Having entered a deep meditation for a moment, I gathered my thoughts and spoke these words. Hearing me, O goddess, she took up the water-pot that was there. At that time, the hosts of the Ādityas, Vasus, Rudras, the twin Aśvins, and the Maruts appeared. From the arms arose the kṣatriyas, and from the thighs emerged the vaiśyas. In this way, O goddess, both the deities and the asuras were born from Brahmā. The Ādityas, Vasus, Rudras, the two Aśvins, and the Maruts were present, and to Diti were born sons—the asuras, who became the enemies of the gods. All those twice-born, radiant as the sun, were learned in the sacred scriptures. Among them, Nimi, born of the illustrious lineage, became renowned as Ātreya. There were those who practiced severe austerities: some subsisted only on dried leaves and water, while others dwelled in water even through the harshness of winter. For thousands of years, O Earth, they performed these difficult penances. One day, seeing his lost son, Nimi was overcome with deep sorrow. After experiencing such grief, Nimi performed the appropriate rites at that place, O Mādhavi. Having purified himself in every way, on the twelfth day of the month of Māgha, Nimi, with a concentrated mind, contemplated the proper śrāddha rites for his departed son. He gathered all manner of foods and the nine kinds derived from juice. After respectfully addressing the Brahmin, he became pure and focused. Then, seven times in succession, he sat there, performing the rites. He worshipped the Brahmins seven times as well, O beautiful one. He offered the sacred rice ball to Śrī, carefully reciting the name and lineage of the departed. When the day had passed and the sun had set, O gentle one, Nimi sat alone, with his mind and self restrained, free from hope and possessions. He prepared his seat—not too high nor too low—using cloth, deer skin, and kusa grass. Seated thus, he practiced yoga for the purification of the self. He fixed his gaze at the tip of his nose, not glancing in any direction. Restraining his mind in me, whoever sits thus, united and devoted, attains true union. When twilight had ended, night arrived. Having made the offering with firm resolve, Nimi soon felt remorse. He thought of the ritual, impure and performed for the sake of a son, and questioned himself: "How could the sages, because of the curse, not burn me? What will all those who stand in the place of the ancestors say about me?" When early twilight came and the sun had risen, once again the descendant of Atri, deeply distressed, fell into worry. He lamented: "Fie upon age, fie upon my actions, fie upon strength, and fie upon life." The wise know that the hell called Pūti is suffering in the heart. Yet, after worshipping the gods and giving many gifts, a man achieves merit through his son, and the grandfathers through the grandson. Deprived of a prosperous son, I am unable to endure living, he thought. With this heavy heart, he went to the forest of ascetics, a place adorned by the hermitages of sages. Entering that hermitage, which shone with its own splendor, he sought solace and guidance amidst the holy men.