The Geography of the Puranas c13.s2.17
The Geography of the Purāṇas c13.s2.17
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c13.s2.17
The ideas contained in the Genesis clearly fall under one or more of the theories of cosmogony enunciated in Vedic literature. The work of the first day was the creation of the Universe from *nothing material*; out of which earth and heaven, fire and water and life were to be evolved. It is interpreted that the *material* was the *hyle* or chaos of the ancient philosophers and the words 'heaven' and 'earth' referred to 'chaos'. The word 'earth' in the dictum 'The earth was without form and void' referred to the primordial mixture of land and water, a mingling of land that was not solid and of water that was not liquid. Air and fire at that time were of about the density of water. Similar explanations are applicable to various Vedic materialistic theories.