In that blessed land, there is no trace of illness, impurity, or miserliness. Deceit is unknown, and no one lacks beauty or good conduct. None there ever harm another. The people who dwell in this renowned realm are happy, for all movement in that land brings joy to every being. The country is teeming with people of many kinds and is richly fertile, yielding abundant crops. Its groves are filled with karṇikāra, jackfruit, campaka, and nāgakesara trees. There stand pāṭala, aśoka, bakula, kapittha, and plentiful dhava, alongside mango, neem, kadamba, and a multitude of other flowering trees. The land is adorned with nīpa, dhava, khadira, and entwining creepers, as well as śāla, tāla, tamāla, coconut, and the auspicious añjana trees. There are arjuna, samaparṇa, kovidāra, pippala, lakuca, sarala, lodhra, hintāla, and devadāru trees. Palāśa, mucukunda, pārijāta, kubjaka, banana groves, and the fruits of jambū and areca palms abound. The air is fragrant with ketakī, karavīra, atimukta, kiṃśuka, mandāra, jasmine, and countless other blossoms. Gardens flourish everywhere, alive with the songs of many birds, and the entire region resembles the celestial Nandana grove. Trees bend under the weight of their fruits, and flowers cluster in every season. Birds of every kind fill the land: chakora, lotus-dwelling birds, bhringarāja, cuckoos, kalaviṅka, peacocks, cherished parrots, and mynas. Jīvaṃjīvika, harita, cātaka, and many other forest birds flock together, their sweet voices filling the air with song. Long ponds, lakes, lotus pools, and reservoirs shimmer across the countryside, each adorned with masses of lotuses. Kumuda, white lotuses, and beautiful blue lotuses bloom, while kādamba, chakravāka, and waterfowl glide upon the waters. Kāraṇḍava, plava, swans, and other aquatic birds make their home here. Thus, the land is graced with all manner of excellent trees and flowers. Everywhere, sacred waters glisten—ponds, lakes, and rivers—each one sanctified. In this holy place, the great god Kṛttivāsa, the bull-bannered Lord Śiva, resides himself. For the welfare of all worlds, Śiva, who bestows both worldly enjoyment and liberation, has gathered upon earth all the sacred places, rivers, and lakes. From each lotus pond, reservoir, well, and ocean, he drew a drop of water, and for the benefit of all beings, Rudra, together with the gods, created the sacred site called Bindusara in this very region. With the sages, he established it, and thus it is remembered as Bindusara. On the eighth day of the waxing fortnight in the month of Mārgaśīrṣa, those who journey there at the equinox, having mastered their senses, and bathe in Bindusara with faith, having satisfied gods, sages, ancestors, and humans with silent offerings of sesame water—knowing their names and lineages—such a pilgrim, by bathing there properly, gains the fruit of performing the Aśvamedha sacrifice at the time of a lunar eclipse, equinox, solstice, or seasonal transition. At the beginnings of eras, on the eighty-sixth day, and on other auspicious occasions, those who give gifts—such as wealth—to Brāhmins at Bindusara receive a hundredfold greater merit than at any other holy place. Those who offer rice balls to their ancestors on the lake’s shore bring inexhaustible satisfaction to their forebears—there is no doubt. Afterwards, one should proceed to the house of Śambhu, with speech and senses restrained. Entering, one worships Śarva, circles him three times, and bathes Bhava with ghee, milk, and other pure substances, remaining clean. Anointing him with fragrant sandalwood and kuṅkuma, the devotee worships the moon-crested god, spouse of Umā, with pure flowers—bilva, arka, lotus, and others—reciting mantras from the Āgamas and Vedas. Even those not initiated may worship him by name and with the root mantra. Having offered fragrant flowers, incense, lamps, food, and oblations, with hymns, prostrations, songs, and sweet music, with dance, recitation, salutations, cries of victory, and circumambulation, the devotee completes the worship of the god of gods, the beloved of Umā. Freed from all sins, adorned with beauty and youthful pride, having uplifted twenty-one generations of his lineage and bedecked with divine ornaments, such a person is carried in a golden aerial chariot, its bells tinkling, praised by Gandharvas and adorned by Apsaras. Radiant in all directions, he journeys to the world of Śiva, where he enjoys supreme happiness that delights the mind. He dwells there with the inhabitants of that world until the great dissolution. When his merit is spent, he returns to earth, born in the house of yogis as a twice-born knower of the four Vedas. There, by attaining the Pāśupata yoga, he ultimately achieves liberation. At sunrise, during transitions of the sun, at the solstices, on the eighth day called Ashoka, and at the festival of purification—those who behold that supreme god, clad in a hide and riding in a chariot shining like the sun, go to the world of Śiva. Even the wise who see that god at any time, freed from all sin, truly attain the world of Śiva. To the west, east, south, and north of the god, for two and a half yojanas in every direction, this sacred field bestows both enjoyment and liberation to all who enter it.