Shiva cannot exist without Shakti, because without her, Shiva is cold. silent, and purposeless. In the same way, Shakti cannot exist without Shiva, for if she is not calm, then she becomes wild and scary. Once Shiva and Shakti came into being, they created happiness, sadness, life, death, beginning, ending, light, darkness, movement, strength, stars, space, planets, and the atmosphere.
Goddess Shakti then took the form of Goddess Kushmanda, whose body is made of pure light. Kushmanda has 10 hands, 3 eyes, and rides a tiger. She created the cosmic egg of gold. The golden egg floated on the cosmic ocean for nine months before hatching. Out of the egg came two things: Brahman and Lord Prajapati.
Lord Prajapati has no gender, and stood there, unmoving, quiet, for almost a year until he finally spoke. His words formed both the ground and the top of the sky. He became lonely and so turned himself into a man and a woman, who got married and gave birth to the first gods and demons. Time was created and Prajapati became the god of time. Prajapati wanted to separate the good from the bad, and so he hid the demons deep in the ground.
From her left eye, Kushmanda created a goddess with black skin and multiple heads, arms, legs, and fangs. This goddess had messed up hair and cackled like a witch. Kushmanda named her Mahakali, the goddess of time and the wife of Mahakaal. She represented the fiery aspect of the goddess.
From her right eye, Kushmanda created a shy, beautiful goddess with many hands and with skin whiter than the moon. She had a calm smile and wore a milky white dress. Kushmanda named her Mahasaraswathi. Mahasaraswathi represented the sound aspect of the goddess.
Finally from her third eye, Kushmanda created a lady with many hands and skin made of gold. She was so bright that she seemed to glow like lava and wore a pretty pink dress underneath her battle armor. Kushmanda named her Mahalakshmi. Mahalakshmi represented the love aspect of the goddess.
From the body of Mahakali came another goddess who also had black skin and was wild in appearance. She had four hands and stuck her tongue out, but not because she was making fun of someone, but because she was thirsty for blood. This goddess was named Kali.
From the body of Mahasaraswathi came another goddess who also had four hands and white skin, white ornaments and white dress. Kushmanda probably should have considered naming her "Miss White Goddess", but she eventually settled on the name Saraswathi.
From the name of Mahalakshmi also came a four handed beautiful goddess with a pink dress and gold jewellery. She had four arms and held lotus flowers. Kushmanda had the perfect name in mind. You guessed it, Lakshmi.
After creating the basic outline of the universe, Shakti merged with Shiva to form Ardhanareshwar, the combined form of Shiva and Shakti. With the help of newly created Lakshmi, Saraswathi, and Kali, they created the Goddess Chandi. She was the combined form of the Tridevi. Goddess Chandi, or Chandika, was tasked with protecting the world from evil demons.
We now turn our attention from away from Shiva and Shakti and focus on the cosmic ocean that envelops the universe. On the ocean lay a giant thousand-headed serpent named Ananta Sheshnag. On his coils slept Lord Vishnu a form of Brahman. Suddenly, a sound could be everywhere, getting louder and louder. It was Om, the divine symbol. Hearing the divine symbol, Lord Vishnu woke up from his sleep. The moment he opened his eyes, a lotus flower sprouted from his navel. It grew and grew until it finally bloomed, bringing Lord Brahma into being. Brahma, like Vishnu and Shiva was also a form of Brahman. He and Vishnu couldn't help but wonder where they had come from. Who were they? What was their purpose?
In hopes of finding answers to their questions, Brahma and Vishnu meditated for many years. Then, Shiva and Shakti appeared in the form of Ardhanareshwar. Ardhanareshwar told them that they were tasked with creating and protecting the universe. Brahma was meant to be the creator and Vishnu was meant to be the sustainer.
So, Shiva and Shakti used the remains of Kushmanda's egg to created Dyaus, the sky god; Prithvi, the earth goddess; Vayu, the wind god; and Varuna, the water god.
Dyaus and Prithvi had four children. They had two twin sons named Agni and Indra. The older twin, Indra, was the god of lightning, rain, and thunder. the younger twin, Agni was the powerful god of fire. With the birth of Agni came light, and Lord Prajapati separated it into day and night. Dyaus, Prithvi, Vayu, Varuna, and Agni together became the Pancha Tattva, the five basic elements of creation.
Dyaus and Prithvi also had two daughters named Ushas and Ratri. Ushas was the goddess of the dawn, and Ratri was the goddess of night. Lord Prajapati fell in love with Ushas, the goddess of the dawn, and he wanted her all to himself. When she turned into a doe, he turned into a stag and chased after her. She ran away from him, as fast as possible, but Prajapati was too powerful and soon caught her. She then gave birth to all cattle. The gods were shocked and disgusted at what Prajapati had done and waited for the right moment to punish him for his cruel behaviour.
Lord Varuna, the god of water, was the king of the demigods until Indra proved himself to be much more powerful by separating Dyaus and Prithvi apart for life to grow. He then took his place as the next and current king of the demigods.
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