thousands of
creatures, why is it that only these five elements which he created
first, which pervade all the universe and which are great creatures, have
come to have the name of creatures applied to them exclusively?'[554]

"'"Bhrigu said, 'All things that belong to the category of the Infinite or
the Vast receive the appellation of Great. It is for this reason that
these five elements have come to be called Great creatures. Activity is
wind. The sound that is heard is space. The heat that is within it is
fire. The liquid juices occurring in it are water. The solidified matter,
viz., flesh and bones, are earth. The bodies (of living creatures) are
thus made of the five (prime