With deep humility and compassion, the ocean of mercy spoke, arranging everything most excellently for all creatures. Once, O Purandara, you resided atop the lofty peak of Kailāsa. In a fleeting moment, your pride faded, replaced by a sense of restraint and modesty. O wielder of the thunderbolt, at that time, I instructed you to descend to earth. By virtue of that command, this sacred field became my dwelling. Now, through your ceaseless worship, day and night, the elements—sky, wind, fire, water, earth, sun, moon, and mankind—are all sustained. Time itself transforms beings, objects, and even the very path they tread. From my boundless ocean of consciousness and bliss, waves arise—manifesting as speech, fortune, patience, faith, wisdom, Svāhā, Svadhā, and others. This is my great power: Gaurī, the illusion, the mother of the world. Endowed with her, creation, preservation, dissolution, and movement unfold. Freed from delusion, contemplate my greatness. Then, with my form bestowed upon him, he attained sovereignty over the earth. Once more, as Purandara, he enjoyed divine pleasures for a long time. Having spoken thus, the god vanished, leaving the accomplished king Vajrāṅgada behind. Thus, O holy one, I have narrated the flourishing of devotion to Śiva. What need is there for lengthy words? Circumambulating Śoṇa mountain alone is sufficient. During solstices, equinoxes, and other auspicious occasions, there is no sacred place greater than Aruṇa, nor any deity superior to Aruṇeśvara. As Nandikeśvara spoke these words, the son of Mṛkaṇḍu was filled with delight throughout his body. Now begins the third section, the Arbuda-khaṇḍa. Vyāsa proclaims: Om, homage to the infinite, the subtle, the one approached through knowledge, the creator. All the Manvantaras and the various kinds of creation are recounted. Now, let us turn to the supreme glory of the holy places. In ancient times, their number reached three crores and a half crore—sacred fields, rivers, mountains, and streams. Among them, Arbuda is named, O sinless one, as the remover of all sins. All holy places purify through bathing, giving, and other rites, as is proper. How did the glory of Vasiṣṭha become renowned upon the earth? Which principal holy places exist on the mountain Arbuda? O best of the twice-born, listen to the greatness of Arbuda as it has been heard. There was a divine sage named Vasiṣṭha, born from the mind of the Grandfather, Brahmā. He was disciplined, moderate in his food, and devoted to the welfare of all beings. Practicing the five-fire austerity in summer, he was intent on recitation and offering. He possessed a cow named Nandini, renowned and auspicious, who granted all desires. One day, as Nandini wandered upon the earth, grazing on grass, at that very time the blessed one of fierce rays—the Sun—shone upon her. The sage, that twice-born one, would always take her milk in the evening and morning. Then, the brahmin, absorbed in thought, became anxious out of fear of expiation. He approached a chasm and heard the earth groaning under its burden.