When the mighty god Aghora, terrible in his power, was pleased, he granted a vision to a devoted seeker. At his side, there suddenly appeared black-complexioned boys, adorned with black garlands and fragrant unguents. From this divine manifestation, four great-souled boys took birth: Krishna, Krishna-shikha, Krishna-asya, and Krishna-vastradhṛk. These youths, radiant and wise, spent a thousand years in deep yogic practice, worshipping the Supreme Lord through profound meditation. Perfected in yoga, they in turn imparted this great yoga to their disciples. Having attained perfection, their minds merged into pure, attributeless Śiva, entering the abode of the Lord of the universe. In this manner, through the path of yoga, other wise seekers too contemplate the great god and reach Rudra, the imperishable one. As the ages rolled on and that aeon passed away, the dreadful dark age descended. In this time, Brahmā, the creator, sang praises to the Lord of gods, who had assumed the form of Brahman. Pleased by these praises, Hara spoke to Brahmā, declaring, “In this very form, I bring about dissolution—there is no doubt. O highly fortunate one, I destroy even the most terrible sins, such as the killing of a Brahmin and other grave transgressions, as well as various lesser faults. In the same way, O virtuous one, I remove secondary sins, and severe mental and verbal wrongs, O Grandfather. Bodily sins, mixed ones, incidental ones, those done deliberately, and those that are innate or accidental—I remove them all. Sins arising from the mother’s body, and from the father’s body as well—there is no doubt, O Lord, that I destroy all sins.” Hara then revealed the power of the Aghora mantra: “By reciting the Aghora mantra one hundred thousand times, a Brahmin-killer is freed, O Lord; with half that for verbal sin, and half again for mental sin, O child. For intentional sin, four times that amount is prescribed; for sin out of anger, eight times is remembered. A slayer of a hero is purified by one hundred thousand recitations; a slayer of a fetus should practice a million times. A mother-killer is purified by reciting ten million times—there is no doubt of this. A cow-killer, an ingrate, a woman-killer, or a man tainted by sin is freed by reciting the Aghora mantra ten thousand times—there is no doubt. One who drinks liquor is purified by one hundred thousand recitations, whether knowingly or unknowingly, O Lord. There is no doubt he is freed; with half that, from drinking Varuni. One who eats without bathing is purified by a thousand recitations, as is a twice-born who does not recite. One who eats without offering, or who does not give, is purified by a thousand recitations; a thief of Brahmins’ property, or a vile man who steals gold is freed by reciting mentally ten million times—there is no doubt. One who violates the teacher’s bed, or a mother-killer, O worst of men—a Brahmin-killer should likewise recite mentally, O Grandfather. Sin arising from association with sinners is declared to be equal to that. Still, by reciting ten thousand times, one is freed from sin; for association with sinners, one should recite mentally one hundred thousand times with intent.” He explained further: “One should recite the mantra in a low voice fourfold, and audibly eightfold; for those guilty of grave sins, only half the merit is obtained, and for those guilty of lesser sins, it is so declared. Half of that merit applies in the case of a single sin; there should be no doubt regarding this—such as the slaying of a Brahmin, drinking of liquor, theft of gold, and so on. If a Brahmin commits a grave sin, such as violating the teacher’s bed, he should take Kapila cow urine with the Rudra-Gāyatrī, O twice-born ones. With the mantra ‘gandhadvāre’, he should take fresh cow dung; with ‘tejo’si śuktam’, he should take clarified butter, as prescribed by the wise. With the mantra ‘āpyāyasva’, he should take milk; with ‘dadhikrāvaṇa’, he should take fresh curd from a Kapila cow, O Pitāmaha. With the mantra ‘devasya tvā’, he should collect water with kuśa grass, placing it together in a golden vessel or, with the Aghora mantra, in a silver one. Or in a copper or lotus-leaf vessel, or in a pure palāśa leaf, with a bundle of kuśa grass, adorned with all kinds of gems, and gold placed there as well.” The Lord continued, “He should recite the Aghora mantra one hundred thousand times, and offer oblations with ghee and other substances, with ghee, with a cooked offering, with sacred sticks, and with sesame seeds. With barley and rice, he should offer separately, each seven times; if these materials are unavailable, then with ghee alone. Having offered oblations to the Lord with the Aghora mantra, and having bathed with the same, O twice-born, he should then bathe the Lord with eight droṇas of ghee, and purify thereafter. Having fasted for a day and night, and bathed, he should drink the kuśa mixture before Śiva, recite the Brahma mantra, and perform the prescribed purification.” Thus, even one who has committed the most terrible sins—killing a Brahmin, a fetus, a hero, a teacher, betraying a friend’s trust, theft, gold theft, violating the teacher’s bed, habitual drunkenness, attachment to outcast women, violating another’s wife, destroying Vedic offerings, killing a cow, killing mother or father, driving away the gods, or destroying the liṅga—and other sins, whether mental, verbal, or physical, even if committed by the thousands—having performed these rites, is immediately freed, even from the bond of hundreds of births. This secret was spoken by the grace of Aghoreśa. Therefore, a twice-born should always recite for purification from all sins. Now, O foremost among sages, listen to the account of another cycle of Brahmā, known as Viśvarūpa, wondrous beyond compare. When the previous dissolution ended and creation arose once more, Brahmā, desiring sons, meditated upon the Supreme Lord. In response, there appeared the great sound, Sarasvatī, of universal form—adorned with the garland and garments of the cosmos itself, wearing the sacred thread of the universal sacrifice.