Listen, O sage, to this wondrous tale. There was a fierce and formidable man, born from the very sweat of Brahma himself—he is the one of whom you must quickly learn. Hara, the great lord, urged this knowledge upon the assembled gods and then vanished from their sight. In the wake of Hara’s departure, the sweat-born man, filled with anger, struck the earth with his left foot and rose up in wrath. The sound of his bow, drawn taut, thundered across the worlds, filling all beings with a mighty, resounding noise. Thus, upon the earth, a battle of equals—divine and powerful—was joined. As the sweat-born and the blood-born warriors clashed, time itself seemed to pass away in the fury of their contest. With arrows of tremendous force, Brahma pierced that supreme man. Yet, in response, the mighty being declared, “Raised by my dust, your Brahma was cast down.” He foretold, “If, in another birth, my man is defeated by Hari, then, after the battle between the two, he will restrain them and speak. When that great battle arises again, I shall engage him there.” These two—both Rudras by their very nature—must be protected, O sage, to the best of your ability. For they are portions of yourself, and at the end of Dvāpara Yuga, you must appoint them upon the earth. At this, the lord of the gods, filled with sorrow, spoke to Viṣṇu, recalling the pain of the past: “In this Manvantara, O god, when the Tretā Yuga arrived, Vāli of mighty arms was slain for the sake of Sugrīva. Afflicted by that grief, I cannot accept your man.” Viṣṇu replied, “O Maghavan, for the alleviation of the earth’s burden—” and with these words, Indra was filled with delight. Having thus spoken, Viṣṇu sent forth the two radiant beings, the Sun and the Moon, once again. Yet, O Brahman, a reprehensible deed had been committed in the desire to slay the lord. Therefore, in order to purify oneself from this sin, the highest expiation must be performed. Let one fire be Gārhapatya, the second Āhavanīya. In a sacred circle, satisfy yourself, but do not move in the form of a bow. Offer oblations into the fire, perform austerities, and worship Hara at that very moment. With a mind purified by expiation, approach the great lord. Having given these instructions, Hari of fierce energy and great soul departed to his own abode. Now, you ask, why did all this occur at the birth of Viśvakarman? How was he begotten by Rudra, the lord, with deliberate intent? By whom and for what purpose was he produced among Śaṅkara, Acyuta, and Brahmā? How did that wondrous fifth face appear for him? Who sent that deluded man to slay Hara? Know that to those two great souls, nothing remains unknown, accomplished or unaccomplished. That fifth face of Brahma, belonging to the great soul, existed even then. The man spoken of as Brahma is also Agni, born from his mind. Having seen his own origin before, that great man acted accordingly. He slew his opponent with an arrow in battle, and the dust of Brahma was laid low. O revered one, praised by sages, you ask for this to be recounted in detail. Listen, then, to the words of Sanatkumara: From the unmanifest, Brahma created the primordial egg, and from it, all was born. The self-born one, after performing great austerity for a hundred divine years, brought forth Agni through the union of hearing and mind. With his own hands, Brahma then placed Agni above the earth, thus establishing the divine order.