With deep reverence, salutations were offered to the radiant and exalted god, Vāmadeva—the gentle and great soul. Homage was paid to Rudra, eldest and best among the gods, bestower of boons and destroyer of Time, the supreme soul himself. Thus, with a hymn of praise, the Lord of gods—the Bull-bannered One—was worshipped. It was said that whoever recites this hymn, even once, attains the world of Brahmā, and if it is heard by the twice-born during a śrāddha, the highest state is achieved. In that sacred moment, Pitāmaha, the Grandfather Brahmā, was present, absorbed in meditation and salutations. The Blessed Lord appeared and, pleased, asked Pitāmaha, “What do you desire?” Bowing low, Brahmā addressed Maheśvara with purified words. The Blessed Lord, his mind pleased, spoke to Rudra, acknowledging his universal form as the most auspicious ruler and universal cow. Brahmā then asked, “O Supreme Lord, who is this blessed Goddess, four-footed and four-faced? How is she described as four-horned, four-mouthed, four-tusked, four-breasted, four-armed, four-eyed, and of universal form? What is her name and lineage? Whose is she? What are her powers and actions?” Hearing these questions, the Lord of gods, the Bull-bannered One, began to reveal the secret of all mantras, pure and nourishing, to the divine bull and to Brahmā, the self-born. He said, “Listen to this supreme secret as it was at the dawn of creation; so it remains, and whoever abides by it is truly of universal form. This is the seat of Brahmā, which you have attained, and above you is that auspicious state of Viṣṇu. By Viṣṇu, pure and from my left side, or by Vaikuṇṭha, this is the thirty-third kalpa. A hundred times a hundred thousand kalpas have passed, O Lord of gods—hear of that, O great-minded one. He is to be known as Ānanda, established in bliss, of Māṇḍavya’s lineage, who by austerity attained sonship to me. In you reside Yoga and Sāṃkhya, austerity, knowledge, ritual acts, truth, reality, compassion, Brahman, non-violence, good intellect, and forgiveness. Meditation, the object of meditation, self-control, peace, knowledge and ignorance, understanding, fortitude, beauty, ethics, fame, intelligence, modesty, vision, and Sarasvatī—contentment, nourishment, action, and grace—all these thirty-two virtues are known as the thirty-two syllables. O Brahman, nature is ordained. The great goddess is your offspring, and also of the blessed Viṣṇu and others, O Lord. This blessed Goddess is my offspring, four-faced, the womb of the world, nature herself, the universal cow. She is called Gaurī, Māyā, Vidyā, Kṛṣṇā, Haimavatī, the chief, and Prakṛti, as thinkers on reality declare. Know her as the unborn, the one, red, white, and black, creating all beings, of similar form. I am the unborn—know me as her, the universal form, Gāyatrī, the universal cow, by understanding.” Having thus spoken, the great god, the Supreme Lord, created, and from the side of the Goddess, boys of all forms appeared: some with matted hair, some shaven-headed, some crested, and some half-shaven, all born by the described yoga and endowed with great energy. After a thousand divine years, having worshipped Maheśvara, he firmly established himself in the yoga composed of the complete teaching of dharma. The disciples, self-controlled, entered into Rudra, the Lord. Thus, in brief, the origin of the Sahya and other mountains was spoken. Whoever recites, hears, or causes the best of the twice-born to listen to this, attains union with Brahma by the grace of the Supreme Lord. Then, the question was raised: “How did the linga arise in the linga, having worshipped Śaṅkara? What is the linga, and who is the lingin?” The gods and sages, having bowed to the Grandfather, asked, “O Lord, how did the linga come to be? How is Maheśvara Rudra to be worshipped in the linga? What is the linga, and who is the lingin?” The Grandfather replied, “The principal linga has been declared—the lingin is the Supreme Lord. For the sake of protection in the cosmic ocean, Viṣṇu was for me. When the creation of celestial beings had gone to the world of Janas with the sages, and the period of maintenance was complete, at the end of a thousand cycles of four ages, the gods went to the world of truth. When equality prevailed without rulership at the end of Brahmā’s time, all immovable things dried up everywhere due to total drought. Cattle, humans, trees, flesh-eating spirits, Gandharvas, and others were burned by the rays of the sun. In the single, dreadful ocean, enveloped in darkness on all sides, the self of yoga—pure and undisturbed—slept upon the waters. With a thousand heads, a thousand eyes, a thousand feet, a thousand arms—the soul of the universe, all-knowing, the origin of all gods—rested there. Hiranyagarbha, by rajas and tamas, is Śaṅkara himself; by sattva, Viṣṇu is all-pervading; Maheśvara is the soul of all. The soul of time, whose navel is time, is white; the black one is without qualities; Nārāyaṇa, mighty-armed, is the soul of all, composed of existence and non-existence. Seeing him thus—lotus-eyed, lying down—I was deluded by his māyā and, angered, spoke to him.