As Ruci offered his heartfelt praises to the revered ancestors, a great radiance arose from their combined energy, illuminating the entire world with its brilliance. Witnessing this immense light, which enveloped everything, Ruci spoke with deep reverence: “I always bow to those meditators endowed with divine vision.” He continued, addressing the foremost among Indra and his companions, as well as the leaders among Daksha and Marichi. He paid homage to the eminent Manus and others, and likewise to the Sun and the Moon. His reverence extended to the stars, planets, wind, fire, and the sky itself. Ruci honored Prajapati, Kashyapa, Soma, and Varuna, offering salutations to the seven groups and the seven worlds. He bowed to the groups of ancestors who are the supports of Soma and those who possess yogic forms, as well as to those ancestors who have the form of fire and others beyond. With a concentrated mind, he offered his respect to those who are forms of radiance, Soma, the Sun, and Fire—all the yogic ancestors. Thus, Ruci praised them, O best of sages, and those radiant ones received his veneration. He made offerings of fragrant flowers and ointments, bowing with devotion and joined hands, and again paid homage to them. Pleased by his sincerity, the ancestors spoke to Ruci, the best of sages. Ruci then expressed his heart’s desire: “I wish for a wife who is blessed, divine, and fruitful with offspring.” The ancestors replied, “From her, a son will be born to you, O best of sages! He will be the wise ruler of the Manvantara, bearing your name. He too will have many sons, mighty and valiant. And you, becoming a progenitor, will create the four kinds of beings.” The ancestors further proclaimed, “Any man who pleases us with devotion by this hymn attains longevity, health, wealth, and also sons, grandsons, and more. Whoever, with devotion, recites this hymn that brings us joy during ancestral rites, by hearing and delighting in its recitation when the ancestors are present—even if the rite is performed without a learned priest, or if it is deficient, or if carried out with improper offerings or by those unfit for the rite, or even by men without faith, relying on hypocrisy—wherever this hymn is recited during the ancestral rite, it brings happiness. In winter, for twelve years, this grants satisfaction. In spring, for sixteen years, it brings satisfaction in the ancestral rite. Even if the ancestral rite is incomplete, when this hymn is properly recited, even in autumn, it bestows satisfaction during the ancestral rite. And in whatever house this is written and kept at all times, therefore, at the Śrāddha, you should offer this in the presence of the Brahmins as they partake.” Thus concludes the eighty-ninth chapter, entitled ‘The Hymn to the Ancestors composed by Ruci,’ in the Ācāra Kāṇḍa of the first section of the glorious Garuḍa Mahāpurāṇa. Then, from the midst of the river, a beautiful maiden arose. She spoke to the great-souled Ruci in words sweet and melodious. This maiden, exceedingly lovely, had been granted by divine favor as a boon. “Take her, whom I have given, as your wife; she is of excellent complexion,” the voice declared. And so, Ruci’s devotion was rewarded, and his prayers fulfilled.