Mahabharata - Origin of the Universe

Origin

In the beginning there was only darkness everywhere. Then out of that darkness came out a giant, cosmic egg, called Hiranyagarbha, the golden egg. From that egg came out Brahma, the supreme Lord of creation. Then came the Prajapatis, the foremost among them being Daksha and Manu. The ten Prachetas, The Viswas Devas, the twelve Adityas, the eight Vasus, the twin Aswins, Yakshas, Sadhyas, Guhyakas, Pisachas, Pitrs, all were subsequently created. Then the Brahmarshis, those foremost among the noble beings were created, and so were the Rajarshis on the earth. Then came the days, nights, seasons, months, the years, the earth, the heaven, the sky, the air and all other things known to the mankind. Subsequently on the expiration of Yugas when the Pralaya or the destruction would come, the universe would again get dissolved into its source and thus this perpetual cycle would continue.

Vyasa, the son of sage Parashar, realized the entire history of mankind, and so also the knowledge of origin and dissolution, the knowledge of the Vedas, the spiritual mystery called Yoga, the rules regarding the conduct of mankind for the attainment of the four goals of life - dharma, artha, kama and moksha or final emancipation from the cycles of birth and death. After compiling this wonderful mass of knowledge, Vyasa was very anxious to teach it to the mankind. Knowing his desire, Brahma, the grandsire, came to him in person. By saluting Brahma reverentially, Vyasa told him, "Oh Supreme Lord, I have, hereby compiled a mass of knowledge which is unique, which encompasses history and Puranas, science, mysteries of life, spiritual teachings from Vedas and Upanishads, deals with the ideal conducts for mankind, art of warfare and such. But there is no author who can write them down (as I have only composed them in my own mind)."

Brahma said, "This composition of yours is unique. None shall ever be able to surpass what you have composed. Lord Ganesha would be the best person to act as author on your behalf."

Vyasa then in his mind worshipped Ganesha and the Lord, who is the eradicator of all impediments, appeared to him. Vyasa told him, "Oh Ganapati, I have hereby composed a beautiful poem which contains the entire knowledge of mankind. I need your help in writing down the composition." Ganesha said, "Verily, I shall help you. But remember, under no circumstance I am to stop writing." Vyasa said, "So be it my Lord, and also my condition is that under no circumstance you should write a sloka without understanding its true meaning." Ganesha agreed, and thus began the great epic. Vyasa recounted a sloka which he composed on the fly and Ganesha deliberated on the same until the hidden meaning was revealed to him. By then Vyasa had composed many other slokas. So Ganesha had no chance of putting down his pen. It is said that there are 8800 extremely difficult slokas in Mahabharata whose true meaning is known to none till date. When the four Vedas and the Mahabharata were weighed on a scale, the latter was found to be heavier than all the four Vedas and hence was called as Mahabharata.