As the Lord Hari gazed upon the scene before him, he beheld mighty beings armed with tridents, spears, maces, axes, stones, and a dazzling array of other weapons, each adorned in varied and wondrous forms. Their presence was fierce and awe-inspiring, blazing like the fire of destruction itself, reminiscent of Rudra at the end of time. With reverence, Hari bowed and addressed these formidable warriors, who stood ready before him. He spoke: “You heroes, having burned, pierced, and consumed the three cities of the Daityas, should now return as you came, for the welfare of all beings.” Hearing these words, the hosts of beings, after bowing to the Lord of gods, entered the three cities. There, their fate was sealed—they perished utterly, like moths drawn into a consuming flame. By the command of the Lord of gods, all those beings met their end. Meanwhile, the Daityas, by the thousands, celebrated their apparent triumph: they danced, sang, and rejoiced, offering praises to the Lord of gods, the Supreme Self. Yet, though the Daityas rejoiced, the gods themselves had been defeated, their strength destroyed in an instant. In their distress, the gods, joined by Indra, approached Upendra, the Lord of gods. Overcome by fear, they sought the Blessed Supreme Person, who, seeing their plight, began to reflect deeply. Afflicted by the suffering of the gods, he wondered, “What should be done?” Observing Indra and the other gods in their distress, he pondered, “By what effort can the strength of these Daityas be overcome?” He resolved, “By the grace of the Supreme Lord, I will accomplish the task of the gods. There is no sin in acting righteously; the virtuous need have no doubt of this. Yet, these Daityas are not to be slain by beings born of ritual or by spirits. Sin is dispelled by righteousness, and all is rooted in righteousness. This is the eternal teaching: sovereignty arises from righteousness, and these Daityas, the inhabitants of Tripura, are indeed devoted to righteousness.” “Therefore,” he continued, “they have attained inviolability, O best of the twice-born. Even if they commit great sins, those who worship Rudra are not otherwise. By their worship, they are freed from all sins, just as a lotus leaf remains untouched by water. Indeed, enjoyment and prosperity arise for them. For this reason, these Daityas, devoted to the worship of the Linga, are enjoyers. Thus, by creating an obstacle to their righteousness, O gods, I, with my own power, will for your sake conquer Tripura and the Daityas in a single moment.” Having thus considered, the Blessed Supreme Person resolved to create an obstacle to the righteousness of the enemies of the gods. From himself, the mighty Achyuta fashioned a being of extraordinary brilliance, born of illusion and magic, whose very purpose was to obstruct the Daityas’ righteousness. This magician, master of transformation, composed a scripture for all, filled with delusion, enchanting the minds of all and accompanied by seemingly convincing arguments. To this being, born from his own body, Achyuta taught the illusory scripture—a work of sixteen thousand verses, magical and full of deception. This scripture contradicted the Vedic and Smriti traditions, disregarded caste and the stages of life, and taught that heaven and hell exist only in this world, and nowhere else. Having instructed the magician in this scripture, Achyuta, for the destruction of the three cities, commanded him: “Go quickly, and destroy the inhabitants of the cities. Let the righteousness based on the Vedas and Smriti perish—of this there is no doubt.” Bowing in obedience, the magician, expert in the illusory scripture, entered the city and performed his magic there. By his power of illusion, the Daityas dwelling in the triple city abandoned both Vedic and traditional duties and became his disciples. They turned away even from the great god Mahadeva, Shankara, the Supreme Lord. Even Narada, under the command of the lord of illusion, was deluded and acted accordingly. Narada, entering the city with the magician, was initiated, surrounded by disciples and sub-disciples on all sides. He performed duties typically reserved for women, which yielded immediate results, and the women, seeing these results, always practiced them. They became attached to worldly life, rejecting the worship of their husbands as deities. Even today, out of respect for that sage Narada, this practice persists in the Kali age. Women, abandoning their husbands, began to behave freely and with disregard for traditional conduct. For women, the husband is without doubt mother, father, relative, friend, companion, and kin—all in one. Yet, under the sway of illusion, even after committing great sin, if a woman is united with love for her husband, she attains the highest heaven; by the opposite, she falls into hell. In one of the cities, women always regarded their husband as representing all duties. Abandoning the worship of other gods and teachers, these chaste women, having attained the heavenly world, rejoiced, free from suffering. Another, who acted otherwise, went to hell—thus, the husband is the highest goal. Yet, abandoning their own husbands, many became women of independent conduct. By the illusion of Vishnu, the god of gods, and by his command, Alakshmi herself was sent to Tripura. Lakshmi, who had been obtained by the Daityas through their austerity from the lord of gods, now departed from them, obeying the command of Brahma. The god and the illusory Narada bestowed this delusion of intellect, created by Vishnu’s illusion, upon the Daityas for a moment. Thus, comfortably seated and unperturbed, with the obstruction of dharma firmly established, the beautiful Vedic and traditional dharma was lost. When heresy was thus proclaimed by Vishnu, the source of the universe, and the Daityas abandoned Maheshvara and the worship of the Linga, and when all women’s dharma was lost and evil conduct prevailed, the lord of gods, as if satisfied, together with the gods, approached the consort of Uma. Through austerity, they attained the all-knowing one, Purushottama, who praised him, saying: “Obeisance to Maheshvara, the god, the supreme self. Obeisance to Narayana, to Sharva, to Brahma, to the one who is of the form of Brahma, to the eternal, the infinite, the unmanifest—salutations to you.