In a land adorned with flourishing vineyards, sugarcane groves, and groves of betel, nāga, kesara, and campaka trees, young elephants and deer played amidst the greenery while flocks of peacocks danced in delight. In this serene and vibrant setting, a king, who had renounced worldly desires, approached a twice-born sage living humbly in a forest hut. With deep reverence, the king bowed and asked the sage, "O revered one, by what cause did my horse ascend to heaven?" The sage listened to the king’s heartfelt question and replied, "O King, after a long time, due to a sin in a past life, your horse was born in this form. Yet, somewhere, a half-verse from the fifteenth chapter of the Gītā had been inscribed. When you read and heard that verse, the horse was liberated, ascending to heaven, where he was joyfully reunited with his attendants." Hearing this, the king bowed to the sage, his body trembling with awe and devotion. With the leaf inscribed with the fifteenth chapter of the Gītā in hand, he departed, his eyes blossoming with joy. He recited the sacred text, and, together with his ministers and priests, he anointed his own son as king. Placing his lion-like son on the throne, the pure-minded king then attained liberation. Thus concludes the one hundred and eighty-ninth chapter of the glorious Padma Mahāpurāṇa, Uttarakhaṇḍa, in the section on the greatness of the Gītā. — Later, Śivaśarman continued the sacred tale. He said: Viṣṇuśarman, a merchant, along with his wife Śarabha, gathered the materials for worship and journeyed to the shrine of Śrī Caṇḍikā, longing for a son. There, following the prescribed rites, they bathed and worshipped the goddess with flowers, incense, and lamps, their hearts full of devotion. For seven days, with unwavering faith, they honored Ambika. Pleased, the goddess Parvati appeared before them and spoke directly, "O merchant, your steadfast devotion pleases me. I shall grant you a son, for whom you have made such effort. Go without delay to the forest of Indra and Khāṇḍava; there lies the supreme holy place, Indraprastha. There is a sacred spot, created by Bṛhaspati, which fulfills all desires and awakens the Vedas. Bathe there with the wish for a son. Even I, after bathing there, obtained Skanda, destroyer of the gods’ enemies." Hearing the goddess’s words, Viṣṇuśarman and his wife journeyed to that holy place, bathed as instructed, and gave a hundred cows, complete with utensils, to the twice-born. They satisfied the gods and ancestors with proper rites. After staying seven nights, they returned home, their faces radiant with joy, their wish fulfilled. That very year, Śivaśarman’s mother conceived, and in the auspicious tenth month, he was born. Śivaśarman recounted, "All I have told you is as my father, Viṣṇuśarman, told me twenty years ago. When he saw I was capable in household duties, he entrusted me with the home and, having developed detachment, prepared to renounce worldly life. Righteous and devoted to Govinda, he warned me against attachment to sense objects and praised devotion to Viṣṇu." His father said, "O wise one, I am old; my hair is gray. I will now serve the lotus feet of Govinda, served by the virtuous. Through such service, the mind becomes pure and steady, and one desires nothing more. Without desires, whether experiencing happiness or sorrow, enduring the fruits of past actions, and finally relinquishing the body, one attains a state beyond birth. As long as one seeks only material wealth and pleasure, not the bliss of consciousness, one remains unsatisfied. When the bliss of consciousness is attained, all else is insignificant, like buttermilk compared to nectar. Hari’s māyā bewilders embodied beings—they do not recognize what is truly beneficial, just as a drunkard cannot. The Lord enacts engagement and withdrawal, knowledge and ignorance, at will; he plays as a child does. "When one performs Vedic actions desiring their fruits, that is supreme engagement, and the offering is to the Lord. But just as burnt seeds do not sprout, so too, actions offered to the Lord without desire bear no binding fruit. Liberation is the dissolution of actions that bring pleasure and pain; their arising is bondage—so the scriptures declare. Therefore, I will perform Vedic duties without desire for their fruits, holding devotion to Hari in my heart, and wander among sacred places. By enduring the effects of past actions and restraining new ones, I will destroy worldly disease with the medicine of good company." Śivaśarman continued, "Hearing my father’s words, I, Viṣṇuśarman, replied: This person is hard to please; he will not speak of my fame. Fleeing from a difficult family, he has left and gone away. But this is the Viṣṇu-born river, O dear one, purifier of the three worlds, remover of sin from afar—why abandon her? Even a sinful person who dies in Magadha, if he dies in the Gaṅgā, ascends to heaven, leaving faults behind. The sixty thousand sons of Sagara, burned by Kapila’s wrath, attained heaven by her touch. This river, foremost among the celestial, bestower even of liberation, is served by those who seek release. Do not go elsewhere, O dear one, leaving her." Thus, the sacred narrative flows, weaving together the glory of divine grace, the fruits of devotion, and the supreme sanctity of the holy Gaṅgā.