By the power described, all things in the three worlds—whether they move or are still—come under his sway. Jewels, horses, cows, and both male and female servants become his possessions. Having revealed this, Śrī Varāha declared, “I have now told you in full the greatness of Rudra.” He spoke further of the divine forms: there are ninety million manifestations of Cāmuṇḍā established throughout creation, and one hundred and eighty million forms of Vaiṣṇavī are said to exist. Among them is she who is established in sattva, embodying both Brahman and Śakti, infinite and boundless. The Lord himself is all—Rudra, the all-pervading master of everything. Thus concludes the ninety-sixth chapter, known as “The Secret of the Three Powers,” in the Triśakti Māhātmya of the Śrī Varāha Purāṇa. Śrī Varāha continued: “By knowing these truths, one is freed from all sins—there can be no doubt. Listen, O beautiful-faced one, to what happened when Rudra was first created by Brahmā. When Rudra came forth, Brahmā, filled with curiosity, lifted him onto his shoulder. At the moment of his birth, Rudra’s fifth head began to speak, uttering the names Kapālin, Rudra, Babhru, Bhava, Kairāta, and Suvrata—names by which Rudra would be known in times to come. Then, with the nail of his left thumb, Rudra—the wise one—struck the prājāpatya head, severing it. The three-eyed deity stood there, holding the head. Troubled, Rudra asked, ‘How will this sin of mine be destroyed? Tell me, O virtuous one.’ Brahmā replied, ‘By performing the proper observance, with discipline and your own power, you will be freed.’ Thus instructed by Brahmā of the unmanifest form, Rudra stood firm. There, Mahādeva split the severed head into three parts. He fashioned a sacred thread from his hair and rosary beads from the great bones. Another piece of the head he placed in his matted locks. Rudra then began a journey of purification, bathing in the holy fords across the blessed land of the seven continents. He traveled to the Sarasvatī, then to the confluence with the Yamunā, and on to the rivers Vitastā, Candrabhāgā, Gomatī, and the Sindhu. His pilgrimage led him to Nepāla, then to the great shrine of Rudra, onward to Maheśvara, and finally to the sacred city of Gayā. In this way, O bearer of beings, Rudra swiftly traversed the entire universe. During this wandering, Rudra wore only a loincloth, living as a naked, skull-bearing ascetic. When even that garment fell away, he remained unclothed, still holding the skull. For two more years, Hara wandered from one sacred ford to another, trying to cast off the skull, but it would not leave his hand. Again, for another two years, he journeyed throughout the universe, seeking purification at the holy fords, but the skull remained with him. He spent a further year on the Himālaya mountain, and then, for yet another two years, the supreme lord Vṛṣākapi wandered on. At last, after many years, in the twelfth year, while on the mountain, the lord of gods bathed in the sacred waters of the Gaṅgā. It was then that the place where he bathed became known as Kapālamocana—the holy place where the skull was finally released. Afterward, Rudra visited the sacred site of Hari and Hara, bathing at the divine ford, and then bowed at the place called Trijaleśvara, completing his long journey of penance and purification.