There is a sacred place known as Pañcanada, revered as the destroyer of all sins. Those who purify their souls there are honored in the very realm of Rudra himself. This holy site is also called Mahābhairava, for it is said to eradicate even the gravest of sins. Pañcanada is sanctified, a remover of all impurities, and is herself regarded as the daughter of the mountain king. It was at this hallowed ground that Bhava was worshipped by the Lord of gods and others, all seeking the divine discus. Those who pass away there, having observed proper rites, are honored in the world of Brahmā. The ancient sages established the Śaiva duties at this very place. Indeed, anyone who gives up their life at Pañcanada attains the realm of Rudra, and in so doing, reaches the eternal worlds. To bathe at this supreme ford is to gain the merit equivalent to gifting a thousand cows. If one departs from this life at Pañcanada, one attains the exalted state of Ganesha. There, too, resides the illustrious Lord Nakulīśvara. Great Shiva himself, ever accompanied by the goddess and surrounded by devoted disciples, is present at this sacred spot. All sins are washed away for those who die there, and they attain supreme knowledge. At the place called Bhīmeśvara, those who go are freed from sin. Bathing and drinking the waters there releases one even from the terrible sin of killing a Brahmin. This divine city is known as Vārāṇasī, surpassing tens of millions of other holy places. Nowhere else, not even for yogis, is liberation gained in a single birth as it is here. By journeying to Vārāṇasī, one washes away the accumulated sins of hundreds of lifetimes. For those who neglect the merit of this sacred ford, it does not bear fruit in this world or the next. Yet, for those who serve at this holy place, they are freed from all sins and attain the described state. When a person has arranged for the livelihood of his sons and entrusted his wife to their care, and then comes to this sacred place, he is freed from all sins. Even reciting or listening to this account grants freedom from all sins. At this point, the sages approached the Lord, who had assumed the form of a tortoise, with questions. They inquired about the creation and expansion of the worlds, the lineages, and the great cycles of time known as Manvantaras. Addressing the Lord of all beings, past and future, they recalled his earlier teachings, wherein the great yogi had spoken of the dissolution of beings. In this Purāṇa, dissolution is described as fourfold, and the sages know it as eternal by that very name. The wise have explained the re-creation of the three worlds, which arises from nature and is contemplated by those who reflect upon time. This process of dissolution and re-creation is called pralaya by the twice-born who ponder the mysteries of time. Now, the Lord promised to briefly speak of the occasional dissolution. The Lord of creatures, established in his own self, undertook to create all beings. But then, a fierce force arises, bringing about the destruction of creatures and the end of all living things. At first, all beings dissolve and merge into the state of earth. The sun, with unbearable rays, drinks up all the water with its beams. Through this consumption, the radiant suns become seven in number, and these blazing orbs burn all four worlds, bringing the cycle of creation to its end.