In ancient times, when the world was vibrant with the presence of countless deities and forces, the sages gathered to invoke blessings and release from all distress. With reverence, they called upon Bhava and Śarva, Rudra and Paśupati, the fierce and compassionate aspects of the divine. They spoke of knowing the arrows of these mighty ones, yet sought only their auspiciousness and protection. Their prayers reached further, extending to the vast sky and its glittering stars, to the nurturing earth, to the mysterious Yakṣas, to the steadfast mountains, and to the flowing oceans and rivers. Even the settlements of humankind were invoked, all entreated to free the people from suffering. The sages did not forget the ancient Seven Sages themselves, nor the divine Waters that flow through creation, nor Prajāpati, the lord of creatures. The ancestors and Yama, the foremost among them, were called upon for their grace. All the gods—those who dwell in the heavens, those who move in the atmosphere, and those established upon the earth—were invoked, their collective might sought to dispel distress. The Ādityas, the Rudras, the Vasus, and the gods of the heavens, along with the revered Atharvans and Angirases, the wise seers of old, were remembered in the invocation. The ritual itself, the sacrificer, the sacred Ṛg and Sāma verses, the healing medicines, the Yajus formulas, and the Hotṛ priests—all were asked to grant release from suffering. They called upon the five royal plants, with Soma the foremost, as well as darbha grass, hemp, barley, and others, seeking their healing power. Even the enemies, the Rākṣasas, serpents, virtuous people, and ancestors were invoked, along with a hundred forms of death, so that all forces, whether gentle or fierce, might be turned toward liberation from distress. The cyclical turning of time was not forgotten: the seasons and their lords, the periods and years, the cycles and months were all addressed, their orderly passage entreated to bring release. The gods of every direction—south, west, east, and north—assembled in their might, were called to aid. All the gods, steadfast in truth and grown in righteousness, together with their consorts, were invoked repeatedly, their collective virtue asked to deliver the people from distress. The beings of the world, their lord and master of all creatures, were invoked, so that when all beings assemble, their power might bring release. The goddesses of the five directions, the gods of the twelve months, and the fangs of the year were prayed to, so their presence might always be auspicious. The immortal remedy known to Mātalī, Indra’s charioteer, and placed by Indra in the waters was sought, that the waters themselves might grant their healing. Amidst these invocations, a deeper truth was revealed: in the remainder—what is left after all creation—there abides name and form, and the world itself is established. Indra and Agni are found in this remainder, and all things are gathered within it. Within this remainder rest heaven and earth, all living beings, the waters, the ocean, the moon, and the wind. Both the true and the untrue dwell there, as do death, strength, and the lord of creatures. All worldly things depend upon the remainder; injury and vision, prosperity and adversity—all are contained within it. This remainder is firm and stable, the foundation upon which the ten creators of the universe are established. Like the navel at the center, like a wheel turning from all sides, the deities find their place in the remainder. The sacred scriptures—the Ṛg, Sāma, and Yajur Vedas—are rooted in the remainder, along with the sacred chants and praises. The sounds and tones of the Sāman, the udgītha and prastuta, the hiṅkāra and meḍi—all dwell within. The great sacrifices—Rājasūya, Vājapeya, Agniṣṭoma, Arka, and Aśvamedha—find their limbs and essence in the remainder, like an embryo within its mother. The establishment of fire, the rites of initiation, the desired meters, even the lost sacrifices and sessions, all are gathered in the remainder. Acts of faith—Agnihotra, the vaṣaṭ-call, vows, austerity, the southern offering, and meritorious deeds—are all gathered in the remainder. The many sacrifices—one-night, two-night, repeated, ukthya, woven, and placed—have their atoms known in the remainder. The longer rites—four-night, five-night, six-night, sixteen and seven-night sacrifices—all are born from the remainder, established in immortality. The conclusion of sacrifices, the victorious and all-conquering rites, the sāhna and atirātra, the twelve-day ceremonies—all reside in the remainder. Truthfulness, humility, safety, offerings, immortality, and strength all return to the remainder, where desires are satisfied and turn back. Nine lands and oceans are set in the remainder, as is the sky; day and night shine there as the sun shines. Secret sacrifices, the equinox, and all offerings are borne by the remainder, the father of creation. The remainder is the father, creator, breath, grandson, and grandfather; he dwells as the lord of all, the unconquered bull of the earth. Order, truth, austerity, sovereignty, effort, righteousness, and action—what has been and what will be—all reside in the remainder, along with vigor, fortune, and strength. Fullness, radiance, intention, authority, dominion, the six seasons, the year, Ida, command, the ritual cups, and offerings—all are contained within the remainder. The four priests, the invoker, the four-monthly rites, the announcements, the sacrifices, priestly functions, animal bindings, and desired offerings—these too are in the remainder. The passage of time—half-months, months, seasonal periods, and the seasons themselves—are gathered in the remainder, as are the resounding waters, thunder, hearing, and the earth. Gravel, sand, stones, medicinal herbs, plants, grasses, clouds, lightning, and rain—all are contained within. Success, attainment, completion, greatness, pervasion, increase, excessive attainment, prosperity, what is placed, deposited, and beneficial—all these are in the remainder. All that breathes and sees, all beings, the gods in heaven, and those who abide there—were born from the remainder. The sacred verses of the Ṛg, chants of the Sāma, the meters, ancient lore, and the Yajus—all were born from the remainder, as were breath and exhalation, sight, hearing, the perishable and the imperishable. Joys, delights, gladness, supreme delight, and happiness—all have their origin in the remainder, from which even the gods in heaven were born and in which they reside. Thus, in the gathering of all things—gods and sages, plants and seasons, sacrifices and scriptures, all beings and all joys—the sages saw the unity of creation, all returning to and springing forth from the sacred remainder, the inexhaustible source and refuge of all.