Brahmā said: “O Sir, are you in a perplexed state inside the lotus? O lord, what is it that I have done wherefore O excellent one among men, you speak to me thus: What is it for? Tell me factually.” Lord Brahmā, the storehouse of the Vedas, replied to the lotus-eyed lord of Devas who spoke thus in accordance with the activities of the world:—“It was I who formerly entered your belly in accordance with your wish. Just as all the worlds within my belly were seen by you O lord, so also all the worlds in your belly are seen by me. O sinless one after a thousand years I returned. With a spirit of rivalry and a desire to subject me to control, all the openings were closed suddenly by you. O blessed one, I pondered over it. By dint of my own splendour I gained exit through the umbilicus by the lotus stalk. Let there be no dejection, in your mind: O Viṣṇu, this is the sequence of events in their gradual advancement. What should be done by me hereafter, kindly tell me: What shall I do?”