With deep devotion, he performed worship, offering divine substances and fragrant incense with reverence. He observed a strict fast and kept vigil through the night, his mind unwaveringly focused on the sacred. At dawn, he approached the holy place and, radiant with auspiciousness, began to dance before me in joy and surrender. But as he moved in his worshipful dance, a Brahma-rākṣasa suddenly seized him by the feet. Gripping him tightly, the rākṣasa addressed the earth in a booming voice, declaring, “I am a rākṣasa, O best of merchants, dwelling in this forest.” Unshaken, Sudhana replied, “Will you devour my body, which has been nourished with delicious food? O rākṣasa, I only wish to keep vigil for the Lord of gods. Let me complete my vigil tonight, and in the morning, in your presence, you may eat my body as you wish. I beseech you, do not break my vow, for it is dedicated to Nārāyaṇa.” The Brahma-rākṣasa, tormented by hunger, doubted his words and said, “You speak falsely, good man. How will you return to me again?” Sudhana answered with resolve, “The sages who have mastered the Vedas attain success through truth. It is by truth that a human is defined by the inner self. After keeping vigil, one may dance as one pleases. Through truth, a maiden is given in marriage; Brahmins speak truthfully. They seek heaven through truth, and liberation is attained by truth. Yama takes by truth, and Indra shines by truth. “Whoever approaches another’s wife, driven by lust and delusion, if I do not return to you, I am stained by his sin. Whoever, after giving land as a gift, then commits harm; or who, after enjoying pleasure and sport with a woman, acts wrongly; whoever disrupts the order of those eating together in a single line; whoever, on the new moon after a great protective śrāddha, goes to a woman; whoever transgresses on sacred days such as the eighth, the new moon, or the fourteenth day; whoever approaches a teacher, brother, son, friend, or maternal uncle with impure intent—if I do not come again, their sin becomes mine. By their sin I am stained if I do not return. By that sin, I am tainted if I do not come again.” Hearing these truthful words, the Brahma-rākṣasa was pleased and said, “If I do not return again, may I take the path that leads to liberation.” With sweet words, he released Sudhana, saying, “Go quickly. Salutations to you.” Freed, my devotee stood before me once more and danced with renewed joy, again and again proclaiming, “Salutations to Nārāyaṇa!” Having beheld me in my divine form, he journeyed to the city of Mathura. O Devi, I asked him, “Where are you hastening to?” He replied, “I am going quickly to the presence of the Brahma-rākṣasa.” He said, “While alive, one gains the greatness of dharma; after death, how can there be dharma or fame? O highly fortunate one, I have come after dancing as I pleased.