The great audience hall was filled with the followers of the kings, their presence as abundant and graceful as swans gliding across a lake adorned with blooming lotuses. In this splendid assembly, Lila sat near the resplendent golden staff by the throne, radiant and poised, as if playfulness itself had taken a seat in the heart of love. With clear vision, Lila beheld all the kings and attendants just as they were, and saw as well the elders, noble ones, friends, servants, well-wishers, relatives, and kin gathered together. Everything appeared exactly as it had before, filling her with supreme joy. As news spread that the king and the people of the kingdom were indeed alive, her beauty shone forth, luminous and serene, like the full moon in the night sky. Moved by these thoughts, Lila resolved, “Let me cheer this sorrowful mind.” With subtle gestures, she instructed the kings, and then rose gracefully from the assembly. She entered the inner palace and made her way to her husband’s side in the inner pavilion. There, within the chamber of Puṣpagupta, she began to reflect deeply. She marveled, “Ah, how wondrous is this illusion! The people of our city appear both outside and within the mirror of consciousness, existing simultaneously here and there. These mountains—palmyra, tamāla, and hintāla—are adorned here just as they are there. Truly, this illusion is spread out in both places. Just as a mountain is seen both outside and within a mirror, so too is creation experienced both outside and within the mirror of consciousness.” Her heart brimming with doubt and wonder, Lila pondered, “Here, which creation is illusory and which is real?” Seeking clarity, she resolved to ask the goddess of speech about this supreme doubt, after worshipping her with devotion. Having made up her mind, Lila worshipped the goddess at that very moment. The goddess appeared before her in the form of a radiant maiden. Seated in an auspicious posture before the divine presence, Lila, firmly established on earth, addressed the supreme power of ultimate reality. “O goddess,” she began, “the noble do not become agitated for the sake of one who is to be shown compassion. It is said that in the beginning of creation, you alone established this ancient order. Therefore, O supreme goddess, I humbly ask you about this matter from before; please tell me—surely, by your grace, my request will bear fruit. “There exists a mirror of the world’s name, even purer than the sky, whose expanse is countless crores of yojanas. It is seamless, solid, soft, smooth, and cool; known as ‘insentient-conscious,’ unbroken and without grasping. In it are reflected all those who have transcended the limits of direction, time, calculation, space, illumination, and destiny. “O mother, the glory of the reflection of the three worlds exists both outside and within there; what could be artificial in that, and what could be natural? O beautiful one, tell me truly: what is the nature of the uncontrived creation, and what is the nature of the contrived? Explain this to me as it truly is. “Just as I stand here, and you, O goddess Ambika, are present, so too is that uncontrived creation, O queen of the gods—this I know. But where now my husband abides—that creation is contrived, I think, for it is empty, lacking space, time, and other such factors. A contrived creation never arises from the uncontrived; for an effect never emerges from a cause that is dissimilar. “Indeed, O Ambika, we see that an effect is distinctly different from its cause: water cannot be drawn from clay, yet a pot, which arises from clay, serves as its vessel. Whatever effect comes into being does so with the help of cooperating causes; yet, in that, some peculiarity of the primary cause is always observed. But in the creation of your husband, O lovely-faced one, there is no cause such as earth and the like; the earth there did not arise from the terrestrial globe. “Consciousness has departed from here, soaring away—so how could this earth exist here? What cooperating causes, what cause at all, is present in this creation? Even when causes are absent, that which arises from auxiliaries is nothing other than the effect of prior causes, as is experienced by all. “That memory, O Devi, belonging to my husband, has thus become manifest; and I know the cause of memory—this creation is its certainty. Memory is of the nature of space; just as that arises, so too for you. The creation of the husband has indeed been experienced, and it is like space in its power. “The creation, made of memory and space, as spoken of by my husband, I likewise consider this creation here as an illustration. Thus, this unreal creation of your husband shines brilliantly; in the same way, this here appears—I see this, O child. Just as from the formless creation of the husband, another creation arises, consisting of delusion, so too does this; tell me, for the removal of the wall of the world. “Previously, memory was merely of the nature of delusion, and thus this creation arose; it appears as a dream-delusion, so it is said—listen. There is, somewhere in the space of consciousness, a pavilion of worldly existence, having the form of covering and uncovering, like the leaves of the sky-born lotus. “In that space, he is like a statue supporting Mount Meru, a city-lord, a splendid salabhanjika, one of the fourteen guardians, a king of the Trigarta region, and a lamp illuminating the sun. He is like a mountain stone covered by an anthill at the corner, a dwelling place for many sons, elders, rulers, and brahmins. He is like a treasury filled with constellations, dark at the uppermost sky, a buzzing swarm of perfected beings dwelling in the heavens, and the humming of mosquitoes. “He is like a corner enveloped by the dense smoke of cloud-mansions, an aerial insect settled on the great bamboo of the wind’s path. He is filled with the playful chatter of gods, demons, and other children, and crowded with the vessels and implements of cities, towns, and worlds. The earth there is washed by the streams of rivers, ocean waves, and lakes, and its cavities shine with the enjoyments of the underworld, earth, and heaven.” Thus, Lila expressed her wonder and inquiries, seeking to pierce the veils of creation and illusion, her heart open before the goddess, yearning for the truth that lies beyond the world’s manifold reflections.