In that wondrous realm, the inhabitants are strikingly beautiful, their forms radiant and adorned with divine ornaments. They resemble the god of love himself, bearing all auspicious features and virtues. Their hair and cheeks are lovely, their faces pleasant, and many bear elegant mustaches. Learned in all scriptures, they are mighty warriors who shatter enemy armies. These noble beings are generous givers of jewels and enjoyers of every form of wealth. Among them, enchanting women of extraordinary beauty are seen, their movements graceful like swans and elephants. Their eyes bloom like lotuses, their waists slender, hips shapely, and their breasts full and high. Their hair flows beautifully, their faces and cheeks are charming, their locks steady, and their necks expressive and adorned with ear ornaments. Their lips resemble the bimba fruit, their faces brightened by betel, and they are bedecked in golden jewelry and every kind of ornament. Some are dark, others fair, all with lovely hips, their girdles and anklets resounding melodiously. They wear divine garlands and garments, anointed with heavenly fragrances. Skilled and fortunate, their forms are graceful and pleasing to behold, radiant with beauty and charm, their faces always smiling. Playful and intoxicated with delight, these women gather in assemblies and courtyards, enchanting all with their songs, music, stories, and conversation. Among them are chief courtesans, experts in dance and song, masters of glances and conversation, possessing all the virtues of women. Others are seen as teachers of virtue—noble ladies from good families, devoted to their husbands, adorned with every excellence. The city itself is surrounded by sacred forests and groves, delightful gardens, and divine temples, all richly adorned with a profusion of flowers. There are shala, tala, tamala, bakula, nagakesara, pippala, karnikara, sandalwood, aguru, and champaka trees. You find puṇnāga, coconut, jackfruit, pine, orange, lakucha, lodhra, saptaparṇa, and auspicious anjana trees. Mango, bilva, kadamba, shimshapa, dhava, khadira, patala, ashoka, tagara, and various karavira trees fill the groves. Yellow arjuna, bhallataka, siddha, amrataka, banyan, sacred fig, kashmarya, palasha, and deodar trees stand tall. Mandara, parijata, tamarind, vibhitaka, prachina amalaki, plaksha, jambu, and shirisha trees flourish. Kaleya, kanchanara, madhu-jambira, tinduka, date, agastya, bakula, shakotaka, and haritaka trees add to the bounty. Kankola, mucukunda, hintala, bijapura, clusters of ketaki groves, atimukta, and kubjaka trees abound. Jasmine, kundabana, clusters of banana trees, matulunga, areca nuts, karuna, and sindhuvara fruits enrich the gardens. Bahuvara, kovidara, badara, karañjaka, and countless other flowering trees delight the senses. Creepers and shrubs create canopies, and gardens like Nandana are always rich with the fragrance of flowers and weighed down with fruit. The air is charming with the calls of many birds and filled with animals—chakoras, lotuses, bumblebees, and priyaputras. Kalavinka birds, peacocks, parrots, cuckoos, pigeons, khanjariṭa birds, hawks, and doves fill the trees. Many other birds, delightful and pleasing to the ear, are found here, along with rivers, lotus ponds, and countless lakes. There are sacred bodies of water adorned with kumuda and utpala lotuses, white and colored lotuses, and fragrant kahlaras. Many other aquatic flowers bloom, divine and aromatic, radiant in every season. Swans and karandavas glide across the waters, chakravakas, sarasa cranes, balaka herons, and turtles, fish, and crocodiles swim beneath. Waterfowl, kadamba birds, divers, water-cocks, and other aquatic creatures fill the lakes, their sounds varied and melodious. All around, birds of many colors adorn the landscape, ever joyful, amidst a multitude of flowers and bodies of water. The gardens are filled with auspicious trees, diverse plants, and animals dwelling both on land and in water. At the heart of this magnificent city stand divine temples of the gods, and there resides the blessed deity, the enemy of Tripura, the three-eyed one—Mahakala, who is Shiva, the bestower of all desires. Those who come to this sacred place, after bathing in the Shiva-kunda and purifying themselves, satisfy the gods, ancestors, and sages. Then, entering the temple of Shiva, they circumambulate it three times, self-controlled, wearing clean garments, and with subdued senses. They worship with baths, flowers, fragrances, incense, lamps, and devotion. Offerings of food, gifts, songs, music, circumambulations, prostrations, dances, and hymns are made to Shankara. Even if one worships Mahakala, who is Shiva, with proper rites and devotion just once, the fruit earned equals a thousand horse sacrifices. Freed from all sins, ascending celestial vehicles that fulfill every desire, the devotee reaches the third heaven, the abode of Shambhu. There, assuming a divine form adorned with celestial ornaments, he enjoys excellent pleasures until the end of the cosmic cycle. In the world of Shiva, free from old age and death, when his merit is exhausted, he is born again here in the highest family of Brāhmaṇas.