Victory to you, O Caṇḍikā! All glory to you, remover of beings, all-pervading goddess! O Kālarātri, I bow before you in reverence. You, who embody the universe itself, are pure and radiant, three-eyed with uneven eyes. Though your form is terrible to behold, you are the very source of auspiciousness, knowledge, and the great illusion, your belly vast as the cosmos. You conquer the mind and are its fortress, O wide-eyed one, destroyer of agitation. You are the great disease and the wondrous-limbed, delighting in song and dance, ever-auspicious. Fierce and powerful, you are the great Kāli, destroyer of sin, bearing a noose and staff in your fearsome hands. With a blazing mouth and sharp teeth, you are of immense strength, beloved by the vehicle of Shiva, seated upon a corpse, yet ever-auspicious. Wide-eyed and terrifying, you bring fear to all beings, O monstrous and dreadful Kāli. Fierce and mighty Kālikā, O Kālarātri, I bow to you again and again. O goddess who bears all weapons, worshipped by the gods, my salutations to you. Thus, when Rudra, the supreme lord, praised Śivadūtī with these words, the supreme goddess was pleased and spoke: “Choose a boon, O Lord of the gods, whatever dwells in your heart.” Rudra replied, “O beautiful-faced goddess, whoever praises you with this hymn—let them find you ever-present and true, the granter of all boons. Whoever climbs this mountain and worships you with devotion shall gain prosperity, sons, grandsons, and livestock. Whoever listens with devotion to this hymn for the goddess will be freed from all sins and attain supreme liberation. If a king, deprived of his kingdom, observes the ninth day with purity, and fasts on the eighth and fourteenth days, O best of men, he will regain a secure kingdom within a year.” “This power, endowed with knowledge, is known as Śivadūtī. Whoever listens to it daily with supreme devotion, O king, is freed from all sins and attains supreme liberation. Whoever recites this with devotion after bathing in the waters of Puṣkara, having obtained all these fruits, will be honored in the world of Brahma. Wherever this is written and kept in a house, O prince, there will be no terrible fear of fire, nor danger from thieves and the like. Even if worshipped in book form with devotion, all actions succeed throughout the three worlds, both moving and unmoving. Many sons, wealth, grain, excellent wives, jewels, horses, elephants, and servants quickly come to them. Wherever this is written in a house, so too will such blessings surely appear.” At this point, Bhīṣma asked, “By what karmic result does one become a ghost again? And by what means is one freed from it? Please tell me, O wise one.” Pulastya replied, “I shall tell you everything in full. Hearing this, O best of kings, you will never again fall into delusion. I will explain how one becomes a ghost, and how one is freed from such a state, which leads to a dreadful hell, hard to cross even for the gods. Through conversation with the virtuous and recounting holy places, those fallen into ghostly births can be freed.” Pulastya continued, “It is heard, O Bhīṣma, that there was once a Brahmin of strict vows, renowned everywhere, always content and devoted to self-study in his home. He practiced yoga and its disciplines, spending his time in recitation and sacrifice. Endowed with patience and compassion, forgiveness, and knowledge of truth, his mind was fixed on nonviolence and gentleness. Engaged in celibacy, ascetic discipline, and yoga, he was diligent in ancestral rites and attentive to Vedic rituals. Motivated by fear of the next world, steadfast in truthfulness, gentle in speech, and devoted to honoring guests, he fulfilled acts of charity and sacrifice, free from dualities, devoted to his prescribed duties and self-study. Thus performing actions to overcome worldly existence, many years passed as he lived as a householder Brahmin.” “Then, a thought arose in his mind regarding pilgrimage: ‘Let me sanctify this body, soaked with the holy waters of sacred places.’ Having bathed at Pushkara with pure intent at sunrise, and completed his recitations and salutations, he set out on his journey. Ahead, in a forest thick with thorny trees, deserted and devoid of birds, he saw five men, terrifying in appearance. Deformed and extremely fierce, dreadful to behold, his heart was shaken, yet he stood firm and unmoving.” “Gathering his courage and casting off fear, he spoke sweetly: ‘Who are you, so deformed, and from where do you come? What deeds have you done, that you have not attained a better state? How is it that all of you are like this, and where are you headed on this path?’” The pretas replied, “We are always afflicted by hunger and thirst, surrounded by great suffering, our minds lost, our senses destroyed, and our awareness gone. We do not know any direction, nor any region; we do not know the sky, nor the earth, nor even the heavens. What you call suffering, for us, would be happiness; now it appears to be morning, as we see the rising of the sun. I am called Paryuṣita; another is Sūcīmukha; there is Śīghraga, Rohaka, and the fifth is Lekhaka.