After the mighty Hiraṇyakaśipu was slain, the destroyer of enemies turned his attention to Diti, who approached him with a plea. “O Lord, you are my master; grant me a son who will slay Indra,” she requested, longing for vengeance and power. He assured her, “Endowed with purity and good conduct, you will remain for ten tens of years,” promising that through her steadfast observance, she would bear a son destined to be the slayer of enemies—there was no other way. With this promise, after performing the sacred rite of conception, the sage journeyed to Mount Udaya. Arriving at the hermitage, he spoke to Diti, who, compelled by fate and her destined deeds, uttered the name “Bāṇa.” The sage, his mind disciplined and intent on fulfilling the purpose, searched for flaws in the ritual, like a serpent seeking its prey. At the end of a hundred years, the ascetic, having bathed Diti’s head, purified her. She slept peacefully, her feet entwined at the ends of her hair. O Nārada, at that moment, the destined child entered his mother’s womb through her nostril. The sage saw a great child within, lying with his hands placed firmly and his face turned upward. Then, with hands shining like pure crystal, the child seized his mother. Pressing her with his hands, her body became hard. Then, O Nārada, a hundred-jointed thunderbolt, made of flesh, was produced. With it, the child cut her into seven parts, and Diti cried out loudly. The sage heard the voice of his son as he cried. Having spoken thus, he again cut each of the seven parts into seven more. Afraid because of the curse, the sage joined his hands in reverence and spoke to Diti: “It was by your own request that I struck; therefore, you should not be angry with me.” Even when the time was complete, Diti had attained purity. “O beautiful one,” he said, “with the king of the gods, he sent them forth.” Then, O great sage, the blessed Mahendra—Indra, known as the slayer of Vṛtra—split Diti with the thunderbolt. Now, Nārada inquired, “Tell me, by whom did they first exist along the path of the wind? Who were those who dwelt in the path of the wind? Please explain that to me.” The sage replied, “Beginning from the era of Svāyambhuva up to this present Manvantara, there was a son named Savana, honored by the three worlds.” Then his wife, Sudevā, overwhelmed by grief, began to weep. She lamented repeatedly, crying, “Lord, Lord,” as though bereft of a protector. “If your truth is indeed supreme, then let this fire become your companion along with your husband,” she prayed. “I grieve for this king, deprived of his son, not for myself, O bird, who am of little fortune.” “You will ascend the fire swiftly; what has been spoken is true—place your faith in it today,” she was told. Approaching the blazing fire, the devoted wife, contemplating her husband, moved toward the flames. Then, by divine power, she soared into the sky, moving at will, together with the queen, Sunābha’s daughter. For five days, the king remained in the heavens, accompanied by his wife. He enjoyed himself with the slender woman, moving at will, and then his semen fell from the sky. Citrā, Viśālā, and Haritālinī—the wives of the Seven Sages—saw it as they pleased. Thinking it to be nectar, always desiring youth, they coveted it. Having received permission from their husbands, they drank what was in the lotus. By drinking only that semen, which was born of the king, they… Thus unfolded the wondrous events, guided by destiny and divine will, in the ancient times of the sages and the gods.