In the course of time, the ocean would eventually return to its natural state. Yet, it was destined that King Bhagiratha, moved by concern for his ancestors, would once more fill that ocean with the sacred stream of the Ganges. When this would come to pass, it would be by the command of Brahmā, and so, having given their blessings, the gods and the greatest of sages took their leave. Then, the blessed Brahmā, pleased and radiant, spoke to the eminent sage Agastya. “By your hand, O Agastya, the task of the gods—the destruction of the Dānavas—has been accomplished. Because you have delivered the gods from peril, I am truly pleased with you. Ask of me any boon you desire; I shall grant it to you.” Hearing these words, Agastya, with deep reverence, replied, “O Lord, while residing here, I have completed this task for the gods. May my hermitage become the foremost of all hermitages, just as you have declared, O Brahmā. Of this, I have no doubt.” Brahmā then proclaimed, “Those who, after making pilgrimage to Puṣkara, come to this place; those who bathe in these pools and offer libations to the ancestors and to the gods, and those who worship the deities here—all these acts yield inexhaustible merit. Whoever offers arghya, whether great or small, and cakes of rice and barley, and gives them to the foremost brahmins, their dwelling shall be in heaven. By their śrāddha, their ancestors will be satisfied until the very dissolution of the cosmos. Whoever, even with simple roots, fruits, or tubers, satisfies a sage here, will reach the abode of the Seven Sages and rejoice for countless ages. “Having ascended the mountain of sacrifice and witnessed the emergence of the Ganges—the divine river flowing northward towards Pushkara—whoever bathes here with devotion to the ancestors and gods attains the fruit of an ashvamedha sacrifice, without doubt. Even feeding a single Brahmin here is as meritorious as feeding a crore. The food and drink offered here, O great sage, become inexhaustible. Whatever desire a person harbors, all will be fulfilled here. One who bathes at this sacred spot on earth will not be born into a lower womb. “Among all places, this is the highest; among all sacred sites, it is the foremost. I have granted this, O best of sages, and it shall be so without doubt. Whatever sin clings to a man or woman from birth is destroyed immediately upon bathing here.” Having spoken thus, the blessed Brahmā, the grandsire of the worlds, bid farewell to Agastya, the foremost among sages, and departed. Agastya remained in his hermitage, content and steadfast, and thus the origin of Agastya’s hermitage has been revealed. Now, O descendant of the Kurus, listen as I describe the hermitages of the Seven Sages: Atri, Vasiṣṭha, Pulastya, Pulaha, Kratu, Angiras, Gautama, Sumati, Sumukha, Viśvāmitra, Sthūlaśira, Saṁvarta, and Pratardana; Raibhya, Bṛhaspati, Cyavana, Kaśyapa, Bhṛgu, Durvāsas, Jamadagni, Mārkaṇḍeya, and Gālava; Uśanas, Bharadvāja, Yavakṛta, Sthūlakṣa, Sakalakṣa, Kaṇva, Medhātithi, and Kṛta; Nārada, Parvata, Svagandhi, Cyavana the twice-born, Trinambu, Śabala, Dhaumya, Śatānanda, and Kṛtavṛana; Jamadagni, Rāma, Aṣṭaka and others, and Kṛṣṇa Dvaipāyana with his sons and disciples. All these sages, upon reaching Pushkara, established the hermitage of the Seven Sages, a place surrounded by sacred observances and endowed with compassion and austerity. Among them, compassion, victory, courage, austerity, truth, patience, simplicity, kindness, charity, and recitation are ever present. Every act performed here is enjoyed in the world beyond, and knowing this, the sages are devoted to the highest truth. In this sacred place, atheists do not come, nor thieves, nor those lacking self-control, nor the cruel, nor slanderers, nor the ungrateful, nor the arrogant. Only those who are truthful, radiant, courageous, compassionate, foremost in forgiveness, devoted to sacrifice and its practice, free from desire and harmless—only those without possessiveness or pride come to Puṣkara. For such great souls, there is no disease, no old age, and no death. Here, men deluded by attachment to sense-objects, afflicted by desire, greed, intoxication, malice, anger, and delusion, do not enter. Those who are equal in honor and dishonor, free from dualities, self-controlled, and devoted to meditation and yoga—these alone come to Puṣkara. In these prescribed hermitages, the twice-born who observe discipline are granted great worlds of prosperity. Those who do not harm living beings by deed, thought, or word, who are exceedingly compassionate and always speak kindly; those ever devoted to Agnihotra, ever honoring guests, ever engaged in self-study, and ever dedicated to bathing; those who always regard the wives of others as mothers, sisters, or daughters, and are themselves free from desire; those who, when insulted, do not become angry, nor retaliate when harmed, who are equal in sorrow and happiness, great-souled, and with senses subdued—all these, once having roamed the earth, through meditation and contemplation, perceive the eternal world of Brahma. Then, at one time, a great drought befell the land. All the people there, afflicted by hunger, were plunged into distress. In that world bereft of food, desperate to preserve themselves, they took the body of a dead boy and, driven by dire necessity, cooked him.