In the sacred narrative, the glories of the divine forms and the sanctity of their worship are vividly described. Vaikuṇṭha, the supreme abode, is depicted as possessing undivided limbs, bearing a single discus and a banner, with a beautiful mark above its doorway, shaped like a gunja berry. Within, the deity Śrīdhara is adorned with a garland of forest flowers, his form resembling a kadamba blossom and marked by five distinct lines. Vāmana, another form, is short and round, with the delicate hue of the atasi flower, beautified by a single dot. Then appears Sudarśana, the radiant deity, dark in color, with the mace and discus on his left and a line on his right. Damodara is described as thick, with a discus set in his middle, green like durva grass, marked by door-like shapes and a yellow line. Ananta, the infinite one, is of many colors, marked by various coils and countless forms, bestowing all desired fruits upon his devotees. Purushottama is recognized as the one whose face is seen in all directions and intermediate quarters, the supreme giver of both worldly joy and liberation. At the summit, a linga arising from the Śālagrāma stone is said to possess the power to destroy even the sin of killing a Brahmin, by the grace of the Lord of Yogis. Padmanābha is reddish, with a lotus joined to his face; whoever worships him daily, even if poor, becomes a lord among men. There are forms marked with a discus, golden-bodied and shining with rays, their golden lines resplendent like crystal. Some are very smooth and bestow success—the black one grants fame, the pale one burns away sin and gives sons to fathers. The blue one bestows wealth, the red brings disease, the rough one causes anxiety, and the crooked one brings poverty. The deities are enumerated: Sudarśana is known as one, Lakṣmī-Nārāyaṇa as two, Achyuta as the third, Janārdana as the fourth, Vasudeva as the fifth, Pradyumna as the sixth, Sankarṣaṇa as the seventh, and Purushottama as the eighth. The ninth is a nine-fold array, the tenth is of its own nature, the eleventh is Aniruddha, and the twelfth is of twelve forms. Beyond these, the wheels are countless and called infinite; if a Śālagrāma stone is broken, split, or damaged, there is no fault. Whichever form a devotee desires, he should worship with care. Whoever carries the lord of mountains on his shoulder along the path gains mastery over all things in the three worlds, both moving and unmoving. Wherever a Śālagrāma stone is present, there too is Hari himself. In such a place, acts of giving, recitation, and bathing are a hundred times more meritorious than at Vārāṇasī, Kurukṣetra, Prayāga, Naimiṣa, or Puṣkara. The merit there is a crore-fold, and the fruits as great as at Vārāṇasī; any sin, even as grave as killing a Brahmin, is quickly burned away by worship of the Śālagrāma stone. Wherever the god arising from Śālagrāma is found, there too is the lord of Dvārāvatī. When both are present together, liberation is assured for all, whether celibates, householders, forest-dwellers, or mendicants. The food offered to Viṣṇu must be eaten without hesitation. In the worship of the Śālagrāma stone, there is no need for mantras, recitation, or meditation; no hymns or ritual conduct are required. Yet, before the Śālagrāma stone, a svastika should be drawn with reverence. Especially in the month of Kārtika, such worship purifies up to the seventh generation. Whoever makes even a tiny circle before Keśava—whether of clay, metal, or other materials—dwells in heaven for a kalpa of millions of years. If one worships the Agnihotra for a full year in Kārtika, making a svastika together, there is no doubt of the resulting merit. Even in cases of forbidden union or eating what should not be eaten, such sin is destroyed by making a circle at Hari’s abode. Any woman who daily makes a circle before Keśava will never become a widow for seven births. Thus concludes, in the glorious Padma Mahāpurāṇa, the chapter on the greatness of Śālagrāma, as spoken in the Uttarakhaṇḍa, in the dialogue between Śrī Kṛṣṇa and Satyabhāmā. Then, Īśvara spoke further: Whoever, taking shelter in the shade of the dhātrī tree, offers a rice-ball in secret, by Mādhava’s grace, his ancestors attain liberation. Any man who wears the fruit of the dhātrī tree—on his head, hand, mouth, or body—is adorned and blessed. If one eats food made from the dhātrī fruit, he becomes Nārāyaṇa himself. Any Vaiṣṇava who wears the dhātrī fruit becomes dear to the gods—and what more to say of humans—especially one who does not abandon a garland of tulasī or, above all, a garland of dhātrī. As long as a man wears a garland of dhātrī around his neck, Keśava dwells within his body. The dhātrī fruit, tulasī earth, and that which arises in Dvārakā—whoever’s home possesses these three, his life is truly fruitful. For as many days as a man wears a garland of dhātrī in the age of Kali, for that many thousands of yugas will he dwell in Vaikuṇṭha. Whoever wears a pair of garlands made of dhātrī and tulasī at the neck will dwell in heaven for ten million kalpas. He who, with controlled senses, worships the Śālagrāma stone with devotion, offering each flower as if it were an aśvamedha sacrifice, attains great merit. As Viṣṇu is foremost among the gods, so is tulasī among flowers; whoever worships the Lord Garuḍa-bannered daily with tulasī is freed from the suffering of birth, old age, and disease, and attains liberation—especially if he worships Viṣṇu with a tulasī garland in the sacred month of Kārtika.