With a heart full of wonder and reverence, the devotee beheld the Supreme Self and prayed, “May devotion to You arise within me.” In humility, he acknowledged, “You are the agent of all actions; I am but a subordinate deity.” He recognized the cosmic unity and difference, saying, “You are Soma, I am Surya; you are night, I am day. You are knowledge, I am the knower; you are māyā, I am the lord. The god who is I, completely without parts, is also the supreme Nārāyaṇa.” With this realization, he pleaded, “Protect this entire world, with gods, asuras, and humans, for You are the one unmanifest abode of infinite power.” In the beginning, the Supreme entered the great lotus that had sprung from His navel. At that moment, the two mighty demons, Madhu and Kaitabha, arose together. They emerged from between the ears of the God of gods, the wielder of the Śārṅga bow. These two demons became the torment of the three worlds, and it was deemed necessary that they be destroyed. Thus, the command was given for both of them to be slain. Viṣṇu subdued Kaitabha, while Jishnu overcame Madhu. Hari, filled with affection, spoke sweetly, “O mighty one made of splendor, I am unable to bear you.” Then Viṣṇu and the goddess Nidrā, united as one, fell silent. In that silence, Brahmā, known as Nārāyaṇa, reclined and slept upon the cosmic waters. He, the beginningless and endless, the non-dual Self called Brahman, assumed the Vaiṣṇava disposition and, in that very form, created the world. He brought forth Ṛbhu and Sanatkumāra, the ancient and eternal ones. Yet, knowing the supreme state, they did not set their minds upon creation; their awareness was absorbed in the illusion of the Supreme Lord. Then, for the purpose of delusion and desire, the lotus-born one was spoken forth as his son. This being, whom Śaṅkara calls his son, was declared by the Lord to be his own. Desiring to create beings, this lotus-born performed a most difficult austerity. After a long time, from the distress of his efforts, anger arose within him. From the drops of his tears, beings known as pretas came into existence. Overcome by anger, Lord Prajāpati abandoned his life-breaths and shone with the brilliance of a thousand suns, like the fire at the end of an age. Because of his weeping, he was told, “You will become known in the world as Rudra.” The Grandfather of the worlds then assigned abodes to these eight forms. Bhīma, Ugra, Mahādeva—these are among the seven names, and along with Initiated, Brāhmaṇa, Chandra, they make eight forms in all. To these eight-bodied gods, he granted the supreme position. Svāhā, the Directions, Dīkṣā, and Rohiṇī became their wives; Skanda, Sarga, Santāna, and Budha are remembered as their sons. Having renounced progeny, duty, and desire, Rudra took refuge in detachment. Drinking the imperishable, eternal, supreme nectar called Brahman, Shiva, by his own mind, created Rudras resembling himself. These Rudras bore tridents, destroyed enemies, were supremely joyful, and three-eyed, radiant with the power and grace of their divine origin.