Maitreya and Parahsara

Once the sage Maitreya came to the sage Parashara and wanted to know about the creation of the universe. And this is what Parashara told him.

In the beginning the universe was full of water. But in that water there emerged a huge egg there was Vishnu. This egg was called Brahmanda. And the land, the oceans and he seas, the gods, demons and humans and the stars. On all sides, the egg was surrounded by water, fire, wind, the sky and the elements. Inside the egg, Vishnu adopted the form of Brahma and proceeded to create the universe. When the universe is to be destroyed, it is Vishnu again who adopts the form of Shiva and performs the act of destruction. Let us therefore salute the great god Vishnu.

There are four yugas or eras. These are called krita (or satya), treta, dvapara and kali. Krita era consists of four thousand years, treta of three thousand. All the four eras thus pass in ten thousand years. And when all the four eras have passed one thousand times each, that is merely one day for Brahma. I hope you are good at elementary arithmetic. How many humans years are equal to one thousand. That is, ten million years. During each of Brahma’s days, the sages, the gods and the kings are destroyed and recreated fourteen times. Each of these cycles is called a manwantara. But at the end of Brahma’s day, there comes the final destruction. The world is burn. Brahma sleeps throughout his nigh, for ten million human years. Thereafter there is creation once again.