12.299
Yājñavalkya said.
O best of men, understand from me the reckoning of time of the unmanifested. It is said to be twice five thousand aeons.
When the night is thus passed and the king awakens, he, like a medicinal herb at dawn, brings life to all living beings.
Then he created Brahmā, born from the golden egg. That form is said to be of all beings—so have we heard.
After residing in the egg for a year, the great sage Prajapati emerged and divided the whole earth into one half and the heaven into the other half.
O king, it is said in the Vedas: 'Of heaven and earth.' Of those two divisions, the Lord created the space in between.
Those who have mastered the Veda and Vedāṅgas say that the duration of this too is ten thousand aeons less by a quarter; those who contemplate on the Self declare that its night is also of this extent.
The sage created the ego, a being of divine nature, and also four other sons before (arising) from his body, O best of kings. These are indeed said to be the forefathers of the ancestors.
O best of men, we have heard that the worlds, both moving and unmoving, are surrounded by the gods and by the sons of the ancestors.
The supreme creator, through the principle of ego, created the five elements: earth, air, ether, water, and light as the fifth.
Here, for this as well, the third night is said for the one performing (the rite); it is said that five thousand aeons is called a day.
O king, sound, touch, form, taste, and smell are the five particulars in the great elements; by which beings are pervaded day after day, O son of Pṛthā.
They desire each other, are devoted to each other's welfare, and yet regard each other as rivals.
They, though imperishable, being killed by each other through their qualities by those who take away, revolve here itself, entering into the wombs of animals.
O king, it is said that for these, a day is three thousand aeons; and the night is of the same measure, for Manu as well.
O King, the mind moves through all actions by means of the senses. Yet, the senses do not perceive; it is the mind alone that perceives here.
The eye perceives forms, but not by itself—rather, by means of the mind. When the mind is disturbed, even though the eye looks, it does not truly see. In this way, it is said that all the senses perceive only through the mind. 12-299-16.
O king, when the mind is withdrawn, the senses may also become inactive; but when the senses are inactive, the mind does not necessarily become withdrawn. Therefore, one should understand that the senses are governed by the mind.
The mind is called the lord of all the senses. All beings enter into this here, O greatly renowned ones.
