Those who are adorned with royal fortune, who are mighty heroes, who have conquered others, who remain ever surrounded by their own people, and who are marked by all auspicious qualities—such people, it is said, should be carefully considered, both in their distinction and their association. Yet, even with all their worldly greatness, the auspicious Goddess, the bestower of all results, is not truly worshipped by them. And yet, when Ambika is worshipped with devotion by such people, she grants happiness to all of them in this world—of this, there can be no doubt. Vyasa continued, “O King, thus, in that great assembly of sages, I heard at length from the lips of the sage Lomasha the supreme glory of the Goddess. Bearing this in mind, O best of kings, one should always worship the Goddess with utmost devotion and love.” At this, the king respectfully asked, “Tell me in full, O Lord, the proper method of sacrifice to the Goddess. When I have heard, I shall perform it to the best of my ability, without any negligence. Please also explain the procedure of worship, the mantras to be used, the offerings for the fire ritual, the number of Brahmins required, and the gifts to be given.” Vyasa replied, “Listen, O King, and I will properly explain the sacrifice to the Goddess. It should always be known as threefold, according to the prescribed rules. The sacrifice is said to be of three kinds: sāttvika, rājasika, and tāmasika. The sāttvika sacrifice is prescribed for sages, the rājasika is for kings, and the tāmasika is for rakshasas. For the wise, the sacrifice is beyond all qualities, and for the liberated, it is of the nature of knowledge. I will explain these to you in detail. “A sacrifice is known as sāttvika when the place, time, materials, mantras, Brahmins, and faith are all pure. When there is purity of materials, actions, and mantras, O King, then the result is complete; otherwise, it is not. If a good deed is performed with wealth obtained unjustly, it brings neither fame in this world nor fruit in the next. Therefore, a good deed should always be performed only with wealth obtained justly; such an act brings fame, happiness, and benefit in the next world. “You have yourself seen, O King, the great Rajasuya sacrifice performed by the Pandavas, completed with excellent gifts. There, Hari himself—Krishna, the noble lord of the Yadavas—was present, along with Brahmins of perfect knowledge such as Bharadvaja and others. Having performed the sacrifice perfectly, the Pandavas, within a single month, encountered great hardship and a terrible exile to the forest. “There was the suffering of Draupadi, defeat in the game of dice, and the great hardship of forest exile—where then did the fruit of the sacrifice go? All the great souls became servants in the house of Virata, and Draupadi, the best of women, was tormented by Kichaka. Where did the blessings of the pure-hearted twice-born go? Where was the devotion to Vasudeva in that time of distress? “At that time, even the young daughter of Drupada, though virtuous and of excellent beauty, was not protected by anyone when her hair was seized. What is there to ponder as the cause of the failure of righteousness, when Keshava, Lord of the gods, and Yudhishthira, the son of Dharma, were present? “If one says, ‘What is destined must happen,’ then all scriptural injunctions would be fruitless, and the Vedic mantras and others would surely be rendered false. All means and efforts would be fruitless, and every method would be pointless, if destiny alone is established as the determining factor. Scripture itself would become mere eulogy, all rituals would be meaningless, austerity for the sake of heaven would be in vain, and so too the duties of caste. All authority would be pointless if destiny alone is fixed in the heart; yet, both destiny and human effort must be considered together. “If, after performing an action, the result turns out contrary, then the wise and learned should attribute it to some defect. That action has been described in many ways by learned ritualists, due to differences in the performer, the mantra, and the materials used. “For example, in former times, Maghavan—Indra—chose Vishvarupa as his priest. But Vishvarupa performed the ritual in a contrary way, for the benefit of his mother. He would repeatedly say ‘well-being’ to both the gods and the demons, but he favored the side of his mother, the Asuras, and protected them. Seeing the Daityas greatly prospering, Indra became enraged and, with force, cut off Vishvarupa’s heads with his thunderbolt. “Here, the defect in the ritual was certainly due to the difference in the performer; otherwise, even the king of Panchala, acting in anger, would have succeeded. For the destruction of Bharadvaja and the birth of his son, Dhrishtadyumna was born, and Draupadi too, from the midst of the altar. And formerly, when Dasharatha performed the sacrifice for sons, though he was childless, four sons were indeed born to him. “Therefore, a ritual performed properly always brings success; if done improperly, it turns out contrary, O best of kings. Just as, in the Pandavas’ sacrifice, due to some defect, the result was reversed, and they were defeated in the game of dice. Yudhishthira, the son of Dharma, was truthful, Draupadi was virtuous, and so too were his other noble brothers. Yet, due to the use of impure materials or some defect in the sacrifice, or because it was performed with pride, a fault arose. “O King, the sāttvika sacrifice is considered very rare; it is prescribed as the great sacrifice by the Vaikhānasa sages. Those ascetics who always partake of sāttvika food—lawfully obtained, from the forest, and from the sages, all well-prepared—are the ones who truly embody this spirit.