[0:05]Most religions have a single creation story. Hinduism has many. This is because for Hindus there is no single creation, but periodic cycles of creation.
[0:16]The universe we live in is one of innumerable universes. The story of our universe begins with a vast ocean. A serpent, Ananta-Shesh, floats on its surface.
[0:29]Vishnu is asleep in its coils. A lotus sprouts from his navel. On top sits the four-headed demigod Brahma.
[0:40]At first, Brahma can't tell who he is or what he should do. Vishnu encourages Brahma to create the world from the materials he has provided.
[0:49]After eons of meditation, Brahma hears a sound arising from the depths of the ocean, a humming that increases in volume, the sacred Om.
[1:00]Brahma splits the lotus into three parts. One becomes the heavens, another the sky, the third the earth. He creates grass, flowers, trees, birds, fish and other animals.
[1:14]The world fills with living, breathing things. Regularly within the cycles of creation, Brahma wants to produce more species or to increase the population of the universe.
[1:25]One time he produced two forms, a male and female, and they combined to give birth to sons. Another time, he divided in two becoming male and female.
[1:36]The female part became a cow, and the male part a bull. They give birth to calves. Then, she became a mare, and he became a horse. They have foals.
[1:48]And so the process continued to expand the living world.
