Upon the sacred heights of Mount Kailāsa stands a wondrous city, its golden walls gleaming in the celestial light, adorned with gateways set with precious jewels, and joined by marvelous towers of crystal. Within this divine realm, lion-thrones fashioned from radiant gems are spread with auspicious, splendid cloths, perfectly placed upon the ground. Over all presides the blessed Śarva, Lord Śiva himself. The city’s beauty is ever-fresh, with unfading garlands and houses painted in many colors. Splendid pavilions, their pillars of crystal, shine throughout, and the entire domain is attended by the lords of all beings. Here, Brahmā, Indra, and Upendra come to offer worship, joined by hosts of boars, elephants, lions, bears, tigers, camels, and monkeys. Among the Lord’s attendants are those with the faces of vultures, owls, deer, and camels, as well as mighty Pramathas—vast and resplendent as mountain peaks—bearing fierce, green hair and shaggy forms, their great arms and varied colors and postures creating a tapestry of divine diversity. Among them are the radiant Nandīśvaras, noble and illustrious, whose deeds shine forth and who possess powers such as Aṇimā. Like Brahmā, Indra, and Viṣṇu, they are never far from the immortals and the great assemblies that gather here. In this sacred place, the gods are ever engaged in worship for the Lord of beings. The air resonates with the music of cymbals, conches, drums, bherīs, ḍiṇḍimas, and gomukhas, their melodies graceful and sweet, their singing measured and resounding like thunder. Thus is the great god Mahādeva, Lord of the Pramathas, worshipped by his own attendants, by Siddhas, seers, gods, Gandharvas, and even by the great-souled Brahmā. Here, on the summit that is divided and radiant like a conch, Śaṃkara is worshipped by Indra and all the gods. Kailāsa is also the abode of Kubera, the mighty king of the Yakṣas, surrounded by ten million Yakṣas and other great souls. Within this holy realm lies the great sanctuary of Bhava, lord of gods, where Soma always dwells with his attendants and Hara. Flowing through this land is the Mandākinī, also called Nalinī, a river of abundant, pure waters, with golden and jeweled steps gracing the splendid summit of Kubera. Its banks are adorned with golden lotuses, their fragrance and touch delightful, their leaves of blue beryl, and the lotuses themselves both fragrant and splendid. Clusters of kumuda and great lotuses bloom along the shore, attended by Yakṣas, Gandharvas, celestial women, and Apsarases. The holy river Mandākinī, pure and beautiful, is touched by gods, demons, Gandharvas, Yakṣas, Rākṣasas, and Kinnaras. On its northern bank stands the auspicious sanctuary of Bhava, adorned with beryl jewels, where the imperishable Śaṅkara abides. To the east and south of the golden Nandā river lies a forest, lush with thousands of twice-born sages and teeming with beasts and birds. There, accompanied by his attendants and Ambā, Śiva delights in sport within a house like a mountain, situated on the western shore of Nandā, slightly inclined to the south. In that place is the city of Rudrapurī, filled with many palaces; there too, having multiplied himself a hundredfold, Śiva sports with Ambā. With his attendants and Ambā, he enjoys his divine play—this is known as the abode of Śiva. Indeed, there are hundreds of thousands of sanctuaries dedicated to Śarva, scattered across every island, mountain, and forest, on the banks of rivers and lakes, and at the sacred junctions of waters. Across these lands, many rivers flow—always abundant, auspicious, and arising from countless lakes. Some face east with southern mouths, some originate in the north, and others are pure with western sources, all mentioned year after year. Above all, the ocean of the sky, known as Soma, is the foundation of all beings and the source of immortality for the gods. From this divine ocean flows a holy river, its pure waters moving through the heavens. The seventh of these rivers proceeds along the path of the wind, bearing the waters of immortality. This celestial river follows the course of the lights, attended by hosts of luminous beings and joined with millions of stars in the sky. Just as the moon revolves day after day, so too does this river, rising up to eighty-four thousand yojanas. Upon this vast expanse stands the great Meru, delightful as the playground of Śrīkaṇṭha. There, Śarva sits with Ambā and the lords of the Gaṇas, sporting for ages unending. From this place, the auspicious and pure river circles Mount Meru in a clockwise direction. Driven by the wind, her waters are divided and fall into the four inner peaks of Meru. Surpassing all other mountains, and by command of the god of gods, she enters the great ocean, branching out in all directions. From her flow hundreds and thousands of rivers, renowned throughout all the islands, mountains, and regions. Countless smaller rivers also flow. In the land of Ketumāla, all people are of dark complexion, clothed in garments washed in the Ganges, and they eat jackfruit. The women there are lotus-hued, and their lifespan is said to be ten thousand years; in Bhadrāśva, the women are white as the rays of the moon. All the people eat black mangoes, live free from trouble, delight in love, and, devoted to Śiva, enjoy lives of ten thousand years. Their minds are wholly dedicated to the Lord, and they shine like gold. In the land of Ramaṇaka, the people live on banyan fruit. All these pure souls, devoted to meditation on Śiva, live for one hundred and fifty thousand years. They are golden, greatly fortunate, dwelling in golden forests, and their number is eleven thousand one hundred and fifty.