In the depths of the forest, a troubled king approached a great sage and confessed, “O revered one, the terrible sin of killing a Brahmin has fallen upon me.” Overwhelmed by sorrow and wracked with grief, the king wept bitterly, his heart heavy with affliction. The sage, moved by compassion, sought to comfort him. “Do not fear, O king,” he assured, “I shall remove your sin. Uplifted by the god of gods, Viṣṇu himself, who once assumed the form of a boar, Janārdana will surely deliver you from this burden.” Yet, stung by despair and confusion, the king retorted harshly, “What is the use of this twice-born, who is powerless and wicked?” In his anguish, he struck the sage with his sword. Thus, bewildered by a multitude of sins and trapped by delusion, hunger, and thirst, the king wandered deeper into the dense forest. His mind clouded by childishness and recklessness, he roamed, burdened by the weight of accumulated wrongdoings, through a jungle teeming with tigers, lions, elephants, deer, and antelope. Meanwhile, hunters who witnessed these events hurried to inform their master. At that very moment, from the king’s body—adorned with white ornaments—a goddess manifested. She destroyed the bandits who threatened him and then vanished on the spot. Released by her intervention, the king awoke at once, as if from a dark dream. Alone in the wilderness, he pondered deeply on the dreadful consequences of killing cows and Brahmins, sighing repeatedly in anguish. It was in this tormented state that the sage Vāmadeva came upon him. Though born of the illustrious lunar dynasty, the king had fallen into a pitiable condition. Moved by compassion, Vāmadeva resolved, “I shall rescue this king, the foremost among men.” He addressed the suffering ruler, “O Vīradhanvan, lord of the earth and renowned king! In a previous birth, you were a hunter who killed deer in the forest. On the auspicious Ekādaśī of the bright half of the month of Phālguna, you once beheld with wonder the worship performed by others. Because of the merit earned on that sacred day, you were reborn as a mighty and valiant king. It was by the power of that goddess alone that all your enemies were destroyed, and auspiciousness came to you.” The sage continued, “Through the strength of my asceticism and yoga, I have understood your plight. Now, listen as I protect you with my supreme words.” The king, still troubled, asked, “How can the sins of killing cows and Brahmins be cleansed from me?” Hearing this, the great sage Vāmadeva instructed, “Go to the great Kāla forest, O king, as I command. There, the destroyer of countless sins, praised in all the Vedas, resides.” Obediently, the king journeyed to the Kāla forest. There, he beheld the lord with matted locks, Śiva, the god of gods, worshipped by all the world. Filled with devotion, the king offered his salutations again and again: “Salutations always to Śiva, the universal form; salutations to the one with matted hair, to Rāma, to the doer whose actions are veiled by Māyā; salutations to the enjoyer, to the smoky one, to the one whose essence is the sky; salutations to the great darkness-sun, to the destroyer of enemies, to the golden-hued one, and to the bewilderer of the bewildered; salutations to the beautiful one worshipped by the gods, to the deformed one, and to the one beyond all nature.” Thus, with sincere reverence and repentance, the king sought forgiveness and liberation from his sins.