At that sacred time, O virtuous one, the divine daughter of Himavat—your auspicious sister, the goddess Umā—would also become yours, O Viṣṇu. By the command of Brahmā, you were to give this virtuous goddess to me; and thus, through this kinship, you would be honored among all beings. From that moment onward, you would behold me, Śaṅkara, in a divine form, gracious and friendly to you as to your own self. Having spoken these words, the blessed Rudra, whose form shimmered with blue and red hues, vanished from sight. In the presence of the gods, the blessed Janārdana, accompanied by the sages, then requested the great god Brahmā for the splendid and divine hymn to the Lotus-born, which I have recited. Whoever recites, hears, or causes the best of the twice-born to hear this hymn, receives for each name the fruit of gold. One attains the merit of a thousand horse sacrifices; and if one bathes Rudra with ghee and other offerings in a pure vessel, by worshiping Śiva, the Lord, with these thousand names in faith, one too obtains the fruit of a thousand sacrifices, as did the lords of the Asuras. Such a devotee becomes worthy of worship by Rudra himself and gains his favor. Thus, the Lotus-born Brahmā spoke to Janārdana. Having bowed to him, the Lord of gods, the teacher of the world, all departed. Therefore, O sinless twice-born, one should worship with the thousand names. He who recites the thousand names attains the highest state. At this point, the sages addressed Sūta, the wise narrator: “O wise Sūta, you have indicated the origin of the goddess; now tell in detail, as it truly happened, about her as Satī. How did Menā become the great goddess? How was Dakṣa’s sacrifice destroyed? And how was she given by Viṣṇu to Śaṃbhu, the god of gods? How did her auspiciousness come about? You should now tell this.” Hearing their words, Sūta, foremost among narrators, began to describe to those great souls the origin of the great goddess, just as Brahmā had once told Daṇḍin, in full detail. This tale had been passed from Sūta to Kumāra, and from him to the wise Vyāsa; therefore, having heard it, I will now relate it in full detail. By your command, O highly fortunate ones, I bow to Umā and Bhava. She, called Bhaga, the sustainer of the world, is the threefold altar of the liṅga form. O best of twice-born, the liṅga, the blessed one, together with the altar, is the source of creation; Śiva, the liṅga form, is the light standing above darkness. By the union of the liṅga and the altar, Ardhanārīśvara came into being, and he created the god Brahmā first, his four-faced son. Hara, composed of knowledge, imparted wisdom to Brahmā; that blessed Ardhanārīśvara, the all-pervading Lord, surpasses the universe. The god saw Hiraṇyagarbha being born, and Brahmā then beheld Rudra, the great god, Śaṅkara. Seeing Ardhanārīśvara, the Lord, standing there, the lotus-born praised him with chosen words, as the bestower of boons. The unborn, all-pervading Lord of the universe said, “Divide yourself,” and from his left side he created the goddess, his wife, equal to himself. Faith, indeed, was his auspicious wife, the ancient consort of the man; by the command of the mighty one, that goddess became Dakṣa’s daughter. Then, called Satī, she took Rudra alone as her husband. After censuring Dakṣa, in time, the goddess was born again as Menā’s daughter. Dakṣa, too, because of Nārada’s curse, reviled and disrespected the god of gods, Umā’s husband, out of arrogance and contempt. Knowing Dakṣa’s insult, Satī immediately reduced her own body to ashes by the path of yoga. The goddess became Pārvatī, by the austerity of the lord of the mountain; knowing this, the blessed Bharga, angered, burned the sacrifice. By the word of Cyavana, the great sacrifice of Dakṣa was destroyed; Cyavana’s wise son, known as Dadhīca, was involved. Having conquered Viṣṇu in battle by the favor of Tryambaka, the sage-lord cursed Viṣṇu and the guardians of the worlds. By the fire born of Rudra’s wrath, with the oblation, the gods were destroyed in an instant by the illusion of Śaṅkara. Having conquered together with Viṣṇu, the blessed Supreme Lord, by the word of Dadhīca, Maheśvara acted thus: at Dakṣa’s great sacrifice, the blessed Rudra burned all the gods, with Viṣṇu at their head, and all the groups of sages as well. A group named Bhadra was sent by the Supreme Lord, due to the unbearable separation from the goddess, O steadfast ones. He created Vīrabhadra and the lords of the gaṇas, auspicious ones born from his hair; Bhadra, powerful, mounted a chariot with the lords of the gaṇas. He resolved to go, whose charioteer was the blessed unborn one; and all those lords of the gaṇas, bearing various weapons, went with him. The gods followed him in all directions with auspicious aerial chariots, to the delightful and splendid golden peak on the beautiful summit of the Himalaya. There, near the gateway of the Ganges, was the sacrificial enclosure; and in that region, O twice-born ones, the renowned and auspicious Kanakhala. Then, sent by the Supreme Lord, that blessed one was dispatched to burn the sacrifice; and a fearful omen arose, terrifying the worlds. The mountains were shattered, the earth trembled, the winds whirled violently, and the abode of the ocean was agitated.