Let us enter the sacred preparations for a great ritual, as revealed in the Agni Purāṇa. The process begins with assembling a multitude of ritual items, each carrying its own significance. Pots are set aside for the doorkeepers, for dharma, and for peace, as well as for Vāstu, Lakṣmī, and Gaṇeśa, along with other vessels for various purposes. Containers are crafted from heaps of grain, beautifully adorned with cloth and garlands, filled with gold, sprinkled and filled with fragrant water. Other containers are filled with fruits, and vessels are decorated with leaves and auspicious marks. Each pot is covered with cloth, and white mustard seeds are brought forth. For the scattering ritual, roasted rice is prepared, and the sword of knowledge is kept ready, just as before. A vessel for oblation with a lid and a copper ladle are set aside. There is a vessel mixed with ghee and honey, meant for anointing the feet. Mats are woven from three hundred blades of darbha grass, measured by the length of the arm. Four-sided and square mats are made from palāśa leaves. Additional vessels are prepared: one for sesame seeds, one for oblation, a half-vessel, and a purifier. Twenty-eight essential items are gathered: a pot for offering incense, ladles, a basket, a seat, a fan, and dry fuel. Flowers and leaves are collected, along with guggul resin. Lamps fueled with ghee, incense, unbroken rice, triple-threaded cords, cow's ghee, barley, and sesame seeds are brought together. Kusha grass is used for purification, along with three sweet substances, ten sticks of fuel, a ladle the length of an arm, and a hand for the ritual of appeasing the Sun and other planets. The fuel sticks are carefully selected from arka, palāśa, khadira, amra, pippala, udumbara, shami, durva, and kusha—one hundred and eight in total. If these are unavailable, barley and sesame may substitute, as well as household utensils. Two cloths are prepared for the deities and others, along with a pot, ladle, and cover. For the worship of the teacher, rings, crowns, garments, necklaces, earrings, and bracelets are prepared, with sincerity and no deceit regarding wealth. If any of these items are missing, the worship performed by reciters, priests, astrologers, or artisans is considered equally valid. For the appeasement of Vajra and the Sun, blue sapphires, blue gems, pearls, flowers, lotuses, conch shells, and the eighth gem, vaidurya, are prescribed. Vetiver, madhavi creeper, kranta, red sandalwood, agaru, fine sandal, sarika, kankusta, shankhini, and other medicinal herbs are gathered. Metals such as gold, copper, red metal, silver, bell metal, and lead are included, along with orpiment and realgar. Eight minerals are brought: red ochre, gold, makshika, mercury, fire-colored ochre, sulphur, and mica, along with varieties of rice. Wheat, sesame, black gram, green gram, barley, nivara rice, shyamaka, and thus eight kinds of rice are enumerated. When the preparations are complete, Ishvara instructs: The teacher, having bathed and performed the two daily rites, intent on the meaning of the sacred syllable, proceeds to the fire-hall with companions, images, and brahmins. There, as before, he worships the gateways beginning with Shanti, in order, circumambulating them and honoring the doorkeepers at each branch. In the east, Nandi and Mahakala stand guard; in the south, Bhringi and Vinayaka; in the west, Vrishabha and Skanda; in the north, Devi and Chanda. At the base of these branches are the tranquil and cool deities: Ghata, Parjanya, Ashoka, Bhuta, Sanjivana, and Amrita. The teacher worships, in order, the pairs who bestow wealth and prosperity, using their names in the dative case, ending with the fourth, and concluding with Om. The guardians of the worlds, the gatekeepers of the earth, the two streams, the three suns, the yuga, the Veda, Lakshmi, and Ganesha are all honored. Thus, the gods stand at the sacrificial hall, at each gateway, dispelling assemblies of obstacles and protecting the rite. Next, the teacher worships the thunderbolt, spear, staff, sword, noose, banner, mace, trident, discus, lotus, and flag. With the mantras 'o hrūṃ phaṭ namaḥ', 'oṃ hrūṃ phaṭ, to the power at the gate, hrūṃ phaṭ namaḥ', and others, Kumuda, Kumudākṣa, Puṇḍarīka, Vāmana, Śaṅkukarṇa, Sarvanetra, Sumukha, and Supratiṣṭhita are invoked. The eight deities of the banner are worshipped, beginning from the east, with hosts of spirits, using mantras such as 'oṃ kauṃ, salutations to Kumuda'. Hetuka, the destroyer of Tripura, Śakti, Yamajhvaka, Kāla, Karālina, Ekāṅghni, Bhīma, and Aṣṭaka are honored. In the same way, the guardians of the directions are worshipped successively with offerings, flowers, and incense, and are honored when satisfied. On colored carpets, upon bamboo pillars in succession, the teacher worships the five elements beginning from earth, with Sadyojāta and other deities. The pavilion, which pervades the realm of Sadāśiva, the abode of Śaṅkara, joined with banners and powers, is regarded according to the vision of the principles. Having driven away obstacles from the divine, atmospheric, and earthly realms as before, the teacher enters by the western gate and shows the remaining gates. Proceeding in a clockwise manner, and seated at the southern side of the altar, facing north, he performs the purification of the elements as formerly. He then performs the internal offering, the special arghya, the purification of mantras and materials, and worships himself with the five products of the cow, as before. In the common seat, after that, he places, especially for the Śiva principle, the three principles in succession. From the forehead, shoulder, and foot's end, the supreme essence of Śiva's knowledge, the deities Rudra, Nārāyaṇa, and Brahma, with their own movements, are established. With the mantra 'oṃ haṃ hāṃ', he installs the form and its lord there as before—the all-pervading Śiva with his limbs, and the Śiva hand upon the head. The radiance enters through the Brahmarandhra, both outward and inward, dispelling the veil of darkness, and the directions become illuminated. Adorning himself and the forms with garlands, cloth, flowers, and the like, meditating 'I am Śiva', he rises with the sword of knowledge, ready to proceed with the sacred rite.