Above all, one should worship the great god, Shiva, through the knowledge born of meditation. Though formless, he is also manifest in all forms, his body half-occupied by his beloved. The objects of contemplation in this worship have been described in many ways; for each contemplator, the vision arises according to their own meditation, and not otherwise. Therefore, the worshipper must meditate with clear purpose, for without such mindful remembrance, true awakening does not occur. This great god dwells within the city of the body, and is thus called puruṣa. He is worshipped through sacrifice, and the worshipper is remembered as such. Meditation on the great Lord is contemplation itself, and liberation is its fruit; through this, one attains the true nature of the Lord who is both Pradhāna and Puruṣa. Within this framework, the twenty-sixth principle is to be meditated upon as Shiva himself; the meditator is the twenty-fifth, the unmanifest is the twenty-fourth, and then follow the seven beginning with the great principle: first the great principle (mahat), then the ego, the five subtle elements, the five organs of action, the five organs of perception, the mind, and the five gross elements. Thus, Shiva is the twenty-sixth, the sustainer and creator, the supreme Lord even over Brahma. Shankara, or Rudra, generated Hiranyagarbha. He transcends the universe, is its very soul, and is remembered as the form of all. Just as children cannot be born without a father and mother, so too, without Soma, the three worlds do not exist. If the great god, Maheshvara, is the supreme self and the doer, then he is also the cause of action for those beings of lesser self who act. The supreme Lord is eternal, pure, awakened, and partless. Though he grants liberation, being partless, what does he do? Time creates all that is manifest, and measures itself. The mind contemplates everything, even the partless, and that too remains partless. By his action, this whole world is established. What, then, is the eightfold form of the world belonging to the god of gods? Without space, earth, wind, fire, water, the sacrificer, the sun, or the moon, the world cannot exist. All these are forms of the Lord, and thus, all that moves and does not move is the gross form of Rudra. The seers speak of the subtle, which cannot be expressed; for words and mind turn back from it, unable to reach. Knowing the bliss of Brahman, the wise one fears nothing from anywhere; therefore, having known the bliss of Pinākin (Shiva), there is nothing to fear. Recognizing Rudra’s manifestations everywhere, the seers of truth declare, “All is Rudra.” With constant reverence and salutation to the supreme Lord, all this is Brahman; all is Rudra, the Lord. The Purusha is truly Mahadeva, the great Lord, the supreme Shiva. Thus he is described as all-pervading, and meditation is contemplation upon him alone. By the fourfold path, after examining and considering, it is understood that the cause of worldly existence is samsara, and the cause of liberation is release. The fourfold division has been described for the contemplative yogi; many kinds of contemplation are known, but all are united in the supreme Lord. Thus, without doubt, it has been taught: Rudra is in Raudrī, Indrī in Indra, Saumya in Soma, and Nārāyaṇī in Nārāyaṇa. Considering everything in the sun, in fire, and everywhere, one should establish, in thought, the distinction: “She is I, I am He,” in this twofold manner. He who lacks this understanding is not a devotee; such a one’s contemplation is not Brahmanic. Therefore, O Brahmin, first meditate on all that moves and does not move as pervaded by Brahman. One should abandon the distinction between moving and unmoving, giving up attachment and aversion, the attainable and unattainable, what should be done and what should not be done. For one who is not fully content, there is no Brahmanic state. Thus, the inner worship has been described in order. Those who perform inner worship are to be honored with salutations and respect; even if they are deformed or misshapen, the speakers of Brahman are not to be reviled. All who perform inner worship should not be judged by the wise; those who revile them, lacking understanding, will suffer distress. Just as the sages of old once reviled Rudra in the forest of Daru, so too, the knowers of Brahman must always be served and saluted. Among them are those freed from caste and stage of life, and those devoted to caste and stage of life. At this point, a question arises: “Now I wish to hear, O Lord, about what happened long ago in the Daru forest, concerning those forest-dwelling ascetics whose souls were purified by austerity. How did the Lord Nīlalohita, assuming a strange form, with his seed held upward and clad only in the directions, come to the Daru forest? What happened in that forest concerning Rudra, the Supreme Self? Tell truly what the God of gods did there.” Hearing these words, the blessed son of Śilāda, wise in the essence of the scriptures, smiled gently and spoke. The sages had performed severe austerities in the Daru forest, together with their wives, sons, and sacrificial fires, seeking to please the God of gods. Rudra, Lord of the universe, wise and bull-bannered, matted-haired, supreme, and blessed as Nīlalohita, was pleased. Desiring to know the knowledge characterized by action among the dwellers of the Daru forest, the Lord of the universe, for the sake of examination, with faith and playfulness, acted accordingly. And Śaṅkara, for the establishment of knowledge characterized by renunciation among those in the divine Daru forest, whose minds were set on the knowledge of action, proceeded further.