This is the eternal teaching: sovereignty and true power arise from righteousness. The Daityas, the inhabitants of the triple city Tripura, were deeply devoted to righteousness, and because of this devotion, they had attained a state of inviolability. Even if they committed great sins, those who worshipped Rudra, the great lord, were not otherwise tainted. Through their worship, all their sins were washed away, just as water slides off a lotus leaf, leaving it untouched. Because of this, they enjoyed prosperity and happiness. Thus, these Daityas, committed to the worship of the Linga, were blessed with enjoyment and success. Recognizing this, the gods saw that to fulfill their purpose, it was necessary to create an obstacle to the righteousness of the Daityas. The Blessed Supreme Person, considering the situation, resolved to bring about a hindrance to the righteousness of the enemies of the gods, so that Tripura and the Daityas could be conquered in an instant. To accomplish this, the mighty Achyuta created from himself a being of dazzling brilliance, a magical person composed of illusion, whose very nature was to obstruct righteousness. This magician, able to assume any form at will, composed a scripture for all—a scripture full of delusion, dazzling in its apparent logic, but ultimately misleading. Achyuta taught this illusory scripture, consisting of sixteen thousand verses, to the magical being he had created from his own body. This scripture contradicted the Vedic and Smriti traditions, disregarding the established order of caste and stages of life. It taught that heaven and hell exist only in this world, denying any other reality. Having instructed the magician in this deceptive doctrine, Achyuta, for the destruction of the three cities, sent him forth with the command: “Go quickly and destroy the inhabitants of the cities. Let the righteousness based on the Vedas and Smriti perish—there can be no doubt.” Obediently, the magician bowed and, armed with his illusory scripture, entered Tripura. There, he began to work his magic. By his power of illusion, the Daityas dwelling in the triple city abandoned both the Vedic and traditional duties, and became his disciples. They even forsook Mahadeva, Shankara, the Supreme Lord. Narada himself, under the command of this lord of illusion, fell into delusion. Within the city, the magician initiated the sage Narada, who was surrounded by his disciples and sub-disciples. He began to perform duties traditionally reserved for women, which yielded immediate results. The women, seeing these results, eagerly practiced such acts. They became attached to worldly life and began to scorn the worship of their husbands as deities. Even today, in the age of Kali, this behavior persists out of respect for that sage Narada. Women, abandoning their husbands, began to act independently and without restraint. For women, the husband alone is truly mother, father, relative, friend, companion, and kin. Yet, under the power of illusion, even if a woman has committed great sin, if she is united in love with her husband, she attains the highest heaven; by the opposite conduct, she falls into hell. In one city, women always regarded their husband as embodying all duties. Those chaste women who abandoned the worship of other gods and world-teachers, devoted themselves solely to their husbands and, having attained the heavenly world, rejoiced free from suffering. Another, who did not, went to hell. Thus, the husband became the highest goal. Yet, many women, abandoning their own husbands, became women of independent conduct. By the illusion of Vishnu, the god of gods, and by his command, Alakshmi herself entered Tripura. Lakshmi, who had been obtained by the Daityas through their austerities from the lord of gods, now departed from them by the command of Brahma. Thus, delusion of intellect, created by Vishnu’s illusion, was bestowed upon the Daityas for a moment by the god and the illusory Narada. Seated calmly and unmoved, the gods watched as, for the sake of obstructing righteousness, the beautiful Vedic and traditional dharma was lost at that time. When this heresy was thus proclaimed by Vishnu, the source of the universe, the Daityas abandoned Maheshvara and ceased the worship of the Linga. As all women’s dharma was lost and evil conduct prevailed, the lord of gods, appearing satisfied, together with the other gods, approached the consort of Uma. Having reached the all-knowing one through austerity, Purushottama praised him: “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.” Having thus praised the great god and bowing down in prostration, the blessed one recited the Rudra mantra ten million times while standing in the water. All the gods, together with Indra, the Sādhyas, Yamas, Rudras, and the hosts of Maruts, joined in praising the supreme lord: “Salutations to you, who are the soul of all, to Shankara, the remover of suffering, to Rudra, to Nīlarudra, to Kadrudra, to Pracetas. You are always our refuge; you are to be worshipped by us, the destroyer of the enemies of the gods. You are the beginning, the endless one, and the imperishable lord. You are directly both Prakriti and Purusha, the creator, the destroyer, the teacher of the world, the protector, the leader in this universe, and the one who loves the twice-born like a father. You are the bestower of boons, the essence of speech, the one to be spoken of, and beyond both word and meaning; you are to be worshipped for the sake of liberation, O Lord, by yogis through the wonders of yoga. You are always established in the hollow of the lotus-heart of yogis; the wise declare you to be the true, supreme, and essential form of Brahman. The noble ones call you the true reality, the mass of radiance, the supreme of the supreme, the supreme self in this world, O Lord. Everything seen, heard, and existing, all that is born, O teacher of the world, is said to be subtler than the subtle and greater than the great. You have hands and feet everywhere, faces, heads, and eyes everywhere; you exist in the world with ears everywhere, pervading all things.” Thus the gods, with hearts full of devotion and hope, praised the supreme lord, seeking the restoration of righteousness and the defeat of the unrighteous.