With matted locks tinged red like rice stalks and his body pale from the sacred ash, the ascetic sat in deep meditation. His gaze was fixed unwaveringly at the tip of his nose, lips gently parted, absorbed in contemplation at the threshold of the final state of sleep—so still, so inward, as if poised at the edge of transcendence. Like a snare set for the destruction of the sixfold enemies, Umā, having performed the proper rites, approached this ascetic. The revered Aruṇa mountain stood nearby, honored in holy regions. Through the words of Vijayā and her companions, the sage learned of Umā’s arrival. He received her with reverence, offering roots, tubers, fruits, and similar gifts, as a guest is honored. Then, beginning with the manifestation of the pillar of light, he narrated to her all events in their proper order. On the eastern side of Mount Shona lies the sacred place called Sthalishvara, densely populated by the gods, including those from Vaikuntha and Parameshthi. At the foot of Mount Shona, known as Pravala Mountain, the sage explained, “Therefore, right here, I established the Three-Eyed One.” Near his hermitage, he described this as a great and holy field. With the sage’s permission, Umā accepted the hermitage. To protect it, Satyavati, who dwelled in the forest, was appointed guardian, instructed for the protection of the entire sacred grove. Satyavati immediately bound her hair in a knot adorned with mandara flowers, set aside her fine garment marked with the emblem of a swan, light as mist. Her tender fingers, unused to the forest, could not even pluck flowers, and her delicate limbs, as fine as a diamond needle, were scratched by thorns. At dawn, she performed her morning bath in the sacred Kamala river. With water mixed with darbha grass, rice, sesame, and water from the holy Gauri river, she worshipped with devotion. In a circle of sand, she invoked the Sun and offered lotuses to him. She herself established a Shankara-linga, and with seat, image, root, and limbs, she worshipped the Sun. In every direction, she worshipped the planets, beginning with Soma, using the symbolic gestures of the cow and others. She sprinkled all offerings with exceedingly pure water. Having performed purification of the elements, she undertook internal worship, placing the energies—beginning with the left—on the petals, and at the tip of the petals, the solar and lunar penetrations. Above them, she established the circle of energies and the fivefold Brahma. She offered sandalwood, flowers, incense, lamps, and other auspicious substances, arranging offerings of tubers, roots, fruits, and similar items. In each direction, she ritually invoked Indra and other deities, including those bearing vajra. She worshipped the five-faced forms and performed the ritual for Caṇḍeśvara, following the procedures prescribed in the Śiva scriptures. Standing on the tip of her thumb, she endured the heat amidst five fires, and during rainy nights, she remained with streams of water, together with the clouds. With her hands and feet she fashioned lotuses, and with her mouth, she praised the moon. By giving nīvāra rice seeds, she nourished even the animals. Using water from the ālavāla fruits, drawn in beautiful pitchers, she performed ablutions, completing her sacred duties with unwavering devotion.