As Ṛtadhvaja returned home, the citizens gathered around him, their faces alight with joy. “Long life to you, O greatly blessed one!” they exclaimed. “Your enemies are slain. Gladden the hearts of your parents and remove our troubles as well.” Their words, filled with hope and affection, surrounded him on all sides as he entered his father’s house. In that very moment, happiness blossomed within him. His father welcomed him with a warm embrace, as did his mother and other relatives. They showered him with auspicious blessings, fervently wishing him a long and prosperous life. Filled with wonder and humility, Ṛtadhvaja bowed before his father and asked, “What is this?” His father, sensing his confusion, explained everything to him in detail. Upon hearing that his beloved wife Madalasa had died, and seeing his parents before him, Ṛtadhvaja was overwhelmed by a sea of shame and grief. He thought, “That young woman, hearing that I had died, gave up her life—such a virtuous one! Shame on me, with my harsh heart.” Remorse filled him: “I am cruel, I am ignoble, living without her, the doe-eyed one, who died because of me—how utterly pitiless I am!” He tried to steady his mind, casting off the surge of delusion, but distress lingered, and he sighed deeply. “If, because of me, she died and gave up her life, what worthy deed have I done for her? This is truly praiseworthy among women,” he reflected. Yet he realized, “If I, miserable, weep again and again, crying, ‘Ah, my beloved!’—even so, this is not praiseworthy, for we are men, after all.” He considered, “Or, dulled by grief, dejected, unclean and wretched, I would become a laughingstock for my enemies, a target for their scorn.” Resolutely, he decided, “I must destroy the enemies, serve the king, my father; his life depends on me—how, then, could I abandon it?” Yet he pondered further, “However, I think here the duty is to renounce the share belonging to the woman; and this too is not for her benefit, O slender one, but in every way.” He concluded, “I must perform this act of compassion, not for reward or harm; she gave up her life for my sake—this small thing is for her.” The sons spoke thus. Having made up his mind, Ṛtadhvaja performed the water-offering for Madalasa, and, after completing the subsequent rites, he declared: “If that slender-limbed woman, Madālasā, is not my wife, then in this life I shall have no other companion. Except for her, the fawn-eyed daughter of the Gandharva, I will not enjoy any other woman—this is the truth I declare. Leaving aside that elephant-gaited wife, who walks in righteousness, I will not accept any other—this is the truth I declare.” The sons continued, “Having renounced all pleasures with women, father, he lives, playing with his peers of equal virtue, without her. This is his highest duty, father! Who is able to accomplish it? It is extremely difficult to attain, even for gods, let alone others.” Jaḍa spoke: Hearing these words from his sons, their father reflected deeply. After considering, he spoke to his sons, the king of Nāgas, as if smiling. The Nāga king Aśvatara said, “If, knowing something is impossible, men do not act, then all effort and enterprise in action is lost, and that is the greatest loss. A man should undertake action, pouring forth his own strength; the outcome of action depends both on destiny and on human effort. Therefore, my sons, I will exert myself accordingly; undertaking austerity, I will strive so that this may soon be accomplished.” Jaḍa spoke: Thus, having spoken, the lord of Nāgas went to the sacred place Plakṣāvataraṇa on the Himavat mountain, and performed severe austerities. There, with his mind focused, observing regulated food, and bathing three times daily, he praised the goddess Sarasvatī with hymns. Aśvatara said: “I wish to propitiate the auspicious goddess, the mother of the world; I will praise Sarasvatī, the source of Brahmā, bowing my head. O goddess, existent and non-existent! The true, the little, the liberating, the meaningful—everything that is not united with you, O goddess, is established as if by yoga. You are the imperishable, supreme goddess, in whom all is established; the imperishable, supreme, established as the ultimate atom. The imperishable, supreme Brahman, and this entire universe is of the nature of the perishable; fire abides in wood, and the ultimate atoms are in the earth. Thus, in you abides Brahman, and this entire universe without remainder; O Goddess, the form of the syllable Om, both stable and unstable, is established in you. There, O Goddess, all that exists and does not exist is contained within the three measures; the three worlds, the three Vedas, the threefold knowledge, and the three kinds of fire. Three lights, three colors, and likewise three sources of Dharma; three qualities, three sounds, three Vedas, and the three stages of life. Three times, three states, the ancestors, day and night, and so on—this triple measure, O Goddess Sarasvatī, is your very form. The original, eternal forms of Brahman are seen differently by various seers: the seven Soma sacrifices, the seven oblations, and the seven cooked offerings. These, O Goddess, are performed by speakers of Brahman through your utterance; and there is another, indescribable, supreme form, endowed with the half-measure. Unchanging, imperishable, divine, free from transformation—this is your supreme form, which I am unable to describe. It is not said to have a tongue, nor red lips, nor any such features; even Indra, the Vasus, Brahma, the Moon, the Sun, and the very light itself—The universal abode, the universal form, the Lord of the universe, the Supreme Lord—spoken of in the doctrines of Samkhya and Vedanta, established in many branches. Without beginning, middle, or end; existent and nonexistent, and yet only existent; one and yet many, not even one, embracing all forms of becoming.” Thus, the story unfolds: from the grief of Ṛtadhvaja, the resolve of his heart, the wisdom of his father, and the deep austerity and praise to the goddess Sarasvatī, the narrative weaves together duty, devotion, and the profound mysteries of the divine.