O Mahadeva, listen as the sacred procedure of worship is revealed. The devotee begins by offering reverence to the Tortoise, known as the Support, the very foundation upholding all. Thereafter, he should honor the principles of detachment and lordliness, invoking them in the fire and in each of the cardinal directions. In the very center, he worships the qualities of sattva, rajas, and tamas—the three strands that weave the fabric of existence. Next, the devotee turns to the worship of the circles named Sun, Moon, and Fire, recognizing their vital energies. He offers homage to pure and uplifting knowledge, and to action performed in unity, thus sanctifying both wisdom and deed. In the eastern and other leaves of the sacred mandala, he venerates the pure and their counterparts, using names that begin with the sacred syllable and end with ‘namah,’ as well as names in the dative case, signifying respectful offering. He presents bath, fragrance, flowers, and incense, following the prescribed order, exactly as it has been taught. The devotee then visualizes the Lord arriving with the Vamana gesture of the hands, signifying welcome and humility. The invocation of the God of gods, the bearer of the conch, is performed with deep devotion. Having accomplished the nyasa, the ritual placement of divine energies, he meditates on the Supreme Lord present before him. He contemplates the imperishable Vishnu, surrounded by the guardians of the worlds, led by Indra. The devotee then offers water for washing the feet, water for hospitality, and water for sipping to Vishnu, fulfilling the rites of honor. Once the deity is properly installed, he presents a cloth as an offering. Meditating on the Supreme Lord within the sacred circle, he offers worship to Bhairava Deva with the root mantra. He recites, “Om kṣīṃ, obeisance to the head,” thus worshipping the divine head; “Om kṣaiṃ, obeisance to the armor,” honoring the divine protection; and “Om kṣaḥ, obeisance to the missile,” venerating the Lord’s weapon. In the directions beginning with the east, he duly worships these aspects. He offers special veneration to the supreme goddess Lakshmi, bestower of prosperity and auspiciousness. The devotee then honors the sword, the mace, the noose, the goad, and the bow with arrows, as well as the Śrīvatsa mark, the Kaustubha gem, the garland, and the auspicious yellow garment. He pays homage to Brahmā, to Nārada, to the perfected sage, to the teacher, and to the supreme teacher. Indra, with his vehicle and attendants, is worshipped, as are Soma, Īśāna, and Brahmā himself. The thunderbolt, spear, staff, sword, noose, banner, and mace are all honored in turn. In the north-east direction, the devotee worships Viṣvaksena, the divine commander. He also worships Mahādeva, Ananta, and Vṛṣadhvaja. Fragrant substances, flowers, incense, lamps, and food offerings are presented with reverence. With hymns beginning with the sacred syllable Om, he offers praise: salutations to the embodiment of knowledge, repeated salutations to the giver of knowledge, to the destroyer of gods and demons, to the destroyer of all wicked beings, to the one worshipped by the lord of lords, and to the bearer of the conch and discus. He offers salutations to the one of three qualities, yet beyond all qualities, who embodies both Brahmā and Viṣṇu. Having thus performed this hymn of praise, the devotee contemplates the Lord of gods, radiant as ten million suns, beautiful in every limb. O Śaṅkara, in this way has the worship of Hayagrīva been described to you. Now, I shall explain the method of nyāsa and the related rites of the Gāyatrī. Listen attentively, O Śaṅkara.