With a heart full of resolve, the child Kaṃtha declared, “Through severe austerities, I will please Śaṃkara. With devotion to my father, I will destroy Death’s hope of victory.” His words were unwavering as he proclaimed, “I go for refuge to Rudra, the great Lord, the god who is never separated from Umā, to obtain a boon.” Determined, he vowed, “By fierce austerities, I will propitiate the feet of the blue-throated one and soon banish Death.” The assembled sages, hearing the child’s conviction, questioned him in wonder: “Child, how do you know Rudra, the supreme one? Even we do not know the great Lord; how have you, a mere child, come to know him? Where and how have you known Maheśa, the sole master of the worlds?” Their minds intent on the divine, the sages listened as Kaṃtha explained, “As I was playing here, the giver of success, who grants accomplishments, appeared before me. He said, ‘Go, my son, at my command, to the most excellent Mahākālavana. Quickly worship him; you will become long-lived. There is no other god in the worlds—truly, truly, O best of sages.’ I will worship the liṅga; let your sorrow be abandoned here.” All those assembled, including Kaṃtha’s father, were astonished, O goddess. Then, from the center of the liṅga, a voice issued forth, O daughter of the Mountain: “Freed from the bondage of sin, may they live long. O illustrious one, those who, having heard the words of the child, do not speak in the presence of the liṅga, will always be free from old age and death. They will obtain the highest desires and become foremost among the gaṇas.” Having received this rare boon, Kaṃtha approached with joined palms, humbled and grateful. Such a boon is indeed rare in the world, even among gods, demons, and yakṣas. The child then said to Mahādeva, “If another boon is to be granted—” And Parvati, pleased, spoke through the liṅga, “So be it.” By merely seeing it, a person attains long life. Whoever beholds that liṅga, the Lord of Kaṃthaḍeśvara, the Lord, O Gauri, is freed from the bondage of sin and will attain liberation; by uttering my name, he purifies all sins. Those men in the world who do not seek this are unfortunate; their birth is in vain. O goddess, thus have I told you the power that destroys sin. It bestows great accomplishment and destroys even the sin of killing a Brāhmaṇa. Meanwhile, in another tale, Prajāpati Tvaṣṭṛ, whose son was Kuśadhvaja, learned of his son’s death. Overcome with anger, Tvaṣṭṛ, the lord of creatures, cried, “Today, let the three worlds with the gods witness my power!” He sought vengeance upon the one who, intent on his own duty, had struck down his son. From Tvaṣṭṛ’s energy arose Vṛtra, wreathed in a garland of flames, a great demon and the enemy of Indra, of unfathomable nature. Seeing Vṛtra, Indra regarded him as the cause of his own death. At that very moment, Vṛtra, the foremost among the powerful, arrived and initiated a fierce battle. The earth was stained red with the blood of wrath, as bodies and armor shattered and broke. Headless bodies were massed, and the gods’ army assembled. The quarters of the sky were reddened by waves of gushing blood. Vṛtra, having bound Vāsava, went to the world of the gods. When the lord of the gods was bound, Bṛhaspati, wise of mind, prepared to act. Thus did the divine and the mighty clash, and the power of devotion and the grace of the Lord were revealed to all.