In a time when righteous governance and virtuous conduct faded, people became absorbed in pleasures, and the wicked, delighting in violence, brought harm to living beings. The Vaiśyas neglected their sacred rites, abandoned their duties, and pursued dishonest gain, resorting to false measures and unrighteous behavior. Lacking devotion to teachers, gods, or the twice-born, their minds grew corrupt, and they rarely offered food to Brahmins, becoming miserly and withholding. Adultery became common, minds impure and confused by greed and delusion, with people forsaking good deeds and charity. Even among the Śūdras, some imitated Brahmin ways, appearing bright but acting foolishly and abandoning their own duties. They undertook austerities that diminished the brilliance of the twice-born, brought untimely death to children, and devoted themselves to the recitation of mantras. Many worshipped stones and village idols, making offerings with crooked thoughts and slandering the twice-born. Though some grew wealthy and learned, their deeds turned wicked and quarrelsome. They recited stories and teachings of dharma, yet undermined righteousness. Others, appearing as noble rulers—boastful, generous, and arrogant—claimed mastery over the service of Brahmins and others, but were foolish, mixed in origin, cruel-minded, and proud, destroying the four classes of society. Even those born into good families, considering themselves superior, caused confusion among the classes, corrupted all castes, and, though performing good deeds, remained foolish. Most women, too, fell from virtue, acting disrespectfully toward their husbands, harming their in-laws, becoming fearless, and consuming impure food. Engaged in deceit and false appearances, skilled in trickery and overwhelmed by passion, they entered into adulterous relations and became estranged from their husbands. Children no longer honored their mother and father, their intentions wicked, neglecting to learn, and suffering from constant illness. Seeing intellect lost and duties abandoned, the sages questioned: “O Sūta, how can there be any path here or in the next world for such people?” Their minds troubled by these thoughts, they reflected that there is no greater dharma than helping others. Out of compassion, they implored Sūta, “By what simple means can the heavy burden of their suffering be destroyed? Please reveal that by which all doctrines are truly understood.” Hearing these words from the pure-minded sages, Sūta, remembering Śaṅkara in his heart, addressed them with reverence. He said, “O virtuous ones, you have asked well, for the benefit of all the worlds. Remembering the Guru, and out of affection for you, I shall speak—listen with devotion. “This supreme Śaiva Purāṇa is the very essence and entirety of Vedānta. It removes all heaps of sin and bestows the highest truth in this world and the next. Within it, the supreme glory of Śiva ever expands, destroying the impurities of the Kali age, granting the fruits of the four aims of life to the Brāhmaṇas. O best of the twice-born, by merely studying this most excellent Śaiva Purāṇa, one attains the highest and most auspicious state. “As long as the Śiva Purāṇa is not proclaimed in the world, sin—led by the killing of a Brāhmaṇa—will flourish, and the great calamities of the Kali age will roam about fearlessly. All the scriptures, sacred places, mantras, holy fields, sacred seats, acts of charity, and even the gods themselves will dispute among themselves, and all doctrines will continue to clash, until the Śiva Purāṇa is proclaimed. “O twice-born, I cannot fully describe the fruit gained from reciting and hearing this Śiva Purāṇa. Yet, I will share a little of its greatness—attend with focused minds to what Vyāsa once spoke to me. Whoever recites this Śiva Purāṇa, even a verse or half a verse, with devotion, is freed from sins in an instant. Whoever, without negligence, recites it daily with devotion, to the best of their ability, is called liberated while living. Whoever worships this Śiva Purāṇa with devotion, day by day, surely attains the fruit of an Ashvamedha sacrifice.” Thus, Sūta revealed the path to liberation and the highest good, the remedy for the suffering of the age, and the supreme greatness of the Śiva Purāṇa.