O beloved Parvati, listen with reverence to the tale of the soul’s journey, as revealed in the ancient verses. Those who have performed meritorious deeds, whose lives have been filled with virtue and goodness, ultimately attain the supreme state. Freed from the sufferings of birth and its endless cycles, such a person merges into my very being, finding eternal peace. Yet, there are those who neither see nor worship the god Someśvara. Know that Someśvara alone is worthy of worship, for he is the destroyer of leprosy and the foundation of all worlds. Whoever worships Someśvara is liberated, enjoying fearlessness and dwelling long in my realm. Especially when the Someśvara liṅga is adorned with golden flowers, O goddess, its power destroys sin. This truth, I have imparted to you, revealing the sacred potency that cleanses all transgressions. Even by merely seeing Someśvara—whether awake or in a dream—one is spared from the torments of hell. But once, O goddess, in the Kali age, during the era called Vārāha, a different kind of people arose. They were without boundaries, without foundation, without homes, and atheistic. These men and women did not worship the gods, nor did they honor the Brahmins. Instead, they engaged in contemptible deeds, bound by enmity and delighting in mutual slaughter. Brahmins themselves ate anything, abandoning truth for falsehood. In this age, O beloved, men with gray hair could be seen as early as their sixteenth year. Such people, both men and women, were stained with sins. Some were split open with axes, their heads cleaved, and cut apart with saws. Others were pierced with sharp iron spikes, heated by fire, thrown into cauldrons, and burned in heaps of flames. Bound with iron chains, they hung with faces downward, tormented by worms, sharp bees, and the bites of mosquitoes. Some, having been cut, ran about seeking water, tortured by thirst. Those whose limbs had performed wicked actions on earth suffered greatly. If anyone looked upon their teacher, the gods, or Brahmins with angry eyes, their eyes were pierced and torn with iron spikes. Their ears, too, were filled with iron spikes. Those who had listened to slander against their teacher were struck forcefully with iron implements. Hundreds of times, their tongues were split by blades glowing like fire, and their mouths were struck again and again, especially those who had engaged in slander. The wicked who killed for the sake of the gods, and those evil-minded ones who embraced another’s wife, were punished by the fierce servants of Yama. In a house made of iron, upon a bed of blazing fire, they felt as much pain in their bodies as they had caused in the world. Some were devoured by crows, scorpions, and vultures, crying out in distress, yet never finding peace. Their suffering was unbearable, O Parvati. The illustrious Nimi once witnessed the path of Yama. It was fierce, terrifying, difficult to traverse, and filled with those who had committed evil deeds. The air was saturated with the stench of sinners, and the ground was muddy with flesh and blood. Serpents with downward-facing mouths and vultures attacked the travelers. There were trees made of blood and flesh, with severed arms, legs, and hands. The path was filled with the stench of corpses, inauspicious and devoid of pleasures. It was covered with gruel and sand, and scattered with separate iron stones. Such is the consequence of sin, and such is the power of Someśvara’s grace.