After enduring many torments, the sinner was driven by the enforcers of Yama’s will to yet another hell. There, the servants of Yama struck him with heavy mallets and bound him tightly with chains, subjecting him to relentless suffering. Thus, he passed through one hell after another, each more dreadful than the last. In time, the sinner’s form changed: he grew to immense size, his voice thundered, his belly swelled hugely, and his mouth shrank to the size of a needle’s eye. His state became even more wretched as he took on a demoniac body, condemned to a pitiable existence. The food he found was polluted—defiled with excrement, urine, stale leavings, and putrid remains. His dwelling places were broken wells and ruined tanks, the branches of dry trees, and desolate, waterless spots. Strangely, he found his only comfort in these forlorn places, wandering from region to region, seeking solace in misery. Yet, wherever there stood a beautiful liṅga of Maheśvara, or a pure and excellent pond, fate intervened. Once, a water-seeker, coming upon such a pond, killed that sinner in his demoniac form. By the merit of that sacred act—bathing in the holy pond—all the sinner’s accumulated sins were destroyed. Freed from his dreadful body, he was transformed: he entered the liṅga as a being of light. Thus, from that time onward, the presiding deity there became known as Piśācamocaneśa, the Lord who liberates from demonic existence. O Vyāsa, it is said that until one comes to the tīrtha of the Śiprā at Piśācamocana and worships the god Piśācamocana with proper rites, one remains bound. But those who worship there and perform great acts of charity at Piśācamocana are freed from sin. This is the sacred story of release from piśāca—demonic bondage—a tale that destroys all sin. O Brahman, you asked when the Nīla Gaṅgā joined with the waters of the Śiprā lake. Hear now: one who bathes in the Nīla Gaṅgā and worships Saṃgameśvara there is never affected by the faults that come from bad association. The Nīla Gaṅgā herself, wrapped in blue and deeply afflicted with the desire for purity, went forth to purify the three worlds. But by wicked conduct and offense, she was brought to her present state, her blue hue a mark of her sorrow and impurity, and she turned away from the path of dharma. She lamented, “All that remains in me is impurity, as in all embodied beings. Since they have abandoned me here, all beings become pure, but for me, O Dhātṛ, the greatest suffering and impurity has arisen. Where can I go, what shall I do to find peace? By what means can I, whose body is smeared with sin, regain my true nature?” In her distress, she was guided: “In the delightful Mahākālavana stands Amarāvatī, a wondrous city. There, on earth, flows the Śiprā, best of rivers, purifying to all. Go there at once, O highly fortunate one, for your own purification.” Recognizing this guidance, the Nīla Gaṅgā journeyed to the auspicious Mahākālavana. In the northern part of the Vindhya mountains, she found the excellent hermitage of Añjanā, cherished by devoted wives and ascetic husbands alike. The hermitage was enchanting, with lakes blooming with lotuses and the air alive with the songs of intoxicated bees. It was pure, meritorious, and destroyed sin. There, the Nīla Gaṅgā was immediately transformed. She became clad in pure white garments; all her sins and impurities vanished, and she became auspicious once more. In that very place, she established an ashram, bringing great joy to all who came there. Thus, O Vyāsa, the holy place called Nīlaganga became renowned as a tirtha that destroys all sin.