Markandeyapurana 47.22

47.22

ūrdhvastrotastṛtīyastu sāttvikaḥ samavartata /
te sukhaprītibahulā bahirantastvanāvṛtāḥ //

He thought even that creation was incapable of causation, and while he meditated, another came into existence; now this, the third, was the group of beings in which the stream of life passed upwards;[14] it was characterized chiefly by goodness. Those beings abound in pleasure and affection; they are uncircumscribed outwardly and inwardly; and possess light[6] externally and internally; they originated from an upward stream of life. Now that third creation of the Supreme Being who was satisfied in soul thereat is known as the creation of the gods. When that creation came into being, Brahmā was pleased.