When the time for alms arrived, the hunter would sustain himself on nothing more than dried leaves. One day, tormented by hunger, he sought shelter beneath the roots of a tree. Driven by his hunger, he reached for a leaf from a nearby tree, intending to eat it. But as he was about to do so, a bodiless voice resounded from the sky: "Do not eat the leaf that is crooked." Heeding this command, the hunter set aside that leaf and picked up another fallen leaf from a different tree. Yet again, the same voice forbade him, declaring that leaf too was not to be eaten. Considering both leaves unfit, the hunter refrained from eating anything at all. Fasting thus, he continued his austerities, his mind unwavering and fixed upon remembrance of his teacher. Time passed, and still he did not tire in his penance. Eventually, after a long interval, the great sage Durvāsas, whose mind was perfectly disciplined, arrived. He found the hunter with only a thread of life remaining, yet blazing with the radiant energy born from his penance, like an offering glowing in the sacred fire. The hunter, weak but filled with devotion, bowed his head to the sage and said, "O Lord, your sight alone fulfills me." He continued, "Now the time for the śrāddha has arrived for me. Please understand this, O great sage. I have only dry leaves to offer, but with these I seek to please you." Durvāsas, perceiving the hunter’s purity, self-control, and steadfast mind, decided to test the strength of his austerity. He said, "Bring me well-prepared food of barley, wheat, and rice, for I have come to you hungry." Hearing these words, the hunter was plunged into deep thought, wondering how he could possibly fulfill such a request. As he pondered in distress, a pure golden vessel—radiant and endowed with auspiciousness—fell from the sky. The hunter picked it up, trembling, and addressed Durvāsas, "O brahmin, please remain here while I go to seek alms. Grant me this favor, O knower of Brahman." So the noble hunter set out, not far from the hermitage, to a prosperous city abundant with wealth and women. As he arrived, the most beautiful women emerged from the trees, each carrying golden vessels. They quickly filled his vessel with a variety of foods. Having accomplished his purpose, the hunter returned to the hermitage and found the sage, the best among those who recite prayers. Placing the alms in a pure spot and his mind at peace, he bowed to Durvāsas and said, "O Lord, let me wash your feet, O foremost of sages. If I am worthy of your grace, please allow me this service." Durvāsas, still wishing to test the hunter’s austerity, replied, "I cannot go to the river, nor do I have a vessel for water." The hunter, hearing this, was again troubled: "How can I quickly wash the sage’s feet, and how will he eat?" Absorbed in thought, he remembered his teacher and sought refuge in the river Devikā. Standing at her banks, the hunter prayed, "I am a hunter, a sinner, a slayer of brahmins, O holy river. Yet, remembering you, O goddess, protect me who has come for refuge. I do not know the deity, nor the mantra, nor the proper worship. I simply meditate upon the feet of my teacher, O auspicious one, and see them always. O best of rivers, have compassion on me. Quickly bring water here for the sage to wash." Hearing his heartfelt plea, the river goddess Devikā, destroyer of sin, flowed directly to the place where the steadfast Durvāsas was staying. She herself washed the sage’s feet, becoming a swift current near the hunter’s hermitage. Witnessing this marvelous wonder, Durvāsas was amazed. After washing his hands and feet, he ate the food with supreme delight, having first sipped water, his wisdom intact and his heart full of devotion. Then, turning to the hunter, who was emaciated and weakened by hunger, Durvāsas spoke: "Let the study of the Vedas, all the Vedas with their branches, the knowledge of Brahman, and the Purāṇas become directly manifest to you." Thus, Durvāsas granted him this boon and declared, "You shall become the sage named Satyatapas, foremost among ascetics." Receiving the boon, the hunter humbly asked, "O Brāhmaṇa, how can I, being a hunter, teach the Vedas?" Durvāsas replied, "Today, O noble one, your former body, which endured without food, has departed. Your new body is made of austerity, distinct and pure—there is no doubt. Your previous knowledge has been destroyed; now you are pure and imperishable. Know that your body is pure, and your former body is separate. Therefore, the Vedas and the scriptures will now appear clearly to you, O sage." Satyatapas then asked, "O Lord, you have spoken of two bodies; tell me their distinction, O best of knowers of Brahman." Durvāsas explained, "Not two, but three bodies must be spoken of; for all living beings, there are three bodies as the basis of experience. The first is called the state of unrighteousness, devoid of discernment. The second, endowed with vows, is supremely righteous. The third, which is beyond the senses, is for the experience of both righteousness and unrighteousness. The wise knowers of Brahman declare this threefold division: suffering, enjoyment of righteousness, and ordinary enjoyment—these are the three kinds. "The state that existed before, when the being was a killer, that body is called sinful; it is known as the sinful body. Now, by performing auspicious acts, austerity, and sincerity, another body, of the nature of righteousness, has been established for you. By that, you are certainly able to know the Vedas and Purāṇas. "When the eightfold group is transformed in a person, then he is said to have three states. Having gone beyond the eightfold group, established in the three, always auspicious, he becomes steady in the self, endowed with firm resolve. "When the five, again and again, abandon the five, and even the five, then, following the single path, a man attains the eternal Brahman." Thus, through steadfast austerity, humility, and devotion to his teacher, the hunter was transformed by the grace of the sage and the river goddess, attaining purity of body and mind, and the direct knowledge of the highest truths.