Text 12] Manifestation of Brahmā from Garbhodakaśāyī Viṣṇu
313
PURPORT
After the three worlds—the upper, lower and middle planetary systems—merged into the water of dissolution, the living entities of all the three worlds remained in their subtle bodies by dint of the energy called  kāla . In this dissolution, the gross bodies became unmanifest, but the subtle bodies existed, just like the water of the material creation. Thus the material energy was not completely wound up, as is the case in the full dissolution of the material world.
TEXT 12
चतुर्युगानां च सहस्रमप्सु 
  स्वपन् स्वयोदीरितया स्वशक्त्या । 
  कालाख्ययाऽऽसादितकर्मतन्त्रो 
  लोकानपीतान्ददृशे स्वदेहे ॥१२॥
catur yugānām ca sahasram apsu 
  svapan svayodīritayā svaśaktyā 
  kālākhyayā ’sādita-karma-tantro 
  lokān apītān dadṛśo svadehe
catuḥ—four; yugānām—of the millenniums; ca—also; sahasram—one thousand; apsu—in the water; svapan—dreaming in sleep; svayā—with His internal potency; udīritayā—for further development; svaśaktyā—by His own energy; kāla-ākhyayā—by the name kāla; āsādita—being so engaged; karma-tantraḥ—in the matter of fruitive activities; lokān—the total living entities; apītān—bluish; dadṛśo—saw it so; svadehe—in His own body.
TRANSLATION
The Lord lay down for four thousand yuga cycles in His internal potency, and by His external energy He appeared to be sleeping within the water. When the living entities were coming out for further development of their fruitive activities, actuated by the energy called  kāla-śakti , He saw His transcendental body as bluish.
PURPORT
In the  Viṣṇu Purāṇa ,  kāla-śakti  is mentioned as  avidyā . The symptom of the influence of the  kāla-śakti  is that one has to work in the material world for fruitive results. The fruitive workers are described in  Bhagavad-gītā  as  mūḍhas , or foolish. Such foolish living entities are very enthusiastic to