Following the prescribed rites, the fourth and fifth offerings were fashioned using roots from the northern regions, just as before. These rites were dedicated to Kuja, Lohitāṅga, and the one who dwells among the planets—Mars, the Bhauma. This deity, born from the forehead of Shiva and from the womb of the earth, was honored. Mars, O god, shone with a fiery, coal-like hue, his radiance likened to smooth coral. His birth took place in Avanti, brought forth upon the earth by Shiva himself. Thus, on the fourth day, the worship of Bhauma, Mars, was completed, O best of sages. It was declared that one who dies at this time attains heaven, remaining there for as long as fourteen Indras reign. Then, from the fierce goddess Cāmuṇḍā, blood appeared, and her face glowed with a brilliant, terrifying light. She was black as the end of time, her teeth and lips fierce and formidable. Her voice thundered, swelling with wild cries, and her face was enraged as she placed the tip of a skull upon her mouth. As she drank, the lord of the demons became emaciated, his body rendered powerless and blind. Overcome by intense fear, the demon sought only to save his life. With hands joined in reverence, his body bristling with hair, he praised the lord of the gods, the master and cause of all worlds. He extolled Shiva, adorned with the crescent moon, the source of worldly existence and the refuge at the end of time. He sought sanctuary in Śaṃkara, whom yogis—free from delusion and darkness, their minds unwavering and desires renounced—attain. He praised Shiva, who always bears the pure crescent moon, its rays shining, bound upon his head with the celestial river Gaṅgā. Shiva’s lotus feet are served by Siddhas and Cāraṇas, and he bears Gaṅgā, wild with waves, as she descends from the sky. When Rāvaṇa shook the peak of Mount Kailāsa, his ten heads like the summit itself, Shiva stood unshaken. He destroyed the eye at Daksha’s sacrifice, and likewise the eyes of Bhaga and Pūṣan, shattering Pūṣan’s row of teeth. Again and again, Shiva subdued the sons of Diti and Danu, and the hosts of Vidyādharas and serpents, granting complete boons. Even those engaged in worldly matters, if endowed with knowledge and sacred virtues, are united with him. The blessed Maheśa granted many boons to Brahma, Indra, Vishnu, the Maruts, and the six-faced ones. He was worshipped through austerity in the groves of Himavat, with smoky vows and asceticism, inaccessible to others. For the sake of divine play, the blessed Lord created the seven worlds, adorned with rivers, birds, and trees. With the nail of the lotus at the tip of his left hand, he forcefully pierced the fifth opening. Those deluded men who do not know him as the supreme teacher fail to understand the true nature of this world, with its moving and unmoving beings. He who recites this praise, pure in action, or who listens constantly with devotion to Shiva, is blessed. When a full hundred years had passed, Śaṃkara, pleased, spoke: “Son, I am satisfied; may you be blessed. You are now born pure. Whatever fruit you desire, whether by mind or otherwise, is known to me; I do not wish for even the slightest thing.” The demon replied, “If you are pleased, Lord of gods, grant me lordship over the Gaṇas.” Shiva declared, “You shall become chief of the Gaṇas, honored by all worlds. You will possess any form you wish, be a great yogi, of great resolve and strength.” Having received this boon, Andhaka became leader of the great gods and vanished from that place. When Andhaka departed, the goddesses, beginning with Brahmāṇī, assembled together, marking the next chapter of divine events.