In ancient times, when fever and sickness threatened the well-being of people, the sages called upon the divine forces with fervent prayers and invocations. They observed the fever—a force that made all things green, burning and consuming like Agni—and pleaded that it become powerless, subdued, and sent downward or away, so it might depart from the afflicted. They recognized the fever’s harshness, its destructive origin, and likened it to a fierce red force. They implored that this fever, which roamed everywhere, be driven away and cast down below. With reverence, they sent it downward to the craftsman, wishing that the grip of Śakambhara would return to the mighty bulls. The sages spoke of Takman, the fever, whose dwelling was among the Mūjavas and the great bulls, and who remained as long as Takman was born, staying among the Balhikas. They called upon Takman, the serpent, poison, and lameness, to drive away the multitude of afflictions, to seek out the slave woman who suffered, and to deliver her with the thunderbolt. They urged Takman to go to the Mūjavas or beyond, to the Balhikas, to seek the Śūdra woman who was swollen and to shake out the fever from her. The kin of the Mūjavas, the great bulls, had gone away, and the sages addressed Takman, sending it to other fields. Takman, they said, did not delight in another field, nor did it show mercy to them; it had become desired and would go to the Balhikas. If the afflicted were cold or trembling, plagued by cough and shivering, the terrible causes of Takman surrounded them. They prayed that neither companions nor fever nor cough nor agitation would return, nor would Takman be brought near again with its forces. Takman, together with its brother Fever, sister Cough, and evil cousin, was directed to go to another mortal person. The sages invoked destruction upon the third, the fourth, the persistent, and the autumnal forms of Takman, urging that the cold, trembling, summer, and rainy fevers be destroyed. They sought to deliver Takman from the Gandharis, Mūjavas, Angas, and Magadhas, as one would send a person to a storehouse. Turning their attention to another affliction, the sages prayed for support from Heaven and Earth, from Sarasvati, from Indra and Agni, so that they might subdue the worms. They called upon Indra, lord of wealth, to strike down the worms, declaring that all enemies were slain by the power of their words. They described the worms that crept around the eyes, the nose, and those that entered the body, vowing to subdue them all. There were worms of various forms—two alike, two different, two black, two red, the tawny one, the tawny-eared one, the vulture, and the heron—all were to be slain. Worms with pale bodies, black bodies, pale arms, and those of every form were targeted, and the sages declared their intent to subdue them. The sun, they said, went forth, seeing all, destroying both the seen and unseen worms. They prayed for the destruction of worms that were white, rough, moving, and sharp-toothed, wishing both the visible and invisible worms to be slain. The ram of the worms and the river-dweller were crushed, as grain is crushed with a stone. Even the worm with three heads, three humps, the speckled and the white, had its back torn apart and its head cut off. Like Kanva and Madagna, the sages struck down the worms, and with the power of Agastya’s prayer, they crushed them. The king and chief of the worms, their mother, brother, and sister, all were slain. Their dwellings and enclosures were destroyed, and even the smallest worms were not spared. Of every kind of worm, the sages broke the head with a stone and burned the mouth with fire. Seeking protection and strength, the sages invoked the guardianship of many deities. May Savitar, lord of creations, protect them in their prayers, rites, priestly office, foundation, thoughts, intentions, wishes, and invocations to the gods—svāhā. May Agni, lord of the forest trees, protect them in all these aspects—svāhā. May Heaven and Earth, lords of abundance, safeguard them—svāhā. May Varuṇa, lord of the waters, and Mitra and Varuṇa, lords of rain, offer their protection—svāhā. May the Maruts, lords of the mountains, shield them—svāhā. May Soma, lord of the plants, and Vāyu, lord of the midspace, protect them—svāhā. May Sūrya, lord of vision, and the Moon, lord of the stars, guard them—svāhā. May Indra, lord of the sky, and the father of the Maruts, lord of cattle, offer their protection—svāhā. May Death, lord of creatures, and Yama, lord of ancestors, protect them in their sacred utterances, rites, priestly office, foundation, intentions, resolves, blessings, and invocations to the gods. Svāhā. Thus, through prayer, reverence, and invocation, the sages sought to banish fever and worms, to restore health, and to secure the divine protection of all the gods, so that harmony and well-being might prevail.