Let me tell you the story as revealed in these sacred verses. The Lord, master of all that is immovable, controller of the senses, accomplished in every purpose, and the very aim of all beings, remains inconceivable and true, steadfast in pure vows. He is the Lord of vows, the supreme Brahman, the highest goal for the liberated, free and glorious, with loosened hair, the increaser of prosperity, and the very embodiment of the world itself. With devotion, I have praised this Blessed One according to the principal order, setting devotion foremost in my heart. I have offered my praise to the Lord of sacrifice, the all-pervading deity. Having obtained permission, I have thus lauded the goal of all devoted souls. Thus, the king, renowned throughout the three worlds, received the hymn of Shambhu. By this act, the illustrious king attained the fruit of a thousand horse sacrifices and gained lordship over the hosts, thanks to the brilliance of Tandin, the Lord. Whoever recites, hears, or causes Brahmins to hear this hymn will surely attain the fruit of a thousand horse sacrifices, O twice-born. Even those who have committed grave sins—such as killing a Brahmin, drinking liquor, theft, violating the teacher’s bed, killing one who has sought refuge, betraying a friend’s trust, killing mother, father, hero, or embryo—by reciting this for a year at the three junctions in Shankara’s hermitage, and worshipping the god at those times, will be freed from all sins. Tridhanvan, by the grace of the Lord of gods and through his own efforts, attained the fruit equal to a thousand horse sacrifices. Having firmly established his devotion to Ganesha and being honored by all the gods, Tridhanvan, the learned king of the Trayyaruna lineage, was thus blessed. He had a son named Satyavrata, mighty in strength, who seized the wife of the Vidarbha king by slaying that exceedingly powerful monarch. Before the proper marriage rites could be completed with the prescribed mantras, King Trayyaruna abandoned Satyavrata for this unrighteous act. Abandoned, Satyavrata asked his father, “Where shall I go?” and his father replied, “Live among the outcastes.” Thus addressed, Satyavrata departed from the city. Wise as he was, he dwelt near the settlement of the outcastes. Abandoned by his father, Satyavrata, heroic and resolute, lived there, while his father retired to the forest. Satyavrata became renowned in all worlds as the valiant Trishanku. Once, due to the anger of Vasistha, the righteous king Satyavrata and the great sage Vishvamitra, who had granted Trishanku a boon, came together. The sage Kaushika, in the presence of the gods and Vasistha, consecrated Trishanku as king in his ancestral kingdom and performed the sacrifice for him. Then, that illustrious one raised Trishanku bodily to heaven. Satyavrata’s wife, born of the Kaikeya lineage, was also named Satyavrata. She gave birth to a son, Harishchandra, who was free from sin. Harishchandra’s son was the valiant Rohita. Harita was the son of Rohita, and Dhundhu was Harita’s son. Vijaya and Sutejas were the two sons of Dhundhu. Vijaya, victorious everywhere over the kshatriyas, was remembered thus; his son Rucaka became a king of supreme righteousness. Rucaka’s son was Vrka, from whom Bahu was born. Bahu’s son was Sagara, a supremely righteous king. Sagara had two wives, Prabha and Bhanumati, and both previously worshipped the sage Aurva with the desire for sons. Aurva, being pleased, granted them the best boon as they wished: one received sixty thousand sons, the other a single son. Prabha accepted many sons to continue the lineage, while Bhanumati accepted one son, Asamanjas. Then, from that radiance, sixty thousand sons were born, who, while digging the earth, were burned by the missiles of Vishnu’s roar. Asamanjas’ son was the renowned Aṃśumān; his son was Dilīpa, and from Dilīpa came Bhagīratha. Through his austerities, Bhagīratha brought the sacred Gaṅgā down to earth. Bhagīratha’s son was Śruta. Nābhāga, devoted to the Lord and powerful, was Śruta’s heir. His son was Ambarīṣa, and from him came Sindhudvīpa. By Nābhāga and Ambarīṣa, the earth was well protected by their arms and became entirely free from the threefold miseries. Sindhudvīpa’s valiant son was Ayutāyu, and Ayutāyu’s wise and greatly renowned son was Ṛtuparṇa. This king, friend of Nala, was mighty and possessed the divine knowledge of dice. The two Nalas, steadfast in their vows, are famed in ancient tales. Another son of Vīrasena, born in the Ikṣvāku lineage, became the son of Ṛtuparṇa—Sārvabhauma, lord of the people. His son was Sudāsa, a king equal to Indra; Sudāsa’s son was the king called Saudāsa. He became known by the name Kalmāṣapāda, and also as Mitrasaha. The great and radiant Vasiṣṭha begot a son in the field of Kalmāṣapāda. He begot Aśmaka, who increased the Ikṣvāku line. Aśmaka’s son was Mūlaka, born from his chief queen. That king, out of fear of Rāma, lived in the forest surrounded by women, seeking protection, and wore the excellent armor of women. Mūlaka’s righteous son was the king Śataratha; from Śataratha was born the powerful king Ilavila. Ilavili was glorious; his son was Vṛddhaśarmā, a mighty man, whom his father’s daughter bore. Thus flows the lineage, blessed by devotion, sacrifice, and the grace of the Lord, as revealed in the sacred verses.