As the king gazed upon the scene before him, he was filled with wonder and curiosity. He turned to Lila and asked, “Who are you? Who is this other woman? From where has she come?” Lila, with gentle composure, replied, “O lord, listen closely to what I am about to say.” Then, with a loving gaze, she continued, “O Lila, I am your wife, the one who has grown up with you from the very beginning. We have been united inseparably, abiding together as intimately as speech abides with its meaning.” She gestured toward the other woman and explained, “This is your second wife, also named Lila, whom I have lightly acquired for your sake. I will tell you how this came to be.” Then, pointing to the resplendent figure seated at the head of the assembly, on a great golden throne, she declared, “She who sits there is the goddess Sarasvati herself, the auspicious mother of the three worlds.” “It is by the merit we have gathered that she has appeared here directly before us. By her grace, O king, you have been brought here from another world.” Hearing these words, the king, whose eyes shone like lotuses, rose up. He was adorned with flowing garlands and fine garments, and, overwhelmed with reverence, he fell at the feet of the goddess of wisdom. He prayed, “O Sarasvati, I bow to you, benefactress of all worlds. O giver of boons, please grant me wisdom, long life, and prosperity.” Moved by his devotion, Sarasvati gently touched him with her hand and blessed him, saying, “May you be endowed with sons and all that you desire. May all misfortunes and the sight of every evil deed depart from you. May endless joys come to you in fullness. May your people always be cheerful, your nation secure, and prosperity ever shine forth.” With these words, the goddess Sarasvati vanished from their midst. As dawn broke, all the people awoke together with the blooming lotuses. Lila embraced her beloved king in playful affection, and he, restored to life and vigor, embraced her in return. Again and again, the king, revived from death, experienced great joy. The royal palace became filled with people intoxicated by joy and love. The air resounded with the tumult of music and song. There was a deep, reverberating sound of victory, auspiciousness, and blessedness. The palace was crowded with delighted, well-nourished people, surrounded by the royal assembly and its women. Showers of flowers, released by Siddhas and Vidyadharas, cooled the air. The sounds of drums, mridangas, murajas, kahalas, conches, and dundubhis rang out. Great elephants raised their broad trunks high, trumpeting fiercely. The halls echoed with the vigorous tandava dances and the clapping of women’s hands. There was happy commotion as people met and exchanged various gifts, and the beauty of garlands and flower-crowns adorned all. Ministers, vassals, and citizens tossed torn linen into the sky, making it look like a field of lotuses, reddened by groups of dancers. The air was filled with the swaying earrings of intoxicated women, their necks arched in play, while the dust of flowers rose from the stamping feet of the dancers. The canopy of clouds looked like a tent of woven cloth, adorned by the shining faces of noble women dancing in the palace courtyards, their beauty like the moon. Far and wide, people sang ballads of how the king and his very soul, his beloved, had been brought back from another world. On hearing the account of these wondrous events, King Padma performed a sacred ritual bath with waters brought from the four oceans. Then, just as the gods once anointed Indra when he regained his fortune, the priests and ministers anointed the king. Lila, her counterpart, and the king—now liberated while living and endowed with great wisdom—rejoiced together, recalling their past adventures, delighting in their memories as lovers delight in their union. By the grace of Sarasvati and his own effort, King Padma attained the highest good in both worlds. Awakened to knowledge through clear understanding and established in the play of nonduality, he ruled his realm blamelessly for eight thousand years. Liberated while living, his mind conquered, the delusions of the five senses overcome, he remained unattached and silent, following only what arose naturally. Just as the moon is a drop drawn from the ocean of beauty, so too is the sun a particle from the fire of his majesty. Thus, they were liberated while living; after ruling the kingdom for eight thousand years, they attained disembodied liberation, their awareness perfected. O Rama, this story of Lila has been told to you for the removal of faults in perception. O sinless one, abandon the density you attribute to the world. The existence of appearances is inherently peaceful; suppression is of no use. For what exists, purification is painful; for what does not exist, there is never any need. By knowledge, which is of the nature of space, the object of knowledge—also of the nature of space—is seen as one; thus, the knower abides like the sky. This, devoid of earth and the rest, is only the radiance of consciousness, self-existent; what is accomplished by what is unaccomplished is neither dual in nature nor truly accomplished. Consciousness, as it strives in whatever way, so too does the external appearance; released into the stream of creative awareness, it remains unawakened until effort is made. This world is understood as a manifestation within the space of consciousness, in the pure self, within the sky of awareness, even down to the smallest atom. Thus, what reality, what latent impression, what condition, what destiny, what embodiment, what inevitability can be spoken of regarding this deluded confusion? All this remains as it is seen, whole and undivided; it is only māyā in the infinite, yet truly, there is no māyā at all. Indeed, O revered one, you have revealed the supreme vision, like the moon cooling the burning of wildfire in the realm of visible objects. Indeed, after a long time, I have come to know this indestructible knowledge: whatever this is, however this is, in whatever way and whenever it is. I seem to become calm, O best of the twice-born, I seem to become free from distinctions; this wondrous narration, this explanation, is found in the vision of the scriptures. O Lord, tell me this doubt, you who know all; I am not yet satisfied by drinking your nectar-like words through the vessels of my ears.