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Srimad Bhagvata Mahapurana: Book 2: Chapter 10: Verses 29-44
The ten characteristic features of the Bhagavata
On the Cosmic Being feeling inclined to take food and drink there appeared in Him the cavity of the abdomen, the intestines and the network of veins and arteries as well as seas (the deities presiding over the intestines) and rivers (thedeities presiding over the blood vessels) and even so satisfaction and nutrition, the former of which depends on the intestines and the seas, and the latter on the veins and arteries and rivers. When the Cosmic Being felt inclined to contemplate on His own Maya (wonderful energy) there appeared in Him the heart and thereafter the mind, then the moon (the deity presiding over the mind) and last of all volition and desire, the two functions of the mind. From the elements of earth, water and fire were evolved the seven constituents of the body of the Cosmic Being, viz., the thick outer skin, the thin inner skin, flesh, blood, fat, marrow and bone; even so from ether, water and air sprang up His vital air. The senses of perception are all directed towards their objects, and the objects of sense are born of the Ego (the source of the elements). Mind is the seat of all morbid feelings; while Intellect reveals
to us the reality of all objects. I have thus described to you the gross form of the Lord; it is enveloped outside by eight sheaths, viz., earth, water, fire, air, ether, the Ego, the Mahat-tattva (the principle of cosmic intelligence) and Prakrti (Primordial Matter). Beyond this
is (the Lord's) most subtle form, which is unmanifest, unqualified, having no beginning,
middle or end, eternal and outside the realm of mind and speech.
Both the subtle and gross forms of the Lord, which I have described to you, are the creation of the Lord's Maya. Hence the wise refuse to accept either (for worship). (35) The supreme Lord is really actionless; it is by His own Maya that He becomes active. Assuming the form of Brahma, He reveals Himself both in the form of word and what it denotes, and evolves many a name and form and activity. Prajapatis (lords of created beings), Manus, gods, Rsis (seers), the various classes of the manes, Siddhas, Caranas (celestial bards) and Gandharvas (celestial musicians), Vidyadharas (another class of demigods), Asuras (demons) and Guhyakas (Yaksas), Kinnaras (another class of celestial musicians), Apsaras (celestial nymphs), Nagas, serpents, Kimpurusas (another class of demigods) and snakes, Matrkas, Raksasas, Pisacas, Pretas, Bhutas and Vinayakas, Kusmandas, Unmadas and Vetalas, Yatudhanas and Grahas, birds and reptiles, beasts of prey and other animals, trees, mountains and all other names and forms in the universe, 0 king, are His. All other creatures, both animate and inanimate, whether viviparous, oviparous, sweat-born or sprouting from soil, and living either in water, on land or in the air, are the good, bad or mixed fruit of corresponding actions (done in the past). The predominance of Sattva (goodness), Rajas (passion) and Tamas (opacity or ignorance) is severally responsible for birth as a god, as a human being and as a denizen of hell or as a member of the sub-human species. Each of these three destinies is again sub-divided into three varieties according as each of the three Gunas is eclipsed by either of the other two Gunas (modes of Prakrti ) or not. Having assumed the form of Visnu (who is all virtue) for the support and sustenance of the world, the same Lord preserves and sustains this universe by appearing from time to time in the guise of animals, men and gods. Again, when the time comes, the Lord appears as Rudra (the god of destruction) from the fire of universal destruction and dissolves this universe, once created by Himself, even as a blast blows away a mass of clouds. The Lord, who is possessed of inconceivable power, has been described as above (as the creator, preserver and destroyer of the universe). The wise, however, should not regard Him only as such; for He is even beyond this description.
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