Listen, O wise one, to the wondrous effects of devotion and the power of sacred hymns. Even those bound in prison find no contentment, but if a king who has lost his kingdom listens with devotion for a month, he may regain his realm. A faithful person afflicted with consumption who listens for a year finds relief. O twice-born, anyone who always listens with devotion to this king of hymns is never separated from relatives, O descendant of Bharata. One who is well-disciplined and listens with great devotion for a month, even a great fool lacking intelligence, or someone afflicted by pain or poverty—if they listen with devotion for a month, they enjoy happiness in this world and attain rare fame. Such a person becomes an exalted attendant and serves Śaṅkara. Sūta continued: The king spent the rest of his days with his loved ones in a secluded forest. The king of the Gandharvas rejoiced with his sons, wives, and companions, enjoying a reign as splendid as the abode of Kubera. In due course, on the charming bank of the Gaṅgā, the Gandharva king, a devotee of Śiva, by Śiva’s grace and his son’s service to Viṣṇu, honored his parents. The wise Gandharva Upabarhaṇa, due to Brahmā’s curse, eventually gave up his life. Mālāvatī, his wife, entered the fire-pit at Puṣkara on the land of Bhārata. Then, in the wife of Sṛñjaya, who was born of Manu’s lineage, the Gandharva Upabarhaṇa became my husband. Śaunaka inquired, “By what means was he born? Tell us, please.” Sūta replied: Kalāvatī, his wife, was childless but devoted to her husband. Due to her husband’s fault, she was barren. In time, at her husband’s command, she meditated on Śrī Kṛṣṇa, who blazes with the radiance of Brahman, shining like the midday sun at the height of summer. When her meditation ended, the best of sages, wholly devoted to Krishna, saw before him a woman of lovely complexion like champaka flowers, with eyes like autumn lotuses. Her broad hips, full thighs and breasts burdened her. Enchanted, she had taken the form of a sage, tormented by the arrows of desire, adorned with a dot of vermilion and shining with beautiful, bright kohl. The sage, seeing her, asked, “Who are you, O passionate one, in this lonely place?” Hearing his words, Kalāvatī trembled and replied, “I have come seeking a son, at your feet, by my husband’s command. Grant me your seed; a woman who has come should not be disregarded.” Hearing the words of the woman of low caste, the best of sages became angry. Kashyapa said, “She abandons him, and he is deluded; this is certainly the teaching of the Veda. You shall never again be worthy of enjoying the pleasures of Drumila. A Brahmin who, lacking wisdom, takes a Shudra wife—at ancestral offerings, at sacrifices, by touching stone, or in worship of the gods—he himself goes to Kumbhipaka hell, after causing others to fall there.” Thus, the tale unfolds, revealing the profound effects of devotion, the workings of karma, and the teachings of the wise.