In that wondrous place, the landscape was richly adorned with cane creepers, kīcaka bamboo, kāśa grass, luminous kāśa like the moon, and thick clusters of reeds. There were delightful thickets of kuśa grass, pleasing stretches of sugarcane, and rare, auspicious clusters of cotton plants. Clusters of bananas grew in charming profusion, their excellence shining amid regions that sparkled like emerald, the ground covered with vibrant green turf. The air was fragrant with irā flowers, saffron, tagara, ativiṣa, māṃsī, granthika, and the sweet scent of surāgada. Golden blossoms mingled with terrestrial flowers of every kind, among them jambira, ground-covering grasses, lakes shimmering in the sunlight, and flocks of parrots darting through the foliage. Ginger, ajamoda, kuberaka, and priyāla flourished here, along with aquatic plants and a host of fragrant, multicolored creepers. The landscape was a tapestry of colors—some like the radiant hues of the rising sun, others with a golden sheen, or glowing like the blossoms of the flax flower. There were leaves resembling those of the śūka plant, and others in many shapes and shades, adorned with five or more colors, painting the earth with their beauty. Lotuses abounded, pleasing to the eye, while water lilies shone like the moon. There were blossoms shaped like tongues of fire, and auspicious lotuses, some even bearing the likeness of an elephant’s face. Blue lotuses grew beside kahlāra flowers, and among them were guñjā, ataka, and keseru plants, as well as śṛṅgāṭaka reeds, mṛṇāla stalks, karaṭa fruits, and even rare, silver lotuses. The land was filled with both aquatic and terrestrial roots, fruits, and especially flowers. Various kinds of nīvāra grains, suitable for ascetics, grew in abundance. Indeed, there was no grain, crop, vegetable, fruit, root, tuber, or flower that was not found there, O King. Whatever divine produce arose in the realm of the nāgas, whatever grew in the world of men, whatever sprang from marsh or forest—nothing was absent from this place. All things there bore flowers and fruits continually, unfading, each according to its season. The lord of Madra beheld this marvel, granted by the power of his austerity. He saw countless birds of many forms—peacocks displaying their splendor, lotuses, kalaviṅkas with their sweet voices, and cuckoos. There were kādambaka birds, graceful swans, koyaṣṭī birds, khañjarīṭa and kurara birds, kālakūṭa and khaṭvāṅga birds, and even hunters. He observed gokṣveḍaka birds, kumbha birds, dhārtarāṣṭra birds, śuka parrots, baka cranes, ghātuka birds, chakravāka ducks, kaṭuka birds, ṭiṭṭibha birds, and bhaṭa birds. Putrapriya birds, lohapṛṣṭha birds, gocarma birds, girivartaka birds, pigeons, kamala birds, sārikā birds, and jīvajīvika birds also filled the air. He saw lāvaka, vartaka, and vārtāka birds, raktavartma and prabhadraka birds, copper-crested, golden-crested birds, domestic fowl, and even wooden fowl. Kapiñjala birds, kalaviṅka birds, kuṅkuma-crested birds, bhṛṅgarāja, sīrapāda, bhūliṅga, and new ḍiṇḍima birds were there as well. Mañjulītaka birds, dātyūha, bhāradvāja, caṣa, and many other delightful flocks completed the avian chorus. Among the animals, he saw carnivores of every form, deer and great deer, tigers, lions with flowing manes, leopards, the mighty śarabha beasts, and wolves. There were many bears, hyenas, monkeys with long tails, hares, kādamba birds, cats, and creatures swift as the wind. Mice, mongooses, jackals, tree-loving lions, intoxicated elephants, buffaloes, wild oxen, bulls, camels, deer, gaur, and donkeys all dwelled together. Rams, sheep, more deer, dogs, blue-colored animals, great serpents, and fierce animal-mothers moved about. There were tusked boars, sarabhas, cranes, birds like kashambaras, fierce ones, those adorned with garlands, and those with black tails marking the gateways. Tusked animals, rhinoceroses, boars, horses, mules, and donkeys—though usually opposed—lived together in harmony, O King of Madra. Seeing these creatures, naturally hostile, living together in peace filled the king with great wonder. This sacred hermitage, once the abode of the sage Atri, was radiant by his grace, filled with both moving and unmoving beings who no longer harmed one another, though by nature they were enemies. Here, all carnivorous creatures subsisted on milk and fruit, for such was the way the great-souled Atri had created them. On the mountain slopes and in the valleys, the king himself dwelled, and from the rocks there flowed divine milk, sweet as nectar and free from thorns. Sometimes buffaloes appeared, sometimes goats wandered everywhere. The rocks themselves yielded milk and curds in abundance. Beholding all this, the lord of the earth was filled with supreme delight. There were divine lakes and rivers with pure, clear water. Channels ran here and there, some warm, some cool, and the mountain’s caves were delightful at every step. No snow fell within five yojanas in any direction; the slopes of that beautiful peak were always free from snow. Yet, on another white summit of the lord of mountains, clouds always brought snowfall together. On yet another peak, rain-clouds poured forth, showering the summit with stones. The hermitage was enchanting, with wish-fulfilling streams flowing and trees always laden with fruits fit for the gods. Bees and divine women attended constantly, and songs were always in the air, for the place destroyed all sins, as if the mountain itself struck them down. There, monkeys played from place to place, O lord of men, and heaps of snow shone, bright as the moon’s disc, adding to the wonder of that sacred realm.