Upon the sacred mountain, deep within a divine forest, Mālāvatī was attended by Śrīnivāsa. She recalled the days long ago, when, in the tender season of spring, she and her beloved had shared secret, playful moments. Once, he had drenched her heart with words as sweet as nectar. She reflected on how rare and precious it is to be in the company of the virtuous—even rarer than attaining Vaikuṇṭha itself. Thus, she felt that separation from such souls brought the greatest sorrow to those of noble heart. The pain of losing a child, she mused, surpasses even death in its intensity. Whether lying down, eating, bathing, dreaming, or awake, a woman forgets all her sorrows in the union with her husband. Without her husband, she could find no relative as dear. In her anguish, she cried out to the guardians of the directions, to Dharma, and to the Lord of creatures. Tormented by separation, Mālāvatī, the daughter of Citraratha, stood there, unconscious, clutching her beloved to her breast. When dawn arrived and she regained consciousness, she wept bitterly, again and again. Lamenting, she addressed the Lord: “You alone are the protector of all worlds—how is it, Lord, that you do not protect me?” She reflected deeply: “By your illusion, this is the husband, I am the wife, and this belongs to me. By action, he is a Gandharva and my beloved; by action, I am his beloved. O Lord, who is truly the husband of whom, who is the son of whom, or who is dear to whom? The Creator unites and separates beings according to their deeds. In union, there is supreme joy; in separation, the distress of life itself. Indeed, all objects of enjoyment and even relatives on earth are perishable. Therefore, the wise renounce even the highest desired prosperity. Everywhere, the wise are rare; and what woman on earth is truly endowed with wisdom?” She declared, “I have no desire for immortality, nor for the station of Indra, nor for the path of liberation. O Lord of the world, as many as are the kinds of women in the world, to them have been given all virtues and various forms. By beauty, virtue, brilliance, and valor, a devotee of Hari, equal to Hari, deep as the ocean, radiant as the moon, pleasing to behold, beautiful as Kāma himself, in speech and in knowledge of all scriptures, intelligent as Bṛgu, righteous as Dharma, surpassing even those devoted to truth, sovereign as Indra, and forbearing as the earth.” She continued, “O gods, you who partake of the offerings in sacrifice, are worthy to enjoy the clarified butter on earth. O Nārāyaṇa, beloved of the world, I am not other than the world itself. O Lord of creatures, because of the curse of your son, you shall be unworthy of worship on earth. O Śambhu, by my curse I shall cause you to lose your knowledge. I will assign the jurisdiction of Yama far away, without doubt. Here and now, I curse all of them with old age and disease, without delay.” Having spoken thus, Mālāvatī went to the bank of the Kausiki to pronounce the curse upon them. Seeing her ready to utter the curse, Brahma, accompanied by the gods, approached. There, after bathing, Brahma praised the Supreme Self, the Lord, and pleaded, “O Mādhava, for the sake of a beloved, do not let her curse the gods; protect them.