The assembled sages, steadfast in their vows and eager for wisdom, approached the lord of the three worlds with a pressing question: “Tell us, O lord, whether fire or water is superior.” Responding to their inquiry, I spoke to all the gathered seers, explaining that both fire and water are most worthy of reverence in the world; from both, the universe itself arises. I further revealed that from fire and water are born the offerings to the gods and to the ancestors, as well as immortality itself. Both are the source of life in the world and the support of the body. Truly, there is no distinction between the two; therefore, their preeminence is considered equal. By my words, neither fire nor water holds superiority over the other. Yet the eminent seers, unsatisfied, continued to ponder, thinking preeminence belonged to one or the other. Seeking a definitive answer, those ascetics went to Vāyu, the god of life-breath, and asked, “Whose preeminence is it, O Vāyu? Life-breath, the truth abides in you.” Vāyu answered, “Fire is the eldest; everything is established in fire.” But the seers were not convinced, and so they went to the earth. “O Earth, speak the truth: whose preeminence is it? You are the support of all that moves and does not move,” they implored. The earth, with humility, addressed the assembled seers, saying, “Even I have the eternal goddesses, the waters, as my support. Everything is born from water; preeminence is established in water.” Still unsatisfied, the sages departed and offered praise to the One who lies upon the Ocean of Milk, the bearer of the conch, discus, and mace, with various hymns. They invoked Him who knows all the worlds, what is to come, what is being born, who dwells hidden within, and who entered at the end all the three worlds of wondrous and diverse forms. That imperishable, eternal, immeasurable One, whom the seers declare is to be known by the Vedas, by resorting to whom they attain their desired goal—that true reality, that refuge—they sought. They addressed the being who is the source of all, the great elements, and the world-principle, whose form as Viṣṇu is not found by yogis. To speak of that, the sages had come—“Speak the truth, O abode of the universe. You are the inner self of all embodied beings; you alone are everything, and all is in you, O Lord. Yet, no one anywhere truly knows you, O wondrous one, because of the power of your own nature.” Then, the divine, bodiless speech—the mother of the world—spoke: “Whichever of the two is first attained through austerity, devotion, and discipline—that one is said to be the elder and foremost.” Accepting this answer, all the revered sages departed, weary and inwardly exhausted, having embraced supreme detachment. They journeyed to Gautamī, the sole mother of all worlds and purifier of the three realms, intent on performing austerities with self-restraint. There, prepared to worship both the deity of water and of fire, the worshippers of Agni and those engaged in the worship of water gathered. At that moment, the divine speech, Sarasvatī, mother of the Vedas, spoke: “Water is the source of fire, and by water, purity is attained. How can there be worship of Agni without water, for both the worshippers of Agni and those engaged in the worship of water?” She continued, “Wherever water is born, there one becomes qualified for action; until then, a man who is impure and unclean is unfit for action. Until one who knows the Veda bathes with faith in cold waters, he is not purified; therefore, water is considered supreme, remembered as the mother. Hence, the superiority of water over fire, especially as mothers.” Hearing these words, the Veda-knowing sages made their decision: “Let the superiority belong to water.” Where this event occurred at the sages’ gathering, O Nārada, that place became known as a holy site of austerity, and also as the site of the sages’ assembly. It is also called the holy site of Agni and known as Sārasvata; bathing and giving gifts there bestows all desires and is auspicious. There are fourteen hundred holy sites there that bestow merit; bathing and giving gifts at those places grant heaven and liberation. There, where Sarasvatī removed the sages’ doubts by her speech, the river Gaṅgā also joined; who can describe the greatness of that confluence? On the northern bank of the Ganga lies a place renowned as Devatirtha, whose power destroys all sins. In that sacred region, there lived a king named Arṣṭiṣeṇa, famed for all virtues, with a wife named Jaya, who was like another Lakshmi herself. Their son, Bhara, was intelligent and devoted to his father, skilled in the science of archery and the Vedas, and accomplished in all arts. Bhara’s wife, the beautiful Suprabha, was also well known. King Arṣṭiṣeṇa, having entrusted the kingdom to his son, undertook initiation with the chief priest. On the bank of the Sarasvati, he diligently prepared for a horse sacrifice. With officiating priests and foremost sages devoted to the Vedas and scriptures, the best of kings was consecrated near the Brahmins’ sacred fire. But Mithur, the mighty lord of the Danavas, powerful yet wicked in intent, seized the king along with his wife and priest, disrupting the sacrifice. Swiftly carrying them off, he went to the lowest region of the underworld. With the noble king taken and the sacrifice lost, the gods and all the officiating priests departed each to their own place. Only the priest’s son, famed as Devapi, remained with the king. Seeing his mother but not his father, the boy was filled with wonder and became deeply distressed. He asked his mother, “Mother, where has my father gone? I cannot live without my father; tell me the truth.” In anguish, he declared, “Fie, fie on the life of those deprived of their father, or those who act wickedly! If you do not tell me, mother, I will enter water or fire.