Bhagavatapurana 3.5.7

3.5.7

krīḍan vidhatte dvija-go-surāṇāṃ kṣemāya karmāṇy avatāra-bhedaiḥ /
mano na tṛpyaty api śṛṇvatāṃ naḥ suśloka-mauleś caritāmṛtāni //

5 to 9. O best of wise Brahmins, be pleased to explain to us the following:—What (great) deeds the glorious Lord, the absolute Maker, and the ruler of the three gunas of Maya, does in His avatars; how in the beginning, the Lord who has no desire or is devoid of the attribute of activity, created this world, how He gives it a firm existence and provides it with the means of subsistence; how He again withdraws it into the sky of His bosom, and how refraining from all activity He sleeps in the cave (Yogamaya); how the great Lord of the masters of yoga, one as He is, entered into this (world) became many (as Brahma, Rudra and so on); (what He did) by way of His Leelas in His various avatars for the well-being of Brahmanas, cows and gods; for, our mind is never completely satisfied though we frequently hear of the nectar of the deeds of the Lord, who

is at the head of all those whose name is most sung for their glory. (Tell me) with what different principles (Tattvas), Sri Narayana, who is self-existent and the maker of the Universe, and the highest ruler of all the worlds, created and arranged the different Lokas (regions) with their protectors, as also the alokas (i.e., regions beyond the mountains called the Lokalokas), wherein are observed to be all classes of beings endowed with different kinds of bodies appointed to do different duties; how He has differentiated men (or beings) according to their natural tendencies and their activity and form and name.