In that sacred land stood a wondrous city, graced on all sides by the beauty of nature and the blessings of the divine. The city was adorned with groves of bahuvara, kovidara, badara, and karañjaka trees, along with countless other flowering trees, each delightful to behold. Creepers and shrubs flourished in abundance, and shaded canopies stretched over gardens reminiscent of Nandana itself, ever fragrant with flowers and weighed down with luscious fruit. The air was alive with the enchanting calls of myriad birds, and the land teemed with diverse creatures—chakoras, lotuses, bumblebees, and priyaputras mingled together. Kalavinka birds sang sweetly, while peacocks, parrots, cuckoos, pigeons, khanjariṭa birds, hawks, and doves filled the groves with color and song. Countless other birds, pleasing to the ear, flitted among rivers, lotus ponds, and sparkling lakes. Sacred waters, adorned with kumuda and utpala lotuses, glimmered in the sunlight. White and multicolored lotuses, fragrant kahlaras, and many other aquatic flowers bloomed, their divine scents wafting through the air in every season. Swans and karandavas glided across the waters, while chakravakas, sarasa cranes, balaka herons, turtles, fish, and crocodiles made their home there. Waterfowl, kadamba birds, divers, water-cocks, and other aquatic creatures added their voices to the chorus of life. Everywhere, birds of brilliant plumage brought joy to the city, which was further beautified with auspicious trees, diverse gardens, and animals dwelling on land and in water. Amidst this splendor rose divine temples, the abodes of the gods. In one such temple dwelled the blessed Lord, the three-eyed enemy of Tripura—Shiva himself, renowned here as Mahakala, bestower of all desires. Those who bathed with devotion in the sacred Shiva-kunda, having satisfied the gods, ancestors, and sages, and then visited Shiva’s temple, would circumambulate it three times in reverence. Entering with self-control, clad in clean garments and with subdued senses, they worshipped with baths, flowers, fragrances, incense, and lamps, pouring forth their devotion. They offered food, gifts, songs, music, circumambulations, prostrations, dances, and hymns to Shankara. Even a single act of true worship to Mahakala, performed with proper rites and devotion, bestowed the merit of a thousand horse sacrifices. Freed from all sins, the devotee ascended a celestial vehicle that fulfilled every desire, journeying to the third heaven—the abode of Shambhu. There, assuming a divine form adorned with celestial ornaments, he enjoyed supreme pleasures until the end of the cosmic cycle. Within Shiva’s world, free from old age and death, when his merit was spent, he would be born again among the highest Brāhmaṇa families on earth. There he would become a Brāhmaṇa learned in all four Vedas and scriptures, attain Pāśupata yoga, and ultimately reach liberation. In this blessed land flowed the holy river Śiprā. Whoever bathed there according to proper rites and satisfied the ancestors and deities was freed from all sins and, ascending a splendid celestial vehicle, enjoyed pleasures in the world of the gods. There, too, resided the blessed Lord of gods—Janārdana, known as Govinda, Hari, the master, bestower of enjoyment and liberation. To see him, along with one’s twenty-one generations, was to attain liberation, rising on a sun-bright celestial chariot adorned with tinkling bells. Endowed with all fulfilled desires, riding an unfailing, wish-granting vehicle, and praised by Gandharvas, one was honored in the world of Viṣṇu. There, free from all suffering, handsome, fortunate, and happy, he enjoyed celestial pleasures until the end of the cosmic cycle. When his time in heaven was complete, he was born again as a wise Brāhmaṇa on earth, in the house of the foremost yogins, knowing the true meaning of the Vedas and scriptures. Having taken up Vaiṣṇava yoga, he then attained liberation. In that sacred place, Viṣṇu himself was known as Vikramasvāmin, and whether a man or woman, seeing him brought the same blessed fruit. There, too, dwelled other gods, led by Indra, and the divine Mothers, bestowers of all desired fruits. Seeing them, worshipping them with devotion, and bowing down, one was freed from all sins and ascended to heaven. Thus was that delightful city, ruled by the lion among kings, ever joyful with constant festivals, like Indra’s Amarāvatī. It was encircled by eighteen city gates and broad, fourfold roads. The twang of bowstrings resounded through its streets, which were adorned by gatherings of accomplished beings, assemblies of learned men, and the ceaseless chanting of the Vedas. Day and night, epics, ancient tales, treatises, and poems were recited and heard. Such was the land I have described, endowed with all virtues, where, in ages past, the great and noble king Indradyumna was born. In that land, the wise king once ruled an unrivaled kingdom, protecting his subjects as his own sons. Truthful, wise, heroic, a repository of all virtues, intelligent, and righteous, he was foremost among all wielders of weapons. His speech was ever truthful, his character noble, self-controlled and illustrious, conqueror of enemy cities, radiant as the sun, and as handsome as the Ashvins. His wondrous deeds ever increased, and his valor rivaled Indra’s. Marked by auspicious signs, he shone like the autumn moon.