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The Aranyakas are give an account of the creation. The [Aitareya-aranyaka] gives a clear idea of creation of the universe from the primordial cosmic man tasya vaca srste prthivi cagnisca pranenasrstavantariksam ca vayusca caksusa srsti dyauscadisca sratrena srsta disasca candramasca manasa srsta apasca varunasca 34 According to this Aranyaka 'by His speech are created earth and fire, by breath the sky and the air are created' by His eye are created the heaven and the sun, by His ear were created the quarters and the moon and by his mind were created the waters and Varuna. 129

It also says that 'breath is a beam, and that as the other beams rests on the main beam of the house, the eye, the ear, the mind, the speech, the senses, the body, the whole self, rests on this breath, (prana) prano vamsa iti sthavirah sakalyah 1 tadyatha salavamse sarve'nye vamsah samahitah sthurevamasminprane caksuh srotram mano vagindriyani sariram sarvamatmasamahitah || 35 From this [Aitareya-aranyaka] gives centrality to prana and how the sense organs, the body and the self (sarira) and atma all rest on this vital energy (prana). The creation described in the Upanisads consists of both living and non-living world. The Aranyakas describes five different sources of creation: anna, prana, manas, vijnana and ananda and further states that finally the creation merges in its source. These five accounts of creation reflect the gradual development from the physical to the metaphysical level. In the [Taittiriya aranyaka] mention an elemental creation consists of fivefold divisions. Which are: 130

Lokapancaka (fivefold worlds) 1. Prthivi (earth) 2. Antariksa (space) 3. Dyau (heaven) 4. Disah (main quarters) 5. Avantaradisah (intermediate quarters) Devata pancaka (five fold divinities) 1. Agni (Fire) 2. Vayu (Wind) 3. Aditya (Sun) 4. Chandramas (Moon) 5. Naksatrani (Stars) Dravya pancaka (five fold substances) 1. Apah (water) 2. Osadhayah (herbs, plants) 3. Vanaspatayah (trees) 4. Akasa (space, ether) 5. Atman (self, body) 36 The word Atman is meant the virata purusa who is regarded as an aggregate of all elemental bodies. He is the world-body. From this the divine creation begins. 131

The [Aitareya-aranyaka] postulates as how the material beings came in to existence. The Supreme self (Atman) first created the four worlds, viz, Ambhas (water), Marici (light rays), Mara (death), Apah (waters). The Ambhas is above the heaven. The heaven is its support. The light rays are the atmosphere (antariksa). Death is earth, what are beneath, they are the waters. From the waters, the self brought forth a purusa and formed it in to a shape. The self brooded over the purusa; than he hatched him. His mouth split like an egg. Then eight objects came forth. Out of the mouth sprang forth speech, out of speech; agni, out of the nose sprang forth prana, out of the prana ; vayu, out of the eyes sprang forth the sight, out of the sight; aditya, out of the ears sprang forth the sense of hearing, the ears, out of ears; the disas, out of the skin sprang forth the hair, out of the hair; plants and trees, out of the heart sprang forth the manas, out of the manas; the moon. Out of the navel sprang forth the apana, from the apana; death. Out of the generative organ sprang forth the semen, out of the semen the waters. 37 132

There are eight primordial guardians of the world brought forth from the cosmic purusa grown from the waters. The Aranyaka further says that the supreme self (Atman) produced a man (purusa) as an abode for these world guardians. These deities entered in to the man in the reverse order. 38 According to this Aranyaka agni becoming vac (speech) entered in to the mouth, vayu becoming pranna (breath) entered in to the two nostrils, aditya (the sun) becoming the sight entered in to the two eyes, disa (directions) becoming hearing entered in to the two ears, osadhis and vanaspatis (plants and trees) becoming hair entered in to the skin, candrama becoming manas (mind) entered in to the heart, mrtyu becoming apana entered in to the navel, and the waters becoming retas (semen) entered in to the generative organ.