When the time arrives for a sacred consecration, the ritual begins with reverence and care. The one to be consecrated is first touched with the burnt tips of darbha grass, a gesture of purification and sanctity. Flowers are placed gently in his hands, and he is guided to bow in humble obeisance. Next, attention turns to the sanctified vessels and elements—the pot, the fire, the presence of Shiva, and the self. Each is approached in turn, and the proper acts are performed with devotion. The teacher then examines the disciples, ensuring their worthiness according to the scriptures before accepting them for initiation. The rite of consecration is not limited to any one group; it is offered as desired to kings, Brahmins, and all others. During the ceremony, powerful mantras—such as "āṃ śrāṃ śrauṃ paśuṃ hūṃ phaṭ"—are invoked, wielding the king of weapons, and thus the consecration is completed. Īśvara instructs that the consecrated one should worship Shiva, Viṣṇu, the Sun, and other deities. The air resounds with the sacred sounds of conch and kettle-drum as the deities are bathed with the five pure products of the cow. He who worships the gods uplifts not only himself but his entire family, erasing even the gravest sins accumulated over countless ages. By anointing the deities with ghee, these sins are burned away in the sacred fire. Through bathing the gods with ghee and other pure substances, the worshiper attains divine status himself. After the anointing, sandalwood is applied, and offerings such as nāndī are made. The gods are continually praised with hymns, simple yet profound. Those who worship thus are granted divine knowledge—the past and future are revealed, mantras become clear, intelligence grows, and both worldly enjoyment and liberation are bestowed. Through subtle inquiries and omens, auspicious or inauspicious outcomes are discerned by various means—by the number of elements, their groupings, and their positions, the wise interpret the signs. In the reckoning of numbers, the span of life is determined by Yama, the year, the lunar day, and the pole star. Mantras dedicated to the Sun, Moon, Īśa, Durgā, Śrī, and Viṣṇu are inscribed upon birch bark. The efficacy of these mantras is marked by the clarity of their recitation, their arrangement in lines, and their grouping in ones, threes, and fours. The Maruts, the space, and those born of the Maruts are invoked in sixty-four steps. From the fall or touch of dice, and through the arrangement of odd and even numbers, auspiciousness and other results are determined. Banners and other signs are also interpreted: a lack is inauspicious, but the uneven brings good fortune. The formation of mantras is explained—using the syllables ā, i, pa, lla, vi, and the sixteen vowels, the mantras of the three cities are created. The seed syllable hrīṃ, along with those beginning with praṇava and ending with namas, compose a vast body of mantras—twenty thousand and one hundred sixty more. Specific mantras are assigned to various deities: āṃ and hrīṃ for Sarasvatī and Caṇḍikā, āṃ and śrīṃ for Śrī, kṣauṃ and kauṃ for Sūrya, āṃ and hauṃ for Śiva, āṃ and gaṃ for Gaṇeśa, and āṃ for Hari. All these arise from one hundred and fifty-one initial sounds and the sixteen vowels. For the Sun, Īśa, the Goddess, and Viṣṇu, and through the movement of letters and the power of Indra, three hundred and sixty mantras are assigned to each circle. The teacher, having been consecrated, is to recite, meditate, and initiate disciples in this sacred tradition. Īśvara then turns to the installation of the deity, explaining to Guha the sequence: the seat, the power, Shiva, the liṅga, and their union with the Śiva-atom. There are five kinds of installation, each with its own form. Where the liṅga is united with the Brahma-stone, this is especially called installation. Establishing the seat according to proper method is the first step; a seat not separate from the installation is called fixed. Sometimes, the liṅga is raised after removal, and the wise then perform the consecration. This establishment, as described, is of two kinds for Viṣṇu and others, but in all, the supreme, auspicious consciousness must be invoked. Even among temples, differences in foundation and other factors give rise to five types. When one wishes to build a temple, the earth must be carefully examined. The soil is classified: white and fragrant with clarified butter for priests, red and fragrant for others, yellow and black and unscented for different groups. Eastern soil is especially praised, and the best is that which fills the pit and yields much clay. The earth is assessed from excellent to inferior, sometimes washed with water. If it is corrupted by bones, charcoal, or other impurities, the teacher must thoroughly purify it. For cities, villages, fortresses, houses, or temples, the ground is prepared by repeated digging or plowing with cattle. In a pavilion, after worshiping the doors and completing the rite with mantras, a thousand offerings are made with the Aghora weapon. The ground is then leveled and plastered, and the directions purified. With gold, curds, and unbroken grains, lines are drawn in a clockwise direction. In the center, or the northeast corner, a full pot is placed and worship is offered to Śiva. The officiant is honored, and the digging tools are sprinkled with the sanctified water. After ritually appeasing the hosts of demons outside, oblations are offered to the quarters. The ground is sprinkled and bathed, and the tools are worshiped. Another pot, covered with two cloths, is placed on the shoulder of a twice-born, accompanied by singing, music, and the sound of Brahmins. When the worship of the pot is complete and the auspicious moment for the fire-pit arrives, the earth is dug with a consecrated spade, moistened with honey. The earth removed is placed in the southwest, and the water from the pot is poured into the pit, then led to the desired eastern boundary of the site. Standing there for a moment, one walks around the site, sprinkling the boundary markers as far as the northeast extends. An offering of arghya is prescribed after circling with the pot, and thus, the land is ritually claimed. If the earth is gravelly or watery, to remove defects, it is dug again; if a foreign object is found, it is to be removed by a maiden, according to the rule. Thus, through these sacred procedures, the ground is prepared, the gods are honored, and the path is opened for divine installation and worship.