The sage addressed Satyatapas with gentle authority, saying, “O noble one, today your former body—once sustained without food—has departed. Now, your body is forged from austerity, distinct and transformed; there is no doubt about this change. Your previous knowledge has been destroyed, and you have become pure and imperishable. Understand that you possess a pure body, while your earlier body stands apart. Because of this, the Vedas and all the scriptures will manifest clearly to you, O sage.” Satyatapas, filled with wonder, asked, “O Lord, you have spoken of two bodies. Please tell me their distinction, O best of knowers of Brahman.” Durvasa replied, “Not two, but three bodies must be spoken of. It is otherwise. For living beings, three bodies serve as the foundation of experience. The first is the state of unrighteousness, devoid of discernment. The second, endowed with vows, is known as supremely righteous. The third, which transcends the senses, exists for the experience of both righteousness and unrighteousness. Wise knowers of Brahman declare this threefold division: suffering, enjoyment of righteousness, and ordinary enjoyment—these are the three kinds. The body that existed before, when the being was a killer, is called sinful; it is known as the sinful body. Now, through auspicious acts, austerity, and sincerity, another body, of the nature of righteousness, has been established for you. With this, 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 surpassed the eightfold group and 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.” Satyatapas inquired further, “O Lord, if knowledge does not arise in the body, then by what means can the Supreme Brahman be realized?” Durvasa explained, “Ritual acts are rooted in knowledge, and knowledge likewise arises from ritual acts; there is no difference between the two, O sage, just as there is none between two stones. Ritual acts are described as fourfold among Brahmins and others; of these, three regularly perform Vedic rites, while the fourth serves the three—this is the action prescribed by the Veda. By steadfastly following these duties, devotion to Brahman becomes pleasing; surely, liberation comes to one devoted to the teachings of the Veda.” Satyatapas pressed on, “O great sage, this Supreme Brahman you have described—even great yogis do not know its form. It is without name, without lineage, formless and beyond form. How can Brahman, which is beyond all designations, be known? Tell me its designation as established in the Vedic path.” Durvasa responded, “That Supreme Brahman, spoken of in the Vedas and Purāṇas, is the god with lotus eyes—Narayana himself, the Supreme. He, the Supreme Lord Narayana, Hari, is attained through various sacrifices, offerings, and gifts, O best of men.” Yet Satyatapas was troubled, “O Lord, sometimes sacrifices are performed with great wealth by priests learned in the Vedas and by the virtuous; yet even then, Hari is attained only with difficulty. Without wealth, it is not possible to give gifts, O Brahmin; and even when wealth is present, those attached to their families do not have the inclination. How, then, can such a person attain liberation? Hari is indeed difficult to attain in every way. By what means may the eternal God be attained with little effort? Tell me, in general, what is suitable for all classes.” Durvasa offered a supreme secret, “I will tell you a mystery created by the gods, which was performed by the Earth when she was sinking into the netherworld. The earthly nature of the earth was not excessive in the waters; when she was submerged, she went to the netherworld. That auspicious goddess, the supporter of beings, having gone to the netherworld, worshipped the Supreme Lord Narayana with fasting, vows, and various disciplines. After a long time, the Lord with the Garuda banner, pleased with her devotion, lifted her up and established her in her place; that imperishable one did so.” Satyatapas was eager to know more, “O great sage, what was the fast observed by the Earth? What were the vows? You ought to tell me this.” Durvasa described the sacred observance: “When, in the month of Margashirsha, on the tenth day, a self-controlled person, having worshipped the gods and performed the fire ritual as prescribed—wearing clean clothes, with a serene mind, having eaten well-prepared sacrificial food, and after walking five steps, one should again wash the feet. Taking a stick about eight finger-breadths long, made from a milk-bearing tree, one should use it as a tooth-cleaner, then carefully perform ācamana, the ritual sipping of water. After touching all the doors and meditating for a long time on Janārdana, who holds the conch, discus, and mace, who wears a crown and yellow garments—meditating on the Lord with a gracious face, marked by all auspicious signs—one should again take water in hand, contemplating Janārdana, the sun-like one. Having meditated, a person should offer arghya, a water offering, with his hand, and at that time, O great sage, recite these words: ‘On the day of Ekādaśī, I will remain without food and on the following day I shall eat, O lotus-eyed one. O Acyuta, be my refuge.’ Having spoken thus, then at night, in the presence of the Lord of gods, one should sleep there according to the rule, reciting ‘Nārāyaṇāya’—obeisance to Nārāyaṇa. Then, in the pure morning, going to a river that flows to the ocean, or to another pond, or at home, with a controlled mind, one should bring pure clay, reciting this mantra: ‘O goddess, from you comes the support and nourishment of beings always; by that truth, O virtuous one, free me from sin.’ ‘O god, the sacred places within the cosmic egg have been touched by your hands; by touching this clay, may I not obtain what you have declared.’ ‘In you, O Varuṇa, all waters always abide; by that, make this clay, after washing, pure for me without delay.’ Thus, having purified oneself with clay and water, one should cleanse oneself; after doing this three times, one should draw a circle with the remaining clay in the water. Then, there, following the proper procedure as for a universal monarch, after bathing and performing the necessary rites, one should return again to the temple of the gods.” Thus, Durvasa revealed the sacred path, the secret means by which even those without wealth or status could attain the favor of Hari, the Supreme Lord, through devotion, discipline, and sincere observance.