Śrī Varāha narrated: There was once a great king named Vasu, deeply learned in all dharma, who ruled his kingdom with wisdom and justice. Desiring the highest good, he performed many grand sacrifices, giving generously and delighting his subjects. Yet, beyond these worldly duties, King Vasu saw the Supreme Lord Hari Nārāyaṇa as non-different from himself, and so he worshipped the Lord of the gods through devoted rituals and offerings. As time passed and the king enjoyed the pleasures of sovereignty, his mind gradually transcended all sense of duality. When he felt his worldly duties fulfilled, he installed his most excellent son, Vivasvat—foremost among a hundred brothers—upon the throne. Then, renouncing royal life, Vasu departed for the forest of ascetics to seek a higher truth. He journeyed to Puṣkara, a sacred tirtha renowned among holy places, where Keśava, the lotus-eyed Puṇḍarīkākṣa, is worshipped by the devoted. There, in that sanctified place, King Vasu of Kāśmīra undertook severe austerities, until his body grew thin through penance. Filled with devotion, he recited the supreme hymn to Puṇḍarīkākṣa, seeking to please the sinless Lord Nārāyaṇa. Through the power of this hymn and his unwavering devotion, King Vasu, the best of monarchs, attained union with the Lord. Hearing this, Earth herself asked, “O Lord, what is the supreme hymn to Puṇḍarīkākṣa? How is it remembered? Please reveal it to me in truth.” Śrī Varāha replied: “Salutations to you, O Puṇḍarīkākṣa! Salutations to you, O Madhusūdana! Salutations to you, Lord of all worlds, wielder of the fierce discus! I bow to you, mighty-armed, universal form, bestower of boons and all-pervading brilliance, the Lord who is both knowledge and ignorance. I bow to Madhusūdana, the primeval God, the great Lord, master of the Vedas and their limbs, profound, and Lord of all gods. I honor the lotus-eyed one, the universal form, the great form, the embodiment of knowledge, the triple-formed, the protector of all gods. I bow to the Supreme Lord, the thousand-headed God, thousand-eyed, mighty-armed, who pervades the entire universe. I bow to Viṣṇu, the eternal, victorious God, the refuge and protector, whose form resembles a dark raincloud, who bears the discus. I bow to Hari, pure, all-pervading, eternal, of the form of space, ancient, free from existence and non-existence. O Acyuta, I see nothing apart from you; I see all this, moving and unmoving, as pervaded by you.” As King Vasu spoke these words, a fearsome figure suddenly emerged from his own body—a being dark as a raincloud, fierce and terrifying, with red eyes, a short stature, and a burnt-pillar-like luster. With joined palms, the apparition said, “O king, what shall I do?” The king, astonished, asked, “Who are you? Why have you come? What is your purpose here? Tell me truly, O hunter, for I wish to know.” The hunter replied, “O king, in a previous age, during the Kali Yuga, you were a king in the southern region, born of perfect righteousness, illustrious and wise, dwelling in Janasthāna. Once, surrounded by horses, you entered the forest to hunt wild beasts. There, compelled by another desire, you struck down a sage disguised as a deer with your staff from afar, causing him to fall to the ground. Mistaking him for a deer, you rejoiced, thinking, ‘Hari has killed this deer,’ and returned home, but your senses and mind were disturbed. You spoke of it to another, and in the days that followed, you grew fearful of the sin of Brahmin-killing. At night you pondered, ‘What should I do for atonement, so that I may be freed from this sin?’” “Later, you meditated upon Lord Nārāyaṇa and observed a fast on the pure day of Dvādaśī. On an auspicious day, declaring, ‘Nārāyaṇa is well-pleased with me,’ you gave a cow in charity according to rite. Yet, the one who had died suffered pain in his belly. The reason your Dvādaśī vow was not fully observed was due to your virtuous wife, Nārāyaṇī, whose choked breath at the time affected the rite. Because of this, O king, you were born for one kalpa in Viṣṇu’s city.” “I, dwelling within your body, knew all this without end, and was tormented by the terrible affliction of Brahminicide. Viṣṇu’s attendants struck me with clubs and destroyed me, yet from your hair follicles, O king, I remained by my own power, even as you ascended to heaven. When Brahmā’s day ended and night began, and now at the dawn of this creation, you were born again in the house of King Sumanas, and I too was born from your hair as the ruler of Kāśmīra.” “You performed many sacrifices with abundant gifts, but I was not overcome by them, for they lacked remembrance of Viṣṇu. Now, by the power of the hymn to the lotus-eyed Lord that you recited, I have abandoned my hairs, become one again, and was reborn in the form of a hunter. Having heard the hymn to the Blessed Lord, I, who was once embodied as sin, am now freed; a mind intent on righteousness now abides in me.” Hearing these words, King Vasu was filled with wonder. He granted a boon to the hunter, saying, “Hunter, just as you have reminded me of my past birth, so, by my grace, you shall become a righteous hunter.” Whoever hears this sacred account of the lotus-eyed Lord, especially during a pilgrimage to Puṣkara, shall obtain the merit of bathing there according to the prescribed rite. Thus, having spoken, the king ascended an excellent celestial chariot and, by supreme power, attained union with the bearer of all.