The sacred ritual, from its very beginning with invocation, is to be performed by the teacher alone, who, together with the officiating priests, recites the prescribed mantras with devotion and precision. At the western side of the sanctified pot, after the recitation of mantras, the wise should perform the homa, the sacred fire offering, repeating it as many times as is fitting—whether a crore, a hundred thousand, a thousand, a hundred, or one hundred and eight times. This homa may be completed in a single day, over nine days, or extended through a full mandala of forty days, depending on what is appropriate for the time and place. For the attainment of peace, śamī wood is to be used in the offerings; for prosperity, palāśa wood. Each offering is made with fuel, rice, and clarified butter, invoking the respective names and mantras as prescribed. Once the ritual is begun, it should be brought to completion using the materials prepared, and at the end, after reciting an auspicious invocation, the site is to be sprinkled with water for purification. Following this, Brahmins are to be fed in accordance with the number of offerings made, and the teacher and officiating priests, being learned, should also partake of the sacrificial food. At the conclusion of all offerings, one should worship the planets, beginning with the Sun, and then present gifts to the priests in proper order—food and jewels as is appropriate. Thereafter, ten gifts should be made, and then greater gifts still, to children, those who have undergone initiation, householders, and forest-dwellers. Next, gifts are given to maidens, married women, and widows, and all the implements used in the ritual are respectfully presented to the teacher. Recognizing Yama, the lord of death, as the master of calamities and diseases, one should offer the Kālada gift to please him. For this, an image of Kāla, holding a noose and goad in human form, is fashioned from gold, using a hundred or ten niṣkas, according to one’s means. This golden image, together with an appropriate gift, is then offered, followed by the giving of sesame seeds to ensure full longevity. To remove disease, the gift of clarified butter is made, and a thousand Brahmins are fed—or at least a hundred, if resources are limited. If one is destitute, one should do as much as possible within one’s means, and perform the great worship of Bhairava for the pacification of spirits and the directions. At the conclusion, the great anointing and offering to Shiva is performed, and Brahmins are again fed with abundant food. By conducting the sacrifice in this manner, the pacification of faults is achieved, and this peace-sacrifice should be performed every year in the month of Phālguna. At the first sign of inauspiciousness, it should be performed immediately, or at least within a month; if a great sin arises, Bhairava should be worshipped. Should a great disease appear, one must resolve to perform the ritual anew; and in all situations, if one is poor, at least a lamp should be offered. If even this is not possible, after bathing, one should give whatever little is possible, and offer salutations to the Sun with the mantra one hundred and eight times. The wise may perform a thousand, ten thousand, a hundred thousand, or even a crore salutations, for by this sacrifice of salutations all the deities are satisfied. When the mind is offered to your form, O Lord, it no longer delights in emptiness, and the sense of ‘I am’ that dwells within us is dispelled upon seeing you. Humbled in my own body, I recognize you as the great one, O Lord; my nature is no longer empty, for now I am truly your servant. Worship and salutations should also be offered to the Self as appropriate; then, having made the offering to Shiva, one may partake of betel leaf. The devotee should circumambulate Shiva one hundred and eight times; greater numbers—a thousand, ten thousand, a hundred thousand, or a crore—may be performed by another on their behalf. By circumambulating Shiva, all sins are instantly destroyed. The root of suffering is disease, and the root of disease is indeed sin. The removal of sins is accomplished through righteousness alone, and the righteousness performed for Shiva’s sake is especially potent in dispelling sin. Circumambulation is declared to be the overseer among all duties to Shiva; in practice, circumambulation itself is the recitation of the sacred syllable Om. Birth and death, the pair of opposites, are called the wheel of illusion, and the altar for offerings is said to be Shiva’s wheel of illusion. Beginning at the altar, one should enter it step by step in the order of circumambulation, maintaining a space between each step. At the end, one should offer salutations, which is regarded as circumambulation itself. Upon departing, one attains birth, and with salutations, the self is offered. Birth and death, the opposites, are thus offered to Shiva’s illusion; and one who has surrendered these opposites to Shiva’s illusion does not become subject to them again. As long as one is bound to action through the body, one is considered living and bound; liberation, say the wise, is mastery over the three bodies. Shiva, the mover of the wheel of illusion, is the supreme cause; he alone removes the opposites that are offered to his illusion. Therefore, all opposites that have arisen through him should be offered back to Shiva. The wise know that circumambulation and salutation are most dear to Shiva. Circumambulation and salutations to Shiva, the Supreme Self, bestow the full fruit of worship performed with the sixteen forms of service. There is no sin on earth that cannot be destroyed by circumambulation; therefore, one should destroy all sin by circumambulation alone. One devoted to Shiva, silent, truthful, and endowed with other virtues, should practice all the acts—ritual, austerity, recitation, knowledge, and meditation. The fruits of these acts are sovereignty, a divine body, knowledge, the removal of ignorance and doubt, and the presence of Shiva himself. Through action, one attains the fruit, and darkness is dispelled; the results of birth, and those produced by knowledge and intellect, are also removed. A devotee of Shiva should perform acts as appropriate to place, time, body, and wealth, and as is fitting for their station.