There are seven who are recognized for their mastery of Vedic study, and twenty-one who are known as those prescribing expiations for sins. These individuals are considered great sinners, and anyone who associates closely with them—sharing their vehicle, bed, or seat—becomes fallen. If one knowingly eats with them, the fall is immediate. Studying the scriptures alongside them brings downfall within a year. To purify oneself after such association, one must beg for alms, carrying a skull as a banner, condemning oneself and remembering the Brahmin whose death has caused the sin. One should eat food that is smokeless, as if cooked only on embers, and gradually, or, with steadfastness, subsist on roots and fruits from the forest. When twelve years of such penance are completed, the sin of killing a Brahmin is removed. True purification, however, is understood to come only through voluntary death, and not by any other means. One may enter blazing fire or water by one's own will, and if death occurs in the interim, the sin is also removed. Alternatively, giving food during a famine, or offering all one's possessions to a Brahmin who knows the Veda, also removes the sin. A twice-born who fasts for three nights and bathes at the three sandhyas becomes purified. Practicing celibacy and similar disciplines, upon seeing Rudra, one is released from the sin. After bathing and worshipping the ancestors with devotion, the sin of killing a Brahmin is removed. The skull, which was once placed by Brahma, the supreme lord, is significant. After satisfying the ancestors and bathing, one is freed from the sin of killing a Brahmin. This skull, born from the body and placed upon the earth by Brahma, is a mark of the greatness of the god of gods, the wise and mighty Lord. Those who had gathered bowed and addressed the lord of the worlds, asking, "What is the one imperishable reality?" Not knowing the supreme state, he spoke of his own self as the conqueror. He declared, "By worshipping me, the supreme Brahman, without beginning and beyond, one is released. There is no one in all the worlds who surpasses me." He spoke these words with a smile, his eyes reddened with anger. He said, "For one endowed with ignorance, this attitude is not fitting. Without me, there is never any life in this world at any time. By my prompting, you created the sphere of worlds." There, the two gods and the four Vedas arrived. With anxious hearts, they spoke of the true nature of the Supreme Lord. They declared, "That which is proclaimed as the supreme reality, that god is Maheśvara. He whom they call the Lord is the bearer of the bow Pināka. The truth is known by yogis: that great god is Śaṅkara. Maheśa, the Person, Rudra—he is the blessed Lord Bhava." Hearing this, the Soul of the Universe, though bewildered, spoke with a smile. He delights together with his wife and the exceedingly proud Pramathas. Becoming embodied from the formless, he addressed Pitāmaha with words.