Listen, dear one, to the words spoken with reverence and love, for they reveal the profound truth of devotion and worship. Among those who call themselves my devotees, there are some who, though devoted outwardly, are so tainted by sin that they refuse to bow to my Lord Vāsudeva. Know that such people are not truly my devotees; rather, they are deluded by their own misdeeds. Even my devotee, if he consumes food on the sacred eleventh day, commits a grave offense against me, becoming, as it were, a slayer of my very self and destined for the dreadful darkness of hell. True purification, my child, is found in the touch of the śāla-liṅga; no other means is prescribed. The day beloved of Viṣṇu is equally dear to me. If a mortal neglects to fast on this holy day, he is more sinful than an outcaste. But know this: I always dwell within the Śālagrāma stone. The place assigned to me by the pleased Lord, through devotion, is my own true abode. The merit gained by worshipping me with countless millions of lotuses is vast, yet that fruit is multiplied a crore times by the worship of the Śālagrāma stone. Those who fail to worship the Śālagrāma stone in this world, know that I am neither worshipped nor bowed to by them. Yet, whoever performs my worship before the Śālagrāma stone truly worships me, O commander, for twenty-one yugas. What use is there in worshipping hundreds of liṅgas without devotion to Viṣṇu? If the image of the Śālagrāma stone is not worshipped, then all offerings—leaf, flower, fruit, or water—are rendered unfit. Before the Śālagrāma stone, however, everything becomes purified. If a twice-born consumes offerings meant for other gods, he must atone through the Cāndrāyaṇa expiation. But one who partakes of food offered to Keśava receives the merit of countless sacrifices; even the gravest sins are washed away with the water that has bathed the Lord’s feet. Indeed, purification also comes from water poured from the conch. Yet, if one is devoted to Śiva but neglects the worship of Viṣṇu, or harbors hatred, such a person falls into hell for as many ages as there have been fourteen Indras. If, however, a person allows a senior ascetic to rest even for a moment in his house, then for eight generations his ancestors become eaters of nectar. But the lowest of men, lost in worldly suffering, continue to sink. Those who neglect the worship of Kṛṣṇa for thousands upon millions of years, even if they lovingly worship liṅgas made from śālagrāma stones, do not attain liberation by Sāṃkhya or Yoga. The fruit gained by seeing, worshipping, or praising millions of liṅgas is obtained here from a single Śālagrāma stone. One who worships twelve Śālagrāma stones daily as a Vaiṣṇava accrues merit beyond my own ability to measure. Even if one worships countless liṅgas on the banks of the sacred Gaṅgā, or resides in Kāśī for eight generations, the fruit of such acts is gained in a single day by the worship of the Śālagrāma stone as a Vaiṣṇava. What more can be said of the one who worships with such devotion? Neither I, nor Brahmā, nor the other gods can calculate the merit earned in this way. Therefore, my son, let my devotees worship the Śālagrāma stone with devotion, for in doing so they please me. For Keśava himself abides in the form of the Śālagrāma stone. There, within it, reside all the gods, asuras, yakṣas, and the beings of all fourteen worlds. By singing the praises of all the gods, one attains the merit of millions, but in this age of Kali, that very merit is gained simply by singing the praises of Keśava. When the ancestors are satisfied by a single offering before the Śālagrāma stone, they dwell content without number. What use is there in consuming thousands of fivefold cow products for those who, with devotion, drink the water of the Śālagrāma stone? When true atonement is achieved, what need is there for gifts or fasts? Having drunk the water from the feet of Hari, even the most rigorous lunar penances are surpassed. Whoever establishes an image of the Lord reclining on water within a pond need not perform millions of other acts or worship other gods. There, the principal deities led by Viṣṇu converse together, and for all merit, my son, there is indeed a standard. Yet truly, there is no measure to the merit gained by the worship of the Śālagrāma stone. Whoever gives a Śālagrāma stone to a brāhmaṇa devoted to Viṣṇu performs the equivalent of hundreds of sacrifices. Even while living at home, he gains the merit of bathing daily in the Gaṅgā. He is as though bathed in all sacred waters and initiated in all sacrifices who performs the ablution with water from the Śālagrāma stone. In heaven, on earth, and in the netherworld, there are many stones, O Guha, but none equal the Śālagrāma stone. In this rare human birth, a life becomes truly fruitful when, with devotion, one gives a hundred prasthas of sesame each day. Yet, that same fruit is attained by worshipping the Śālagrāma stone with even a leaf, a flower, a fruit, water, a root, or a blade of sacred grass. Whatever is offered at Śālagrāma becomes as weighty as Mount Meru. Even one who lacks proper ritual, action, or mantra, if he offers to the stone marked with the discus, attains the results proclaimed by scripture. What I have witnessed before in Keśava is the destroyer of suffering. All this I now reveal to you, my dear child, out of love: Where do you dwell, O Viṣṇu? What is your support, what is your abode, and how are you pleased? Tell me all of this. Śrī Kṛṣṇa replied: I always reside, O Śambhu, in the stone that arises from Śālagrāma. There, upon the mark of the chariot wheel, hear my names: If at the door the wheel is seen clearly and without interruption, know that as Vāsudeva, pure white and exceedingly beautiful. Pradyumna is present with a face like the sun, radiating blue light; if the stone has many holes and is elongated in shape, it is that very form. Thus, the greatness of the Śālagrāma stone, the depth of devotion, and the path to true merit are revealed.