In days of old, Nārāyaṇa imparted sacred wisdom to the Earth. He explained that the images of all deities are to be worshipped by people of every caste, for the divine is accessible to all. Yet, O Earth, he cautioned that shalagram stones, revered as embodiments of Vishnu, should not be touched by those of inferior caste. If, out of ignorance or delusion, a Shudra or a woman happens to touch a shalagram stone, the Lord assured, if devotion is present in their heart, then even women and those of lower birth may attain purification. By drinking the water that has washed the feet of the shalagram, all sins are destroyed, and through association with this sacred stone, purification always occurs. Nārāyaṇa continued: “Hear from me the merit that arises when the shalagram stone is accompanied by gold. When the vast ocean itself is gifted to a worthy recipient, the fruit of such worship is so immense that it cannot be described even in a hundred years. O Earth, I have revealed to you this secret concerning the installation of images and the procedures at the beginning of worship. What else do you wish to hear?” Thus concluded the one hundred and eighty-sixth chapter, named ‘The Number and Details of Installing Silver, Gold, and Other Liṅgas,’ in the ancient and divine scripture of the Śrī Varāha Purāṇa. Then, having heard these words from Nārāyaṇa, the Earth, steadfast in her vow, addressed him. She said, “There is one supreme secret I wish to know, and you alone are worthy to reveal it to me. What is the greatness of the ancestral sacrifice, O king Somadatta? What is the merit of the ancestral sacrifice, and how exactly is it performed? I desire to hear this in detail; please tell me.” Nārāyaṇa replied, “Well asked, O blessed Earth, is that which you inquire. Yet, you are deluded, O beautiful one, weighed down by burdens. I shall explain to you the origin and determination of the Śrāddha rite. When all was devoid of light, without radiance, and enveloped everywhere in darkness, I alone reclined upon my serpent couch, facing away. Immersed in the sleep woven of illusion, I alternated between wakefulness and slumber. A thousand ages pass by in each cycle, and so have passed. O fair-hipped one, I have upheld you for five hundred days. That which you seek to know, and you yourself, O illustrious Earth, out of wrath, I created the Lord, the destroyer of demons. Thus, we three gods made the earth into a single ocean; all was filled with water, and nothing else could be perceived. I remained beneath the banyan tree, assuming by illusion the form of a child. O beautiful one, I restrain you; you know this, O auspicious Earth. Thereupon, water emerged there by means of illusion. Having entered into meditation for a moment, I spoke these words. Thus addressed by me, O goddess, she took up the water-pot there. From my arms arose the kṣatriyas; from my thighs, the vaiśyas emerged. The Ādityas, Vasus, Rudras, the two Aśvins, and the hosts of Maruts—all these deities, along with the asuras, were born from Brahmā. Sons were born to Diti, the asuras, enemies of the gods. All those twice-born, radiant like the sun, are learned in the scriptures. Nimi, born of the lineage, is renowned as Ātreya. Among them are those who eat dried leaves and water, and those who dwell in water during winter. Thus, the origins of the rites, the castes, and the cosmic order were revealed, as the Earth listened to Nārāyaṇa’s sacred teachings.