O Mādhavi, listen attentively as the sacred narrative unfolds. Whoever performs atonement in the manner prescribed—if, clad in another’s garment and not a washed one, they attempt my rites or touch me in such a state—then, O Earth, that person is born with a defective limb for one birth. Yet, O fair-hipped one, I will reveal a powerful atonement for such a transgression. Let him observe a fast, abstaining from eight meals, and dedicate himself to my worship. Then, he should go to a body of water, remaining there calm, self-restrained, and committed to his vows. When the night has passed and the sun has risen, whoever completes atonement in this way—if, while devoted to my rites, he neglects to prepare new rice—his ancestors are deprived of sustenance for fifteen years. For such a one, righteousness is absent; this is certain and without doubt. O highly fortunate one, the atonement brings happiness to my devotees. By lying on the ground under the open sky, purification is attained on the fourth day. Drinking the five products of the cow swiftly frees one from sin. By abandoning all attachments, the devotee reaches my world. Otherwise, he becomes a corpse on earth, a demon—there is no doubt. He remains here, O noble one; so it is, without question. Now, I declare the atonement by which one is freed from sin. After fasting for eight meals, on the tenth or eleventh day, and drinking the five products of the cow, sin is quickly removed. All the ancestors indeed overcome those obstacles. Yet, a leatherworker is born for thirteen years, and having fallen from the state of a boar, he becomes a despised dog. But my devotee, humble and free from offenses, who performs work on the earth according to this procedure—if he awakens me without sounding the drum—for him, O lovely-hipped one, I will declare my favored atonement. On the twelfth day of the bright fortnight of any month, whoever works on the earth in this manner—having eaten much food and overwhelmed by indigestion—becomes both a dog and a monkey in one birth. In another birth, he becomes blind; in the next, he is born as a mouse. Yet, the one who is pure, a foremost devotee of the Lord, and free from transgressions—by this means, a person devoted to my worship is freed from sin and other faults. For three days, let him subsist on milk, and for three days likewise on flour cakes. Rising at the end of night and brushing the teeth, whoever performs atonement in this manner partakes in the greatest of stories and the highest of austerities. This is the dharma and fame of those of great conduct.