Then, in the course of the ages, Krishna, the best among men, will descend upon the earth. With a sixth portion of his divine essence, he will be born as the son of Vasudeva, the foremost among the Yadus, and thus become Vasudeva himself. At that very time, I too shall take on a wondrous role. Through the power of yoga and my own mystical illusion, I will assume the form of a celibate ascetic, astonishing the world by my appearance. For the welfare of the Brahmins, I will enter, by yogic illusion, an abandoned corpse left alone in the cremation ground, bereft of kin or mourners. There, in the auspicious and divine cave of Mount Meru, together with you and Vishnu, I shall become manifest as Brahman, known by the name Lakuli. This will be called an incarnation in bodily form, and from that time onward, that sacred field will become renowned throughout the world for as long as the earth endures. There, my sons will be ascetics—Kushika, Garga, Mitra, and Kaurushya. Established in yoga, these great souls, Brahmins accomplished in the Vedas, will attain the supreme union with Maheshvara, pure and radiant with elevated energy. They will journey to Rudra’s realm, a place from which return is difficult to attain. These accomplished Pashupatas, their bodies smeared with sacred ashes, will be ever devoted to the worship of the linga, established both outwardly and inwardly, steadfast in meditation, devoted to me, and masters of their senses. Their purpose will be to sever the bonds of worldly existence, to illuminate the path of knowledge, and to realize the true nature of the self through the great Pashupata yoga. Though there are many paths of yoga and many approaches to knowledge, none can attain ultimate cessation except by means of the five-syllabled mantra, no matter where or how one seeks. When a person practices asceticism, free from all dualities, he should be regarded as liberated, like a ripe fruit that remains on the tree, unattached. If a man observes the Pāśupata vow even for a single day, he attains a state not reached through Sāṃkhya or Pañcarātra at any time. Thus have I described the characteristics of incarnations, from Manu onward to Krishna, across the sequence of twenty-eight yugas. In those times, the division of the collections of scriptures will mark the course of dharma, when Krishna Dvaipāyana arises in that kalpa. Hearing thus the glorious account of Rudra’s incarnation as proclaimed by Mahādeva, the blessed one bowed before the great Lord. He praised him with chosen words and addressed Śaṅkara, saying: “All the gods are pervaded by Vishnu; all the hosts are pervaded by Vishnu. Indeed, there is no other path equal to Vishnu; thus the Vedas always sing—there is no doubt about this. That god of gods, the blessed one, devoted to the worship of your linga, ever intent on bowing to you—how did the god become the Lord?” Hearing these words from Brahmā, the supreme creator, Śaṅkara gazed intently at him, pleased by the seriousness of his inquiry. Beholding the subject of worship, Śaṅkara spoke: “You yourself, Nārāyaṇa, and also Śakra, the foremost of gods, are present. And the sages, always worshipping the linga according to the proper rules, have attained their own states, O Lord; therefore, they worship it. Without linga worship, there is no attainment; thus Janārdana, the blessed Lord, always worships himself with faith.” Having spoken thus, Maheśvara, showing favor to Brahmā, looked once more upon the Lord of gods and then disappeared from that very place. Brahmā, with joined palms, bowed respectfully and, regaining his awareness after this vision of Śaṅkara, set out again to continue his work of creation. At this point, a question arose: “How is the great god, Maheśvara, in the form of the linga, to be worshipped? You ought to tell us this now, O Romaharṣaṇa.” In response, Romaharṣaṇa recounted that, when the goddess once questioned the Lord of gods on Mount Kailāsa, seated on his lap, he explained to her in detail the proper method of linga worship. Then Nandī, son of Śālaṅkāyana, who was standing nearby and had heard all this before, spoke to the virtuous son of Brahmā. He related to Sanatkumāra the auspicious and supreme method of linga worship. Therefore, Vyāsa, of great splendor, learned it, consistent with the scriptures. Romaharṣaṇa continued: “I shall now relate, as I heard from the mouth of Śailādi and others, the proper procedure for bathing and the offerings, beginning with bathing, and the method of worship. Now I shall explain the procedure for bathing, for the welfare of the Brahmins, which removes all sins and was directly spoken by Shiva in ancient times. By bathing according to this method, worshipping Shankara once, and drinking the Brahma-kurcha, one is freed from all sins. Three types of bathing have been described by the god of gods, Shambhu, for the benefit of Brahmins and others, O excellent son of Four-Faced Brahma. First, one should perform the Varuna bath, then the excellent Agneya bath, and then the mantra bath; after that, one should worship the Supreme Lord. However, if one bathes in water with a corrupted mind, one is not purified even by ashes; one must practice purity of mind, otherwise purification is not achieved. Even if a person bathes in all rivers, lakes, and ponds until the end of time, if the mind is impure, purification does not occur—there is no doubt. When the lotus of the mind among people has awakened, it is pure; when it is asleep in darkness, only the light of knowledge can make it pure. For the purpose of bathing, one should take clay, cow dung, flowers, and ashes, placing them on the bank, and also kusha grass at the bathing spot. After washing and rinsing the feet, and cleansing the body of dirt with substances found on the bank, one should then perform the bath. With the mantra ‘uddhritāsīti’, one should again purify the body, take clay, then another garment, and bathe, avoiding anything unclean.” Thus, the sacred story and the method of worship, as spoken by the wise and handed down through tradition, were revealed for the benefit of all seekers.