Adorned and radiant, you stand forth, recalling the sacred agreement. As you behold these blue and white forms, may the hostile kings swiftly meet their end. Let them be defeated in battle, overcome by dreadful diseases and fierce weapons—Putana, Revati, Lekha, and the one known as Kalaratri. Protected by your banner, may all your enemies quickly perish, especially in the great sacrifice performed by the god of gods, the trident-bearing Lord. Sharva, the essence of the world, has fashioned you. Remember also the other form of Nandaka, O destroyer of adversaries. You are dark as the blue lotus petal, Krishna, the vanquisher of evil dreams, wielding a sharp, formidable sword. Augarbha, Vijaya, Dharmapala—these eight names of yours were declared by the self-born in ancient times. The constellation Krittika is yours, and your teacher is the divine Maheshvara. Gold is your body, and Janardana is your deity. Protect the king, his sword, his army, and his city. The father and grandfather are divine; you must always guard them. In battle, you grant protection—today, let me earn fame among warriors. Shield me, O faultless one, I bow before you. You are the drum whose sound shakes the hearts of enemies. For the armies of kings, become the increaser of victory. Just as noble elephants rejoice at the sound of thunderclouds, let your voice bring us joy and delight. As thunder causes fear among women, so let your voice cause our enemies to tremble in battle. You should always be worshipped with mantras and employed in rites of victory. The annual consecration involves ghee, a blanket, and Vishnu. Pushkara then spoke: The mantras are beneficent to all and fulfill the four aims of life. The combined count of Rig, Atharva, Sama, and Yajur mantras is one hundred thousand. There is one Sankhyayana branch and a second Ashvalayana branch; ten hundred mantras and two thousand Brahmanas. The Rigveda is established by authority, remembered by Dvaipayana and others. The Yajur mantras number just under two thousand. Ten hundred belong to the Brahmins, and there are eighty-six branches: Kanva, Madhyandini, Kathi, and Madhyakathi. Maitrayani, Samjna, and Taittiriya are also so named. Vaishampayana and others are branches established in the Yajur. Of the Sama, Kauthuma is one branch, Atharvanayani is the second. There are four songs and the Aranyakas of the Veda. Uktha, Uha, and the fourth are mantras numbering nine thousand. Four hundred are the Brahma collections, as remembered. Twenty-five are the measure of the Sama. Sumantu, Jajali, and Shlokayana are found in the Atharva. Shaunaka, Pippalada, and others like Munjakesha are further branches. There are ten thousand sixty mantras and a hundred Upanishads. The blessed Vyasa, in his form, created the divisions of branches. Vishnu is the cause of the branch divisions, the histories, and the Puranas. Having received the Purana and other texts from Vyasa, the bard Lomaharshana, Sumati, Agnivarcha, Mitrayu, and Shimshapayana followed. Then Kṛtavrata, also called Sāvarṇi, had six disciples; among them were Śāṃśapāyana and others, who composed the collections of the Purāṇas. The Purāṇas beginning with the Brāhma, and also the ten and eight teachings of Hari, are found in the great Agni Purāṇa, where Hari abides in the form of knowledge. He is both manifest and unmanifest, bearing both formed and formless natures. By knowing, worshipping, and praising him, one attains both enjoyment and liberation. Viṣṇu is the victorious one, the one who will be, possessing forms such as Agni and Sūrya. Through the form of Agni, he is the mouth of the gods, and Viṣṇu is the supreme goal. In the Vedas and the Purāṇas, he is sung as the embodiment of sacrifice; the Purāṇa called Āgneya is the greatest form of Viṣṇu. Janārdana is both the author and listener of the Purāṇa called Āgneya; therefore, the Agni Purāṇa is great and composed of all the Vedas. For those who read or listen, Hari, the Self of all, is indeed present. For those who desire sovereignty, it grants kingship; for those who desire righteousness, it grants righteousness. For those who seek heaven, it grants heaven; for those who desire sons, it grants sons; for those who desire cows and the like, it grants cows; for those who desire villages, it grants villages. For those who desire pleasures, it grants pleasures and all auspicious prosperity; for people, it bestows virtue and fame, and for those who desire victory, it grants victory. For those who desire everything, it grants everything; for those who seek liberation, it grants liberation; for those who have committed sins, the Agni Purāṇa destroys sin. Pushkara continued: That which was formerly spoken by Brahmā to Marīci, up to the measure of food, half of a hundred thousand, that Brāhma should be written and given. In Vaiśākha, on the full moon, one desiring heaven should give the Pādma, of twelve thousand verses, along with a cow yielding much milk; in Jyeṣṭha, one should give it with a cow. Regarding the account of the Varāha epoch, Parāśara composed the Vaiṣṇava of twenty-three thousand verses, and it should be given. By giving it, along with a richly endowed cow, one attains the abode of Viṣṇu. The Vāyavīya, beloved of Hari, is of fourteen thousand verses. On the occasion of the Śveta epoch, Vāyu spoke the Gharma; having written it, one should give it to a brāhmaṇa in Śrāvaṇa, along with a superior cow. So, the sacred texts and their rites, the mantras and their branches, the Puranas and their gifts, all lead the devotee to prosperity, virtue, victory, and ultimately, liberation, through the grace of Hari, who abides in all forms of knowledge and sacrifice.