Puranic Encyclopaedia: A Comprehensive Dictionary with Special Reference to the Epic and Puranic Literature c7.3325

c7.3325

(i) In the beginning of the universe Mahāviṣṇu alone stood as the Eternal, unseen, unheard, unknown entity. Then there was neither sky nor day nor night. When the time of creation came Prakṛti entered Viṣṇu as Puruṣa creating emotion. From emotion arose Mahat or the Great Principle and from Mahat arose cosmic egoism (Ahaṅkāra). Ahaṅkāra divided itself into Vaikārika, Taijasa and Tāmasa. From Ahaṅkāra arose Ākāśa with the quality of sound and from Ākāśa came water having the quality of touch and from air came fire having the quality of colour and from fire came water having the quality of taste and from water came earth with the quality of smell. All these were born of tāmasic egoism. From taijasic egoism came into being the organs of sense. From the Vaikārika egoism came the ten Vaikārika devas and the eleventh organ of sense, the mind. After that Mahāviṣṇu discharged his virility into water and that virility is life. (Chapter 17, Agni Purāṇa).