In the tranquil forest where sages performed their austerities, a devotee approached the god with reverence, bowing deeply and joining his palms. He spoke: "Lord, there is a certain brahmin named Upamanyu, so it is heard." He explained that Upamanyu had given everything for the sake of milk, and requested the god to restrain him from his intense austerity. At that moment, Pinaki—the Supreme Lord Shiva—resolved to go, assuming the form of Shakra, the king of the gods. Sadashiva, accompanied by gods, asuras, siddhas, and mighty serpents, took on the majestic appearance of Indra, riding a great white elephant. Shachi, Indra’s consort, sat on his left, and a gleaming white parasol was held in his other hand. The blessed Soma, Sadashiva in Shakra’s guise, shone brilliantly with the white parasol, resembling Mandara mountain adorned by the moon. Thus transformed into Shakra, the Supreme Lord journeyed to Upamanyu’s hermitage, intent on bestowing his grace. When Upamanyu, the foremost among sages, saw Shiva in the form of Shakra, he bowed his head respectfully and said, "This hermitage is purified, for the Lord of gods himself has come; Shakra, Lord of the universe, the blessed, radiant master." Having spoken thus, Upamanyu stood with joined palms. Hara, bearing the form of Shakra, addressed him with deep words: "I am pleased with you; ask a boon, O steadfast one. By this austerity, I will grant you all you desire, O wise elder brother of Dhaumya." Upamanyu, the best of sages, replied with joined palms, "I choose devotion to Shiva as my boon." Hearing these words, the Lord, still in Shakra’s form and appearing somewhat agitated, spoke: "Do you not know me, O divine sage? I am the king of the gods, the Lord, Shakra, ruler of the three worlds, honored by all the gods. Become my devotee, O best of brahmins; always worship me. I will grant you all good things; abandon Rudra, the attributeless one." Upamanyu listened to Shakra’s piercing words, and, reciting the auspicious five-syllable mantra, he responded: "I think, surely, someone has come here in the form of Shakra, some lowly demon, to obstruct dharma; it cannot be otherwise. It was you yourself who, out of a tendency to revile, happened to declare everything about the supreme god’s transcendence and greatness. What more need be said by me here? Today I have understood the great sin committed by another against Bhava—that is, the slander of Bhava that I heard." He continued, "Upon hearing slander of Bhava, one should immediately abandon their own body at that very moment; by doing so, killing themselves, they swiftly attain Shiva’s world. Whoever tears out the tongue of one who delights in slandering Shiva, after uplifting twenty-one generations, goes to Shiva’s world. Let my desire for milk be set aside for now; O lowest of the gods, having slain you with Shiva’s weapon, I shall abandon this body. Long ago, my mother truly told me, without doubt, that in a previous birth we failed to worship the Lord." Having spoken thus, Upamanyu, fearless and resolute, prepared to kill Indra with the Atharvan missile, being skilled in mantras. The mighty one, adorned with ashes, took up a handful of ashes and, invoking the Atharvan missile, directed it at Shakra, roaring fiercely. Intent on burning his own body, he meditated upon fiery concentration, standing firm like dry fuel, inexhaustible. As Upamanyu thus resolved, the Lord—destroyer of Bhaga’s eye—gently restrained the yogi’s concentration. By the order of Nandī and Candraka, the blazing Atharvan missile was withdrawn, its fire quelled. Then, the blessed Supreme Lord assumed his own true form, crowned with the crescent moon, and revealed himself to the brahmin. He stood surrounded by a thousand streams of milk, oceans of milk, curds, and clarified butter, oceans of fruits for the boy, oceans of foods to eat and enjoy, and mountains of cakes—all arrayed around him. The blessed Lord, smiling, spoke to Upamanyu, who was now surrounded by his relatives. Seeing Girijā smiling with compassion, Shiva looked at him with kindness and said, "Enjoy pleasures as you wish, along with your relatives; look, my child. Today I have made you my son; I have given you the ocean of milk, the ocean of honey, and the ocean of curds as well, and the ocean of clarified butter, the ocean of fruits and sweets, mountains of cakes, and again the ocean of foods to eat and enjoy." He continued, "O sage, your father is the great god Mahadeva, the father of the worlds; your mother, O highly fortunate one, is the mother of the universe—of this there is no doubt. I have granted you immortality and eternal lordship over the Ganas; choose further boons, I shall grant them—there is no need for hesitation here." Having spoken thus, Mahadeva embraced Upamanyu with his hands, smelled his head, and, together with Devi, Bhava bestowed blessings upon him. Devi, beholding her son and pleased, granted him yogic mastery and the supreme knowledge of Brahman. Upamanyu, having received her boon and perpetual youth, praised Mahadeva with words choked with joy. Then, with hands joined in reverence, bowing again and again, he requested from the stainless-eyed Lord a further boon.