Markandeyapurana 45.12

45.12

yathā ca kṣitisaṃsthānaṃ yat pramāṇañca vai bhuvaḥ /
yathāsthiti samudrādri-nimnagāḥ kānanāni ca //

If then your mind, O noble brāhmans, is favourable towards me, then deign to expound this completely;—How did this universe, both moveable and immoveable, come into existence? And how will it fall into dissolution at the proper time,. most excellent brāhmans? And how came the families[2] that sprang from the gods, the ṛṣis, the pitṛs, created things &c.? And how did the Manvantaras occur? And what was the history of the families of old; and whatever creations and whatever dissolutions of the universe have occurred; and how the ages have been divided; and what the duration of the Manvantaras has been; and how the earth remains stable; and what is the size of the world; and what are the oceans, mountains and rivers and forests according to their situation; what is the number of the worlds, the bhūrloka, svarloka &c., including the lower regions; and what is the course of the sun, moon, and other planets, of the stars and heavenly bodies also. I wish to hear of all this which is destined to subversion;[3] and what will be the end when this universe is dissolved.