From the brilliance of the ritual, a radiant form emerged, and through this illumination, rulership over the world was attained. This came to pass because the ritual for the salt mountain was performed at night by those two, free from pride. As a result, unconquered status, health, and fortune are gained in this world. Therefore, you too should, according to the prescribed rites, offer grain mountains and other offerings tenfold. Thus, honoring the words of Vasiṣṭha, the righteous king gave hundreds of grain mountains and other offerings. Worshipped by the celestials, he then went to the world of Murāri. Even a poor man, if he sees, touches, or hears of these offerings with great devotion and gives them with a pure mind, he too attains heaven. If someone is troubled by an evil dream, recitations performed with the great mountain offerings pacify it and dispel the fear of worldly existence. How much more, then, should a sage of tranquil mind be benefited, who offers all the lordly mountains? Once, for the fulfillment of all desires, Śaunaka, as he sat, asked how the rites for peace and prosperity should be performed daily. Vaiśampāyana replied: “One who desires wealth or peace should begin a planetary sacrifice. Likewise, one who seeks increase, long life, or strength, or who wishes to counteract evil—listen, O Brahman, to the procedure by which this is to be done. Having reviewed all the scriptures and summarized their extensive teachings, I will now explain the pacification of the planets, as enjoined by the Purāṇas and the Vedas. On an auspicious day, as prescribed by the Brāhmaṇas, after reciting the sacred texts and installing the planets and their presiding deities, one should begin the fire offering. The planetary sacrifice is declared threefold by those learned in the Purāṇas and Vedas: the first is the offering of ten thousand oblations, the next is one hundred thousand, and the third is ten million, which grants all desired results. The sacrifice to the nine planets requires ten thousand offerings. Now, let me describe its procedure as spoken in the Purāṇas and Vedas. To the northeast of the sacrificial pit, a platform two spans wide should be prepared. A square altar, facing north and surrounded by two embankments, equal in height and width, should be established for the installation of the deities. Once the fire is kindled, the gods should be invoked there. Twenty deities, plus twelve, are to be installed for the rites. The Sun, Moon, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus, Saturn, Rāhu, and Ketu are called the planets and bring welfare to the world. In the center, the Sun should be placed; to the south, Mars; to the north, Jupiter; to the northeast, Mercury. To the east, Venus; to the southeast, the Moon; to the west, Saturn; to the southwest, Rāhu; and to the northwest, Ketu, using white rice grains. The presiding deities are: Śiva for the Sun, Umā for the Moon, Skanda for Mars, Hari for Mercury, Brahmā for Jupiter, Indra for Venus, Yama for Saturn, Time for Rāhu, and Citragupta for Ketu. For all, the overlord deities are Agni, Waters, Earth, Viṣṇu, Indra, and the goddess Aindrī. Prajāpati and the serpents, Brahmā as secondary deities, as well as Vināyaka, Durgā, Vāyu, Ākāśa, and the Aśvinī Kumāras, are to be invoked with the vyāhṛtis. One should meditate on the Sun and Mars as red; the Moon and Venus as white; Mercury and Jupiter as tawny; Saturn and Rāhu as black; and Ketu and his group as smoky. Colored powders, garments, and flowers are to be offered. Fragrant incense should be placed above, and a beautiful canopy adorned with fruits and flowers should be set up by the wise. Sweet rice is to be given to the Sun; clarified butter rice pudding to Soma; wheat cakes to Mars; milk rice to Mercury; curd rice to Jupiter; clarified butter rice to Indra; rice with pulses to Saturn; goat meat to Rāhu; colored rice to the comets. All should be worshipped with various foods. To the northeast, a place adorned with curd, unbroken grains, mango leaves, fruits, and pairs of garments should be prepared. A flawless pot, joined with five gems and five metals, is to be placed, and Varuna installed therein. All rivers beginning with the Ganges, the oceans, lakes, and the confluences of elephants, horses, roads, anthills, ponds, and cow pastures are invoked. Earth mixed with all medicinal waters is brought and placed there for the ritual bath of the sacrificer. May all oceans, rivers, lakes, and streams come for the sacrificer, bringing the destruction of sin. Thus, one should invoke these immortals and begin the offering with clarified butter, barley, rice, sesame, and other grains. The arka, palāśa, khadira, apāmārga, pippala, udumbara, śamī, dūrvā, and kuśa—these nine are used as fuel sticks, in order. For each, either eight hundred or twenty-eight sticks should be offered, mixed with honey, clarified butter, and curd. The wise prepare fuel sticks for all rituals, each measuring a span, without knots, branches, or leaves. For all the gods, the knower of the highest truth offers the fuel sticks separately, each with its own mantra. Again, offerings of clarified butter and cooked food are made. After reciting mantras and making ten oblations, the ritual is completed with sacred utterances. The foremost Brahmins should face north or east, and offerings of cooked food are made with mantras for each deity. Having properly offered those cooked foods, one should then perform the ritual. For the Sun, the offering is made with the mantra ‘ākṛṣṇeti’ by the twice-born. With the mantra ‘āpyāyasveti’, one offers to Soma; for the Earth, recite ‘agnirmūrdhā divo mantra’. For the son of Soma, recite ‘agne vivasvaduṣasa’; for Brihaspati, ‘paridīyā ratheneti’ is considered proper by the teacher. Thus, the rites for peace, prosperity, and planetary harmony are performed, as instructed by the sages and revealed in the sacred scriptures.