At the command of Indra, the wielder of the thunderbolt, all the eminent sages raised their voices in praise, offering auspicious words to the Lord of the gaṇas, the bestower of desired boons. The gods, upon beholding Bhava, felt a surge of joy so intense that their skin tingled and bristled; by Indra’s command, the celestial beings showered flowers upon Bhava’s head. Fragrant offerings rained down from the sky upon Nandi, and, delighted by this floral shower, he shone with genuine satisfaction and strength. Nandi and Bhava, having bathed in perfumed waters drawn from the moon itself, stood radiant, the back of the bull adorned with a multitude of blossoms. The sky’s vault was crowded, as if studded with stars, and Nandi, bedecked with flowers, shone resplendent upon the bull’s back. Just as the moon shines surrounded by stars, so too did the gods, together with Indra and Upendra, gaze upon Nandi in his glorious form. They offered praise to the lord of the hosts, the god of gods, another Rudra, saying: “Salutations to you, devotee of Rudra, ever intent on reciting Rudra’s praises. Salutations to you, who dispel the suffering of Rudra’s devotees, who delight in fierce deeds, lord of the Kūṣmāṇḍa hosts, master of yogis. Salutations to you, who are ever the refuge, all-knowing, remover of distress, lord of the Vedas, and the one to be known through the Vedas. Salutations to the wielder of the thunderbolt, with thunderous fangs, who restrains thunderbolts and is adorned with thunder, worshipped by those who wield the thunderbolt. Salutations to the red-hued one, with red eyes and red garments, who grants Rudra’s realm to those devoted at the feet of Rudra. Salutations to the commander of armies, to the lord of Rudras, to the lord of beings, ruler of the worlds, destroyer of sin. Salutations to Rudra, to the lord of Rudras, to the remover of fierce sins; salutations to Śiva, the gentle one, the devotee of Rudra.” Pleased by their devotion, the leader of the hosts, son of Śiva, addressed the gods regarding Śambhu’s chariot, charioteer, bow, and supreme arrow. He instructed them, “You must strive with effort, considering the triple city destroyed; then, together with Brahmā and Viśvakarman, you should act accordingly.” With great zeal, they set about constructing the chariot for the wise god of gods. Then, for Rudra, Viśvakarman, with care and effort, fashioned a divine chariot that embodied all the worlds. This chariot was composed of all beings, worshipped by all the gods, embodying all the gods, golden and universally esteemed. Its right wheel was the Sun, its left wheel the Moon; the right wheel had twelve spokes, the left sixteen. Upon these wheels, the twelve Ādityas were set; upon the sixteen-spoked left wheel, the phases of the Moon found their place. The constellations adorned the left wheel as ornaments, and the six seasons formed the felloes of the wheels. The lotus was the mid-space, Mandara was the chariot’s body, and the western and eastern mountains served as its axles. The foundation was Mount Meru, supported by the Kesara range; the speed of the chariot was the year itself, and the solstices marked the conjunctions of its wheels. Its moments were called bandhurās, its spokes known as kalās; its divisions were called kāṣṭhās, the pegs were axles, and the instants were the rods. Twinklings and minor divisions formed its parts, the smallest measures called lavās; the sky was its covering, and heaven and liberation its two banners. Righteousness, detachment, and punishment were its rods, with sacrifices supported by them; offerings were its joints, and the fifty fires its metals. The two ends of the yuga were remembered as righteousness and desire; the guiding rod was the unmanifest, and wisdom served as its bamboo pole. Ego formed its angle, the elements its strength, and the senses its ornaments all around. Faith and movement belonged to it, the Vedas were its horses, the limbs its ornaments, and the six auxiliaries its embellishments. The Purāṇas, Nyāya, Mīmāṃsā, and Dharmaśāstras were the cloth coverings, each marked with every characteristic. Mantras were its bells, syllables its feet, and the stages of life its supports; its boundary was truly infinite, adorned with a thousand hoods. The directions and intermediate directions were its wheels; lotuses and other golden, jewel-encrusted banners served as its flags. The four oceans were its chariot-ropes, and the best rivers, beginning with the Ganges, were adorned with every ornament. All the women, holding fly-whisks at their hands’ ends, adorned in female forms and stationed here and there, enhanced the chariot’s beauty. There were seven foremost golden steps; Brahmā was the venerable charioteer, and the gods were the bearers of weapons. The goad was Brahman, the sacred syllable Om was the deity of Brahman, and the Lokāloka mountain was its stairway all around. The uneven outer mountain of the mind was splendid, and all the surrounding mountains were its noses. The talas, kapotas, and kāpotas—all dwellers of the lower regions—were present; Mount Meru was the great umbrella, and Mandara the side drum. The lord of mountains served as the bow, its string was the lord of serpents himself; the night of time and the rainbow both served as its bowstring. The bell was the goddess Sarasvatī, the embodiment of the Vedas; the arrow was the radiant Viṣṇu, and the tip of the arrow was Soma. Thus, a chariot of unparalleled grandeur and cosmic significance was prepared for Rudra, embodying all that exists, ready for the divine purpose ahead.