Victory to you, bestower of fame, who are yourself the very embodiment of fame! Victory to you, who give form and bear all forms within yourself! Victory to you, source of happiness, who are happiness itself! Victory to you, purifier of the pure! Victory to you, granter of peace, who are peace itself! Victory to you, child of Shankara! Victory to you, who bestow the nectar of life and are the nectar itself! Victory to you, whose form is effulgent light! Victory to you, O Vamana, Lord of wealth! Victory to you, bearer of the smoky banner! Victory to you, who give to all the world—obeisance to your form as the universal giver! You alone are the soul moving through the three worlds, skilled in destroying the afflictions of beings, O lotus-eyed Lord, ocean of compassion! Place your gracious hand upon my head, O Vishnu! As these praises were offered, the Blessed Lord, bearing the conch, discus, and mace, appeared before the devotee and offered to grant him a boon, promising to fulfill all his desires. Dhanvantari, his mind filled with joy at the Lord’s favor, stood before Govinda, Lord of the gods, ready to receive the boon. Bowing low, the king said, “I desire the sovereignty of the gods.” Vishnu, thus addressed, granted his wish, saying, “You have attained your purpose.” Having received worship and praise, Vishnu then disappeared from their midst. In due course, the king attained lordship over the gods, fulfilling his heart’s desire. Yet, by the fruition of many past actions, Indra—the thousand-eyed—lost his position as king of the gods three times. These losses came about due to various reasons: from Nahusha, from the slaying of Vritra, from the killing of Sindhusena, from his union with Ahalya, and for other causes as well. Remembering these events again and again, Indra was troubled by anxiety and sorrow. In his distress, he approached Brihaspati, Lord of speech, and said, “O Lord of speech, why do I lose my kingdom? Time and again I am cast down from my position, suffering disgrace—surely the worst misfortune for any man.” Brihaspati replied, “Who truly knows the deep course of actions and the path of living beings? No one else can know the secret of all beings.” Then Brihaspati said to Hari, “Go, ask Brahma. He knows what has been, what will be, and what is happening now. He will speak to you of the cause.” Thus, having arrived before Brahma, those two great sages, after bowing with joined palms, spoke: “O Lord, by what fault does Indra, noble husband of Śacī, fall from his kingdom? Master, dispel our doubt.” Brahma replied, after long meditation, “By the fault known as incomplete duty, Indra has fallen from his royal position. Through faults of place, time, and other errors—by mistakes in faith or mantra, by improper giving of gifts, or by offering impure substances—especially by the sin of disrespecting gods, ancestors, and deities, this incompleteness of one’s own duty arises among embodied beings. Because of this, excessive pride, suffering, and loss of position are hard to abandon; even if duty is performed, it leads to misfortune for one whose mind is disturbed. The work does not succeed, and therefore one should not be agitated; for when one’s own duty is incomplete, what misfortune does not arise?” Brahma then recounted to them the earlier story: the illustrious Dhanvantari, son of Āyuṣ, noble-minded, who had faced an obstacle created by darkness and destroyed by Vishnu. The events of previous births and their consequences were described. Hearing this, both Indra and Brihaspati were amazed and asked again, “By what means, O best of gods, can the obstacle caused by that fault be removed?” After further meditation, Brahma said, “Listen to the cause of the fault, the reason for all accomplishments, and the means to cross the ocean of suffering. This is the refuge for those whose hearts are afflicted, the liberation even for the living: Go to the goddess Gautamī and there praise Hari and Shankara. There is no other means for purification.” Leaving all else behind, those two immediately went to the river Gautamī. After bathing at the proper time, both gods joyfully praised her, offering salutations: “Salutations to Matsya, to Kūrma, to Varāha—salutations again and again! To Nṛsiṃha, the god, to Vāmana—salutations again and again! Salutations to you, O Hayagrīva, O Trivikrama, salutations! Salutations to you in the form of Buddha, in the form of Rāma, and as Kalkin. Salutations to you, the endless, the infallible Lord, to Jāmadagnya; to you in the forms of Varuṇa, Indra, and Yama—salutations to you! Salutations to the supreme Lord, the god who takes the form of the three worlds, who bears Sarasvatī on his lips; you are all-knowing—salutations to you! “O sinless one, you are endowed with fortune, bearing Lakshmi upon your chest. You possess many arms, thighs, feet, ears, eyes, and heads. Many, having attained you who are blissful, themselves become happy. As long as people do not take refuge in you, O Hari, ocean of compassion, so long do they remain deprived of fortune, afflicted by impurity or misery. “Those desiring liberation declare you to be the subtle, supreme, infinite light, the essence of Om, transcending nature, of the form of consciousness, entirely composed of bliss. Here, even those without desire worship you, O Lord, with great sacrifices of five kinds; having fulfilled all desires, they cross the ocean of worldly existence and enter your divine realm. With an attitude of equality toward all beings, perceiving the six waves, and possessing a peaceful disposition, they abandon the fruits of actions through knowledge, and through meditation, O Shambhu, they enter into you. “Neither caste nor duties, nor Vedic scriptures, nor meditation or samadhi—none of these; I bow with devotion to Rudra, Shiva, Shankara, the peaceful-minded god Soma. Even a fool, O Shambhu, by devotion to your feet, may attain your form of liberation; in knowledge, in sacrifices, in austerities, in meditation, in offerings, and in great fruits. This supreme fruit is accomplished: devotion to Soma-īśvara day and night, which is always dear to every living being, the fruit seen and heard.” Thus, by praise, devotion, and the grace of the Lord, the obstacles were removed, and the gods attained peace and fulfillment.