In the sacred Garuḍa Mahāpurāṇa, within its Eastern Section on conduct, the procedures for worship and ritual are laid out with reverence and precision. The fortieth chapter, dedicated to the worship of Maheśvara, begins with invocations to various divine aspects and powers. With the sacred syllable “Om” and the seed mantra “Hām,” obeisance is offered first to thirst, then to Īśāna, Aṅgadā, and Marīcī. The text reveals that Īśāna, the lord, has five aspects, a teaching imparted to the bearer of the bull. Further salutations are made to the attendants of Śiva, to Agni, the lord of brilliance, to Nirṛti, the lord of spirits, to Vāyu, the lord of breath, to Īśāna, lord of all knowledge, and to Brahmā, lord of all worlds. The rituals proceed with invocation, installation, and the presence of Śaṅkara. The placement of principles, the showing of gestures, and salutations follow, accompanied by anointing, bathing, and fragrant unguents. Lamps are lit, food is offered, and the hands are anointed. Dance, the use of umbrellas and other implements, and further gestures are performed. With the root-mantra, recitation, worship, and offering are carried out. Thus, the chapter on the proper procedure for worshipping Maheśvara concludes. In the forty-first chapter, the text turns to the explanation of mantras for enchantment and similar powers. The invocation is made to Viśvāvasu, the Gandharva, lord of maidens, seeking his maiden with the formula “svāhā.” Next, homage is offered to Ṛkṣakarṇī, the four-armed, three-eyed Kālarātri, whose hair stands upright and who consumes flesh and blood—invoking her power for the one whose time has come, the giver of death, with commands to strike, burn, and cook the flesh and blood, ending with an offering to Ṛkṣapatnī. The text notes that no lunar day, constellation, or fast is prescribed for this rite. When angered, one smears the hands with blood and grasps with them, offering obeisance to all machines and requesting their power to bind, enchant, and destroy enemies, while seeking protection from dangers and calamities. Thus, the chapter concludes. The forty-second chapter introduces the placing of the sacred thread, the Śiva-Pavitra, which destroys inauspiciousness and brings auspiciousness to Shiva. If worship throughout the year is hindered, Ganesha removes the obstacles; otherwise, he does not. The sacred thread is to be made successively from gold, silver, copper, and cotton, fashioned threefold. After purification with the Aghora mantra, tying the thread confers the Tatpurusha form. The thread is associated with the moon, fire, Brahma, serpent, and the peacock-bannered one. One should prepare one hundred and eight, fifty, or twenty-five threads, with knots spaced four finger-widths apart and named in order: Jaya, Vijaya, Rudra, Ajita, and Sadashiva. The thread is colored with kumkum and other substances, and prepared with fragrances. The ritual continues with the establishment of the linga using milk and other offerings, worshipping it with fragrances. A fragrant flower is placed at the root within the domain of Īśāna. Clay is placed in the west, ashes in the south, and the elements are arranged. Mustard seeds are offered in the northwest, accompanied by a protective mantra to the bull-bannered one. After performing the homa and offerings to Agni, offerings are also made to the spirits. In the morning, the worshipper prays for the deity’s presence and places the consecrated sacred threads beside the deity. Meditating on the universal form situated on the forehead, one worships oneself. Only those sacred threads consecrated with Samhita mantras and fumigated are to be offered. Afterwards, the principle called Devaka, which is of the nature of the true self, is worshipped with the mantra: “Om hīṃ, obeisance to the principle of knowledge.” Then, with “Om hāṃ, obeisance to the principle of the self,” the worshipper acknowledges whatever has been seen by the deity as the soul of time in the ritual—whatever has been done, with difficulty, abandoned, offered, or kept secret. The sacrificial vow is fulfilled, and homage is offered to Śiva, the essence of all principles, protected by all causes, with the mantra: “Om hāṃ hīṃ hūṃ haiṃ hauṃ.” By this rite, one who gives the four purifying threads as done by the ancients, and after giving offerings to the twice-born and food, dismisses the fierce one to the east. Thus, the chapter on the placing of the Śiva-Pavitra concludes. Finally, the forty-third chapter opens with the promise to explain the placing of the pavitra, the sacred thread, which bestows both enjoyment and liberation, as taught by Hari.