Hear now the sacred account, whose recitation or attentive hearing brings divine favor: whoever reads or listens to this narrative of the Sun’s resting place becomes beloved of Indra himself. Even if his ancestors have descended to hell, by performing these rites, he elevates them all to heaven. The great sages have declared certain trees as particularly suitable for ritual use: aśvattha, vaṭa, udumbara, nandīśa, jambu, and bilva. Beginning with the month of Mārgaśīrṣa and continuing through the following months, one should prepare a tooth-cleaning stick from each of these trees in order. At the conclusion of this observance, offerings are made: curd-rice, canopies, banners, fly-whisks, and water-pots adorned with five gems are given to the Brahmins. One must act with sincerity regarding wealth; deceit brings faults. Bhīṣma then asked, “By what vow, performed repeatedly in each birth, does a man gain long life, health, prosperity in family, and beauty? Please describe in detail the vow of the cool-rayed one.” Pulastya replied, “Your question is well-asked, for it leads to inexhaustible merit and heaven. I will now reveal the secret known to those learned in the Purāṇas. Here is the vow called ‘Rohiṇī-candra-śayana.’ In this observance, one worships an image of Nārāyaṇa, invoking the names of the moon. When, on a lunar day, the bright fifteenth—the full moon—falls on a Monday, or when the Brahma constellation arises on the full moon, then a man should bathe with five products of the cow mixed with mustard seeds. The wise recite ‘āpyāyasva’ eight hundred times. Even a Śūdra, if he possesses supreme devotion and avoids heretical speech, may worship Soma, the peaceful one, saying: ‘Homage to you, O endless abode, at your feet and shanks.’ He worships both thighs as belonging to Jalodara, and the genital as the abode of Kāma. Repeated homage is offered to the giver of pleasure and delight; the waist of the moon is always to be worshipped. The belly is honored as belonging to Amṛtodara, and the navel as belonging to the moon. Homage is paid to Candra, and the face is always worshipped; the teeth are honored as lords of the twice-born. The smile is worshipped as belonging to Candramas, and the lips as dear to the forest of Kumuda flowers. The nose is honored as lord of the best herbs, and the eyebrows as the source of joy. Both eyes, lotus-like, are worshipped as belonging to the moon, and the hands as creators of blue lotuses. Homage is given to the one worshipped in all sacrifices; both ears are honored as destroyers of demons. The forehead is worshipped as dear to the lord of the moon, and the hair as belonging to the lord of Suṣumnā. The head is worshipped as belonging to the moon; homage is paid to Murāri and to the lord of the universe. The crown is worshipped as dear to Lakṣmī, named Rohiṇī, beloved of the lotus, and the ocean of fortune, happiness, and nectar. Having worshipped the goddess Rohiṇī, wife of the moon, with fragrant flowers, offerings, incense, and the like, one should sleep on the ground. Upon rising, after bathing, one should offer food to a Brāhmaṇa. In the morning, a water pot with gold is given, saying ‘Homage to the destroyer of sins.’ Having tasted cow’s urine, one should eat food that is neither meat nor salty, eight or twenty times. Three morsels mixed with ghee are taken, fasting is observed, and stories are heard for a while. For worship, one uses Kadamba, blue lotus, ketaka, jasmine, red lotus, and a hundred-petaled lotus. Unwithered flowers, sinduvāra, mallikā, white flowers, karavīra, and śrī-campaka are offered to Candramas. In the months beginning with Śrāvaṇa, these flowers are offered in order; in whichever month the vow is performed, Hari is worshipped with those flowers. Thus, for a year, one observes the vow properly. At the end, one gives a bed, complete with bedding. An image of Rohiṇī and Candra is made of gold—the moon six fingers in size, Rohiṇī four fingers. It is adorned with eight pearls and has white eyes, placed upon a milk pot, with a bronze vessel and rice grains. With mantra, in the morning, rice grains joined with sugarcane fruit are given; then, in a white vessel with a golden mouth and a silver hoof attached. A cow with clothing and a vessel, as well as a conch used as a vessel, are offered. The Brahmin couple, adorned with virtues and ornaments, are honored. One should conceive this Brahmin and his wife as the moon; just as Rohiṇī never abandons Krishna’s bed. There is no difference between the moon-form and this, in splendor; just as the moon alone grants supreme bliss and liberation to all. May enjoyment, liberation, and devotion to the moon be firm in me—for one afraid of worldly existence and desiring liberation, this is the path. This vow is the unsurpassed bestower of beauty, health, and longevity, and is always dear to the ancestors. Having become lord of the three worlds for three hundred seven kalpas, one attains the world of the moon, from which return is difficult. A woman who performs the Rohiṇī-moon bed ceremony also attains that result. Whoever recites or hears the worship of Madhumathana with praise of the moon, and gives his mind to it, enters the abode of Shauri and is worshipped by crowds of gods. Bhīṣma then asked, “In tanks, gardens, wells, reservoirs, and lotus ponds, what is the procedure, O Brahman, in temples of the gods? Who are the officiating priests, what kind of Brahmins, what should the altar be like; what are the gifts, the strength, the time, the place, and the teacher? What materials are suitable? Tell me everything, O virtuous one.” Pulastya replied, “Listen, O king of great arms, to the procedure for tanks and the like. This legend is recited in the Purāṇas. Having obtained an auspicious fortnight, when the northern solstice has arrived, on a holy day declared by Brahmins, having performed Brahmin recitation, in a place free from inauspiciousness, near the tank—the altar should be four hands in size, square, and four-faced. The pavilion should be sixteen hands, also four-faced. Around the altar, trenches of a cubit’s width should be made, three girdles—nine, seven, or five—straight-faced, O prince.” Thus is the sacred narrative, its observances, and its rituals, as declared by the sages and revealed by Pulastya to Bhīṣma.