Hear now the sacred account of worship and its rites, as revealed in the Agni Purāṇa. First, the devotee offers reverence to the divine powers presiding over all aspects of existence: to Dhātr and Vidhātr, the creators and sustainers; to the holy rivers Gaṅgā and Yamunā; to the treasures of the earth; to the goddess who guards the doorway, to the new site, to Śakti, Kūrma, and Anantaka. The Earth herself is honored, along with Dharma, Knowledge, Dispassion, and Sovereignty. Even Adharma and other forces are acknowledged, as are the very parts of the sacred lotus—the stalk, petals, filaments, and pericarp. The worship extends to the Ṛgveda and the other Vedas, to the four ages beginning with Kṛta, to the quality of Sattva and the radiant solar orb. Vimalotkarṣiṇī, Knowledge, Action, and Yoga are also revered. Then Prahvi, Satya, Īśāna, Anugraha, Sanamūrti, Durgā, Girā, Aṅgaṇa, Kṣetra, Vāsudeva, and their companions are worshipped in turn. One pays homage to the heart and head, the trident and armor, the eyes and weapons of the Lord; to the conch, discus, mace, lotus, Śrīvatsa, and the Kaustubha gem. The forest garland, Śrī, Puṣṭi, Garuḍa, and the revered guru are honored, as are Indra, Agni, Yama, the Rākṣasas, the waters, Vāyu, and Kubera, lord of wealth. Through these acts of worship and related rites, success is attained in the sacred mandala for the Lord who is without end and unborn, for his weapons, his vehicle, the lotus, and Viṣvaksena. In the general worship of Śiva, one first honors Nandin, then Mahākāla, Gaṅgā, Yamunā, and the hosts of attendants. Speech, fortune, the teacher, the dwelling, Śakti and her companions, Dharma and the rest are venerated, as are Vāmā, Jyeṣṭhā, Raudrī, Kālī, and Kalavikāriṇī. Balavikariṇī and Balapramathinī are worshipped in order, followed by Sarvabhūtadamanī, Madanonmādinī, and the very seat of Śiva. With the sacred syllables hāṃ, huṃ, hāṃ, the devotee worships Śiva in his many-faced, many-limbed form; with hauṃ for Śiva, and hām for Īśāna and the other faces. Hrīṃ is for Gaurī, gaṃ for the Gaṇas, and other mantras for Indra, Caṇḍī, Hṛdā, and so forth; the Sun, Daṇḍin, and Piṅgala are honored in their turn. Uccaiḥśravā, Āruṇa, Prabhūta, and Vimala are worshipped; at the center, Skanda and his companions, who embody the highest happiness, are adored. Dīptā, Sūkṣmā, Jayā, Bhadrā, Vibhūti, Vimala, Amoghā, Vidyutā, and Sarvatomukhī are also venerated. The seat of the Sun is honored through the syllables haṃ, khaṃ, kha, so, ulkā, and their forms; with hrāṃ, hrīṃ, sa, and the invocation, "Obeisance to Sūrya," as well as āṃ and "Obeisance to Hṛdaya." The Sun, Śikha, Agni, Īśa, Asura, and Vāyu are all worshipped, with the sacred utterances bhūḥ, bhuvaḥ, svaḥ, and the armor known as huṃ. The eye is sanctified with māṃ, the dwelling with arkkāstra, the queen with Śakti and Niṣkubhā; the planets—Soma, Aṅgāraka, Budha, Jīva, Śukra, and Śani—are worshipped in order. Rāhu, Ketu, Tejas, and Caṇḍa are also honored. The worship includes the seat for the form, the root, Hṛdā, and the attendants. Viṣṇu's seat and form are worshipped with the mantras roṃ, śrīṃ, śrīṃ, Śrīdhara, and Hari, and with hrīṃ, the mantra for all forms—thus enchanting the three worlds. Hrīṃ is for Hṛṣīkeśa, klīṃ for Viṣṇu, with long vowels for Hṛdā and other aspects; all these, in the fifth case, are honored, and in battle, Jayā and the rest. The discus, mace, conch, pestle, sword, bow Śārṅga, noose, goad, Śrīvatsa, Kaustubha, and the forest garland are worshipped in order. Śrīṃ is for Śrī and Mahālakṣmī, Tātārkṣya, the teacher, Indra, and others. The seat and form of Sarasvatī are honored with auṃ and hrīṃ, and the goddess Sarasvatī herself is worshipped. With Hṛdā and other mantras, Alakṣmī, Medhā, Kalā, Tuṣṭi, Puṣṭikā, Gaurī, Prabhāmatī, Durgā, the Gaṇas, the teacher, and the field's guardian are all revered. Similarly, gaṃ is for Gaṇapati, hrīṃ for Gaurī, śrīṃ for Śrī, hrīṃ for Tvaritā, and hrīṃ, sau for Tripurā, ending with the fourth case and Om. The syllable at the beginning of each name, joined with a dot or with Om, is considered as recited when worshipping with all mantras. Whoever recites these worship mantras during offerings with sesame, ghee, and the like, attains righteousness, fulfillment of desires, wealth, and liberation; having enjoyed worldly pleasures, he ascends to heaven. Nārada then speaks: "I will explain the sacred bathing rite for ritual acts. One should take earth while reciting the Nṛsiṃha mantra, divide it into two, and with one part, purify the mind. After immersing and sipping water, setting it down, and being protected by the Siṃha mantra, one should perform the prescribed bath, preceded by breath control. Meditating in the heart on the knowledge of Hari with the eight-syllable mantra, one should, with earth in hand, recite the Siṃha mantra three times for protection in all directions. With the Vāsudeva mantra, consecrate the water, then cleanse the body with Vedic and other mantras, worshipping the form. Having performed the Aghamarṣaṇa rite and donned clean garments, one should proceed; placing water in the hand, purify it twice with mantras. Controlling the breath with the Nārāyaṇa mantra, inhaling and releasing, meditating on Hari in the water, one should then offer arghya with the twelve-syllable mantra. Recite hundreds of other mantras in order, beginning from the seat of yoga, for the guardians of the directions, the sages, and the groups of ancestors. For all humans and all beings, even the immovable ones, assign and then withdraw the limbs, and with mantras, enter the place of worship. In all other acts of worship as well, one should perform bathing with the root and other mantras. Nārada continues: 'Now I will explain the method of worship, by which one attains everything. Having washed the feet, sipped water, restrained speech, and made the gesture of protection, the devotee, facing east, draws a svastika and a lotus or other diagram, visualizing the seed in the center of the navel, smoky and of fierce wind nature. One should distinguish all this, meditate to remove impurity from the body, and, remembering the seed 'kṣauṃ' in the heart-lotus, think of it as the source of the womb. With flames rising below, above, and across, one should burn away impurity. Then, meditating as the moon, one should visualize it in the sky, streaming with nectar. With the rays spreading from the lotus of the heart, the wise flood their own body, through the path of the suṣumṇā, flowing through all the channels.'" Thus is the sacred sequence of worship and purification, as taught by the wise, leading the devotee from ritual act to the realization of the divine.