Once the devotee had washed his hands and feet, he reverently placed the vessel meant for arghya. With the sacred arghya water, he sprinkled his own head, the entrance, and other important places, purifying the space for the ritual. He then began the worship at the doorway, honoring the guardians of the gateways. In each direction, he arranged the sacred trees: Aśvattha, Udumbara, Vaṭa, and Plakṣa, placing them in the east and the other cardinal points as prescribed. For each direction, he recited the appropriate Vedic hymns: the Ṛk called Indraśobhana in the east, the Yajus named Yamasubhadraka, the Sāman known as Sudhanvan, and the Atharvan mantra Suhotraka of Soma. At the ends of the gateways, he set up flags and two pots, beginning with kumuda, as the tradition required. At every doorway, he worshipped the respective deities, calling each by name, and in the east, he placed a full blue lotus as an offering. He did not forget the gentle doorkeepers: Ānanda, Nandana, Dakṣa, Vīrasena, Suṣeṇaka, Sambhava, and Prabhava. Each was honored with devotion. After reciting the weapon mantra and scattering flowers, he dispelled all obstacles and entered the sacred space. There, he performed the purification of the elements and displayed the prescribed mudrā. Reciting the śikhā mantra ending with “phaṭ,” he placed mustard seeds in the proper directions. With Vāsudeva, he used cow urine; with Saṅkarṣaṇa, cow dung; with Pradyumna, milk; and with Nārāyaṇa, curd and ghee. For each subsequent round, the quantity of ghee was increased by one share. All these ingredients—ghee, milk, curd, cow urine, and cow dung—were combined in a vessel to create the sacred pañcagavya. One portion of this was used to sprinkle the pavilion, and another was reserved for sipping. For the ritual bathing, he filled ten pots and worshipped the guardians of the worlds, beginning with Indra. He announced the command to worship them and abided by the order of Hari. Carefully, he protected the sacrificial materials before scattering the offerings. Reciting the root mantra one hundred and eight times, he picked up the blades of kuśa grass. In the northeast, he placed a pot and established the goddess Varddhanī there. He worshipped Hari within the pot, invoking all his limbs, and honored the divine weapon in the presence of Varddhanī. With Varddhanī and Chinnadāra, he circumambulated the sacrificial house, sprinkling as he went. Then, he brought the pot to a steady seat and worshipped it. In another pot, adorned with five jewels and fine cloths, he worshipped Hari with sandalwood and other offerings. In Varddhanī, which contained gold, he worshipped the weapon to the left. Nearby, he honored Vāstulakṣmī and Bhūvināyaka, establishing the seat for Viṣṇu, as was fitting at the beginning of the solstice and on other sacred occasions. He placed nine full, unblemished pots at the nine corners, filling them with water for washing the feet, for arghya, for sipping, and for pañcagavya. At the start of the ritual, from the eastern side of the pot, he offered five nectars—curd, milk, honey, warm water, and fourfold foot-washing—along with water and other items. For the foot-washing, he used padma, shyamaka, durva grass, and invoked Vishnu’s consort. Thus, the eightfold offering was completed, including barley, fragrant fruits, and rice grains. He also offered kuśa grass, siddhartha flowers, sesame seeds, and other substances, and gave sipping water mixed with cloves and kakkola. Then, he bathed the deity with the root mantra and with the five nectars. Placing pure water in the middle pot, he immersed the deity. From the pot, he poured out the water, touched the tip of the kuśa bundle, and with pure water, offered foot-washing, the main offering, and sipping water. After gently wiping the deity’s form with a cloth, he dressed it in fine garments and brought it to the altar. There, he worshipped and prepared for the homa at the fire pit, focusing his breath in concentration. He washed his hands and marked three lines toward the east, and then, from south to north, three lines toward the north. Sprinkling with offering water, he displayed the yoni mudra and meditated on Agni as five fires, placing them in the altar’s yoni. He arranged five vessels with darbha grass, the struk, and other necessary implements. The enclosures, as well as the fuel and firewood, were all measured by the length of his arm. He set out the praṇīta, the sprinkling vessel, the ghee pot, and other items, along with two prasthas of rice, a pair, and a pair with an open mouth. He placed kuśa grass with its tips to the east in the praṇīta and sprinkling vessels, filled the praṇīta with water, meditated on the deity, and worshipped. The praṇīta was set in front, the materials in the center, and the sprinkling vessel, filled with water and worshipped, was placed to the right. He cooked the caru in the fire and placed the Brahman to the right. Spreading kuśa grass to the east, he set up the enclosures. He then performed the Vaiṣṇava rite, beginning with conception, including the rites of conception, birth, and the parting of the hair. For each rite, up to naming and completion, he offered eight oblations, making full offerings for each, using both the ladle and the spoon. Meditating on Lakshmi, in her menstruating form, at the center of the altar, he performed the homa, recognizing altar Lakshmi as the primal nature with three qualities. She, Lakshmi, is the womb of all beings and of the collection of knowledge-mantras. The fire is the cause of liberation, and the supreme self grants freedom. In the altar, her head is envisioned in the east, her arms at the corners, her thighs in the northeast and southeast, as well as the northwest and southwest. The belly is known as the vessel, and the womb is the yoni; the three qualities are her girdles. Meditating thus, he prepared ten kindling sticks. He offered five more oblations with his fist in the gesture of praṇava, then performed the āghāra oblations, concluding with those to air and fire, and afterward poured out the clarified butter. With the end of the īśāna direction at the root, he offered portions of clarified butter; in the north, with the end of twelve; in the south, with the same; and likewise in the center. With the utterance of the vyāhṛtis, he meditated on the fire—purified, situated in the center of the lotus, possessing seven tongues, radiant as ten million suns, and bearing the aspect of Viṣṇu. He visualized a face like the moon and eyes like the sun, and offered one hundred and eight oblations; half that number with the root, and ten parts for the limbs. When all was thus accomplished, Agni spoke: “After performing the sampāta oblation, one should sanctify the purifiers, having recited the Tri-siṃha mantra over them, keeping them concealed with the weapon mantra.