With deep reverence, the sage approached Vishnu, the all-pervading Lord of the universe, the unborn and cosmic form. After ritually sprinkling sacred water upon Him, the sage spoke, addressing Vishnu as the universal form and urging Him, “O mighty-armed one, abandon this illusion. Appearances are deceptive, O Madhava, and there are thousands of kinds of knowledge that are difficult to comprehend.” He continued, “See the whole world in me, together with yourself, O blameless one, as well as Brahma and Rudra. I grant you divine sight.” Having spoken thus, the sage revealed everything within his own body in a wondrous vision and addressed Hari, the god who is the origin of all the gods. Vishnu, astonished, asked, “Is this by means of your illusion, or by the power of mantra, or by the power of substance, O Lord? Or again, is it by the power of meditation, O Vishnu?” The sage replied, “Therefore, abandoning this illusion, you should strive to fight.” Hearing these words and beholding the sage’s extraordinary greatness, the gods, overcome with awe, fled once more. Yet Brahmā, the Lotus-born Lord of the World, restrained Nārāyaṇa, who stood motionless, and soothed him. Hearing the words of Brahmā, by whom he had been overcome, the blessed Vishnu respectfully approached the great sage and bowed to him. King Kṣupa, afflicted by sorrow, honored the best of sages, then quickly bowed to Dadhīca and, distressed, began to plead: “Dadhīca, forgive me, O god. What I did was out of ignorance, O friend. What is there for you, devoted as you are to Rudra, from Vishnu or even the other gods? Be gracious, Supreme Lord; devotion is rare among the wicked, O twice-born. Among those like me, the lowest of kṣatriyas, devotion is hard to find.” Hearing and accepting his words, Dadhīca, the foremost of ascetics, cursed the king and the excellent gods: “By the fire of Rudra’s wrath, may the gods, along with Indra and the great sages, be destroyed by the god, together with Vishnu.” At the auspicious sacrifice of Dakṣa, the great-souled lord of creatures, having thus cursed Kṣupa, the best of the twice-born spoke again, looking at him: “O king of rulers, the gods are to be worshipped by kings and by various groups, but, O king, the brāhmaṇas alone are powerful and capable.” Having spoken thus, the illustrious sage entered his own hermitage. The king, having bowed to Dadhīca, returned to his own abode. That very place became a sacred ford, known as Sthāneśvara; one who reaches Sthāneśvara attains union with Śiva. Thus, in brief, has the dispute between Kṣupa and Dadhīca been told, as well as the greatness of Dadhīca and of Bhava. Whoever recites this divine dispute between Kṣupa and Dadhīca conquers premature death and attains Brahmā’s world at the end of the body. Whoever, having recited this battle, enters combat, for him there will never be fear of death, and he will always be victorious. At this point, a question arose: “How did you approach the great god, the consort of Umā? I wish to hear all of that; you ought to tell me everything, O lord.” The answer began: “My father, Śilāda, O great sage, long desired offspring. Though blind for a long time, he performed severe and difficult austerities. As he performed these austerities, the Lord, wielder of the thunderbolt, was pleased by his penance and said, ‘I am pleased, choose your boons.’ Then, bowing to the Lord of gods, the thousand-eyed one, along with the immortals, the tiger among sages, with joined palms, addressed Hari: ‘O Lord, destroyer of the gods’ enemies, thousand-eyed bestower of boons, I desire a son who is not born from a womb, who is free from death, O virtuous one.’ But the Lord replied, ‘O sage among the twice-born, I will give you a son born from a womb, who is subject to death; otherwise, I will not give you a son, for there are truly none who are free from death. Not even the blessed Grandfather, Brahmā, will give you here a son who is not born from a womb and is free from death—how much less, O great sage, would others? Even that god Brahmā himself is not free from death, nor is the Lord; he is born from a womb, of great splendor, born from an egg, and sprung from the lotus. Even the mighty son of Maheśvara, born from his body, the son of Bhavānī—his lifespan too is declared to be equal to two parārddhas. The hundreds of billions of days that have passed, which are the duration of kalpas—such is the remaining lifespan in the three worlds. Therefore, O foremost of Brahmins, abandon your hope for a son who is not born from a womb and is free from death; accept a son equal to yourself.’ Hearing these words, my father, renowned in the world as Śilāda, a virtuous soul, again spoke to the lord of Śacī: ‘O Lord, I have heard of birth without a womb, of birth from the lotus, and of birth from the body of Maheśvara, and also of Brahmā. O mighty one, formerly, from the lineage of Mahendra, and in earlier births, from Nārada, I have heard this—tell me quickly how this is so here. Dakṣāyaṇī is the daughter of Dakṣa, and the god born from the lotus is her son; how then is she the daughter of the golden womb, and how is that mighty one her son?’ The Lord replied, ‘It is appropriate for you to doubt, O Brahmin; I will tell you the reason. In the Purusha Kalpa, this event concerning the supreme Brahmā occurred. Having contemplated, the supreme Lord Janārdana, the Lord of the universe, created all beings, including Brahmā, in the Meghavāhana Kalpa. For a divine thousand years, becoming a cloud, Nārāyaṇa, with great respect and honor, bore the great god. Seeing the disposition of Hari within himself, Śaṅkara, the great god, granted him the power to create everything, together with Brahmā. Then, that kalpa was named Meghavāhana; seeing him, Hiraṇyagarbha was then born from his body.’ Thus, the profound mysteries of creation, the greatness of the gods, and the fruits of devotion and recitation were revealed, their stories flowing from one to the next as the sages pondered the eternal truths.