Puranic literature portrays cosmology as a rhythmic, cyclical unfolding rather than a single, linear event. At the outset stands an unmanifest state—described as primordial Prakṛti or cosmic waters—where all beings and worlds lie in a subtle, seed-like condition, absorbed in the Supreme. When the Supreme, often identified with an unmanifest Brahman or a personal deity such as Viṣṇu, stirs this equilibrium through creative power (māyā-śakti), the three guṇas become active and the process of manifestation begins. This vision of reality emphasizes that creation, preservation, and dissolution (sṛṣṭi, sthiti, pralaya) are recurring phases within an eternal order, rather than a creation ex nihilo that happens once and for all.

The Puranas frequently adopt a Sāṅkhya-like account of emanation, moving from the subtle to the gross. From the interaction of Purusha (pure consciousness) and Prakṛti arises Mahat, the cosmic intelligence, which in turn gives rise to Ahaṅkāra, the principle of “I-ness.” Ahaṅkāra differentiates into sattvic, rajasic, and tamasic aspects, from which emerge mind, the deities, the organs of perception and action, and the subtle elements (tanmātras) of sound, touch, form, taste, and smell. These subtle elements then condense into the five gross elements—space, air, fire, water, and earth—out of which the manifest cosmos is fashioned. The narrative suggests that what appears solid and external is rooted in progressively subtler principles of consciousness and energy.

As these elements combine, they form the brahmāṇḍa, the cosmic egg, within which the Supreme enters as Hiraṇyagarbha, the golden embryo. From this arises Brahmā, often depicted in Vaiṣṇava Puranas as emerging on a lotus from the navel of the reclining Viṣṇu on the cosmic ocean. Brahmā is portrayed as a secondary creator who, after deep meditation and receiving the Veda, undertakes sarga and visarga: the primary and secondary phases of creation. In these stages, he brings forth the Prajāpatis, Manus, devas, asuras, sages, humans, animals, plants, and myriad subtle beings, as well as the celestial realms, planets, and stars. Creation here is not merely physical; it is the establishment of a moral and spiritual order (dharma) embodied in hierarchies of beings and worlds.

Puranic cosmology further elaborates a grand architecture of time and space. Time unfolds through yugas, manvantaras, and kalpas, each Brahmā’s “day” being followed by a dissolution in which the lower worlds are withdrawn and Brahmā enters cosmic sleep. Over vast spans, multiple universes (brahmāṇḍas) are said to float in the cosmic ocean, each structured into fourteen lokas, with seven higher and seven lower realms, and Mount Meru serving as the cosmic axis around which continents and oceans are arranged. Dissolution itself is graded: daily, periodic, and total, with elements withdrawing in reverse order back into unmanifest Prakṛti, while individual souls persist in latent form, bearing their karmic impressions. Through this intricate vision, the Puranas present a universe that is at once metaphysical and mythic, governed by the triadic functions of Brahmā the creator, Viṣṇu the preserver, and Śiva the dissolver, all grounded in a single, transcendent reality.