Those who surrender their lives at Mahākāla, fasting unto death, find a destiny unlike any other. The followers of Sāṃkhya, having praised Rudra and freed themselves from all suffering, and even the Śūdras who end their lives by fasting in the sacred Mahākāla forest, are granted a wondrous ascent. They rise in brilliant chariots yoked with lions, shining with the radiance of the sun. These chariots are adorned in many colors, lavish with gold, and fragrant with delightful scents. They are endowed with incomparable and captivating qualities, accompanied by the sweet songs and music of apsarases. Banners and flags flutter from them, and the air rings with the melodious sound of countless bells. In Rudra’s world, all steadfast men who have died through fasting are reborn among mortals as men of wealth, nobility, and prosperity, finding their place in the families of Brāhmaṇas. But the man who prepares cow dung within the Mahākāla forest enjoys an even greater reward: he dwells in Rudra’s world until the end of the kalpa. There, he delights in immense pleasures, and afterward, he is born on earth as a king. Those devoted to their own duty, who have conquered anger and mastered their senses, surely reach Rudra’s world—of this there is no doubt. Even if they have not dwelt in the sacred field or strictly observed its rites, even the mute, the dull, the blind, the deaf, and those lacking in austerity and discipline, when they die by the force of time, O Vyāsa, they too attain Rudra’s world. There, they receive bodies of divine form and enjoy all pleasures. Once, Kālī and the goddess Pārvatī were reviled, and thus a quarrel arose between Śiva and Gaurī. In the beginning, to resolve this discord, a pit was created and named the Destroyer of Quarrels. Whoever bathes at this sacred site and worships the great Lord, even offering a mere fragment of sandalwood, receives great merit. Likewise, whoever donates land at that place—be it a single cow, a single wish, or even a finger’s breadth of earth—a cow, a horse, sesame seeds, cloth, a vessel, or a copper milking pot—to the Brahmins, their worlds become inexhaustible. There, the goddess who removes the sins of all worlds resides. Whoever bathes at this site and reverently beholds the backs of the mothers, and then continues along the path, is blessed. Whether one is in their own land or another, on mountains or in forests, in times of affliction caused by planets or in fear of kings and other dangers, if a Brahmin addresses the goddess, he attains his desired fruit. Bathing before the goddess brings the highest accomplishment. If one bathes before her with a pot filled with fruit, following the prescribed rite, a son is born to him, just as the six-faced god was born. Bathing at this sacred place bestows beauty, good fortune, and prosperity. King Purūravas, descendant of Ila, obtained these blessings. It was he who, at the time of its establishment, received the celestial nymph as his wife. How did Purūravas come to win that heavenly maiden? Tell me everything as it truly happened, for I am eager to know. While Purūravas and the celestial nymph were residing at Badarikāśrama, Indra became fearful. Those whom Maghavat instructed gathered together to create obstacles. Thus, having come to hinder them, at that time the two gods conversed, setting the stage for what was to unfold.