Overwhelmed by fear and agitation, they fell to the ground, performing auspicious rites for protection and offering heartfelt praises to the great god Triyambaka, the consort of Umā. Their devotion was deep: they poured honey in oblations to Triyambaka, offering as many as there were blades of sacred grass, together with all manner of sacred materials. In the midst of these rites, my father lost consciousness, and my grandfather too; both writhed and lamented, collapsing as if dead. Terrified at the prospect of death, I bowed my head reverently to my fallen father and grandfather, who lay before me as if lifeless. Circling them in respect, I turned my mind wholly to the recitation of the Rudra hymns, meditating on the great god Triyambaka, envisioning him in the subtle lotus of my heart. In that moment of focused devotion, I beheld the supreme Lord before me: three-eyed, ten-armed, peaceful, five-faced, ever-auspicious, standing in the sacred waters. Mahadeva, adorned with the crescent moon, looked upon me with pleasure and spoke: “Child Nandin, mighty-armed one, why do you fear death? It was I who sent those two Brahmins. You are like me, without doubt. Truly, your body is of the world. “No one has seen a divine body before—not you, nor gods, sages, siddhas, gandharvas, nor the foremost of demons. What has been worshipped as divine, O Nandikesvara, is but the nature of worldly existence—sorrow and joy recurring again and again. The wise always seek to abandon the cycle of birth. Thus did the great Lord of all gods speak to me directly. Then, with both beautiful hands, the supreme Lord Rudra, remover of the greatest distress, touched me. His heart full of grace, Mahadeva—he who bears the bull as his emblem—spoke while gazing at his Ganas and the goddess, the daughter of Himavat. Beholding them, Mahadeva, Lord of the gods, said with a pleased heart: “You are ageless, freed from old age, ever free from suffering. You are imperishable and undecaying, together with your father and friends. My beloved Gana, you are endowed with my strength and valor. You are always dear to me, ever at my side; you shall possess my strength and the power of great yoga.” Having spoken thus, the blessed Bhagavan, together with the Ganas, untied from himself a garland made of kusa grass. The mighty deity, Vrishadhvaja, bound me with that garland, and as it was fastened around my neck, I was transformed—three-eyed and ten-armed, like a second Shankara, radiant with the Lord’s own glory. From that garland, the supreme Lord took up water in his hand and said, “Speak, what do you desire today? I will grant you the highest boon.” Then, taking water from his matted locks, exceedingly pure, he declared, “Let this become a river.” Vrishadhvaja released it, and that divine, dark, and auspicious water, adorned with lotuses and lilies, began to flow as a great river. Mahadeva spoke to the river, supremely beautiful: “Because you have arisen from the water of my matted locks, you are a great river; therefore, you shall be called Jatodaka, the sacred and foremost stream. Whoever bathes in you will be freed from all sins.” Mahadeva then addressed the son of Shilada through the goddess. She said, “This is your son,” and placed me at her feet, embracing me, smelling my head, and gently stroking me with her hands. Out of motherly love, she bathed me with three streams of milk flowing from her breasts, gazing with affection at the Lord of gods, pure as a conch. Those three streams became three rivers, and the blessed Lord declared, “Let this be the river of three streams.” Seeing this river of three streams, the bull, overjoyed, bellowed loudly, and from that mighty sound another river arose. This river became known as Vrishadhvani, famed by the Lord of gods, made of golden jambū wood, wondrous, adorned with all gems, and auspicious. Then the Lord, Vrishadhvaja, tied upon my head a marvelous, divine crown crafted by Viśvakarman himself. The great Lord Maheśvara fastened upon me beautiful, divine earrings adorned with diamond and beryl. Witnessing me thus honored in the sky, the sun, O sage, bathed me with rainwater from the clouds, as if anointing a king. As I was anointed, a strong current began to flow, and because it issued from gold, this river came into being. The three-eyed Lord of gods named it Svarṇodakā, “the golden-watered,” as it arose from golden jambū wood, and the second, auspicious one, from the crown. Another sacred river began to flow, known among people as Jambūnadī; this is the famous Pañcanada, near the lord of Japyeśvara. Whoever reaches Pañcanada, bathes, and worships Japyeśvareśvara, attains union with Śiva without doubt. Then the great god, Lord of all beings, addressed the goddess Śarvāṇī, Umā, the unborn daughter of the mountain. The goddess said, “Shall I anoint Nandīśvara, the lord of beings, and proclaim him chief of the gaṇas, or what do you think, O imperishable one?” Hearing these words, Bhavānī, her face beaming with joy, smiled and spoke to Bhava, her lord and the lord of beings: “O Lord of gods, you should grant him lordship over all worlds and the leadership of the gaṇas, for he is the son of the mountain, mine.