“O best among knowers of Brahman,” the seeker implored, “I wish to hear further from you. Please tell me the most sacred story, the one that removes sin from the earth. It is said that by merely hearing it, a person becomes freed from all curses. Was it not by this story that those who were burned by Janamejaya were liberated through the grace of Āstika?” The sage nodded, recalling the events of Janamejaya’s great serpent sacrifice, performed in the presence of the king of gods. It was then, seeking the continued existence and residence of their ancestors, that the wise turned their attention to the beautiful Mahākāla forest, to the place known as Kuśasthalī. On the southern side of this sacred forest lies an ancient and renowned holy site. There, the eternal Brahman Himself rests, having entered deep yogic sleep. Within this hallowed ground stands the radiant sage Lomaśa, whose brilliance is unmatched. Such is the might of Mahākāla in this place that the inexorable wheel of time does not operate there. Even Hariścandra, though born in a despised outcaste lineage, was freed from bondage at this site. For this reason, all seekers are encouraged to always seek rest there. When the sage Āstika spoke these words, the great nāgas—Elāpatra, Kambala, Karkoṭaka, Dhanaṃjaya, Padmaka, and Arbuda—listened. From their presence arose delightful and supreme holy places, famed for bestowing great merit and removing even the gravest of sins. These sacred sites are always graced by hosts of apsarases and noble souls. There, Lord Viṣṇu, the lotus-eyed, reclines upon the mighty serpent Śeṣa. This land is famed as Śvetadvīpa, the radiant island adorned with shining jewels. Its waters and groves are home to swans, cranes, crows, cuckoos, and sarasa birds. The air is filled with the fragrance of blue lotuses, and it is known as the great lotus treasure. Celestial maidens—beautifully adorned apsarases—play and rejoice there. It is said that one who bathes in these waters attains the splendid abode of Vaikuntha. Among these sacred places is Ramāsara, supremely beautiful and revered. Thus, O Vyāsa, this is the supreme tīrtha, the highest remover of all sins. Here, one should perform bathing and other sacred rites, for Hari Himself is present. Even those who give but a small measure of land here are blessed with inexhaustible increase and eternal worlds. It is prescribed that one should worship the Nagas and perform Śrāddha at the new moon at this site. Thus ends the sixty-fifth chapter, entitled ‘The Description of the Glory of the Nāga Tīrtha,’ in the section on pilgrimage to holy places, in the Avanti Khanda of the eighty-one-thousand-verse Śrī Skanda Mahāpurāṇa. Now hear further: that sacred place, belonging to the great soul Narasimha, destroys all sins. By merely seeing it, one overcomes all impurities. In ancient times, when the earth was seized by the wicked, she took the form of a cow and, her face streaming with tears, sought refuge with Brahma among the gods. Brahma spoke gentle words to relieve her distress, assuring her with truth appropriate to the place and time. He performed worship of the Gayatri with a well-disciplined mind. In that sacred domain, neither by day nor by night, neither in the sky nor on earth, could the wicked prevail, for the divine presence and power of the holy site were supreme.