“Vaisampayana said, ‘After the death of that deer, king Pandu with hiswives was deeply afflicted and wept bitterly. And he exclaimed, ‘Thewicked, even if born in virtuous families, deluded by their own passions,become overwhelmed with misery as the fruit of their own deeds.
“Dhritarashtra said, ‘Tell me what may be done by a person that issleepless and burning with anxieties, for thou alone amongst us, O child,art versed in both religion and profit.
“Markandeya continued, ‘The Deity then said, ‘O Brahmana, the gods evendo not know me truly! As however, I have been gratified with thee, I willtell thee how I created the universe!
“Brahmana said, ‘The qualities are incapable of being declared ascompletely separate from one another.
‘”Janaka said, Thou hast, O foremost of Rishis, said that Unity is theattribute of that which is Akshara (Indestructible) and variety ormultiplicity is the attribute of what is known as Kshara (Destructible).
“Vaisampayana said, ‘Pandu, possessed of great energy, then devotedhimself to asceticism. Within a short time he became the favourite of thewhole body of the Siddhas and Charanas residing there.
“Dhritarashtra said, ‘O thou of great intelligence, tell me again wordssuch as these, consistent with religion and profit. My thirst for hearingthem is not quenched. What thou sayst is charming!”
“Then the virtuous king Yudhishthira in all humility again enquired ofthe illustrious Markandeya, saying, ‘O great Muni, thou hast seen manythousands of ages pass away.
“Brahmana said, ‘From the unmanifest first sprang Mahat (the Great Soul)endued with great intelligence, the source of all the qualities. That issaid to be the first creation.
“‘Vasishtha said, I have thus far discoursed to thee on the Sankhyaphilosophy. Listen now to me as I tell thee what is Vidya (knowledge) andwhat is Avidya (Ignorance), one after the other.
