The Sages Go to the South of Meru

Suta said

Such was the knowledge Upamanyu, who had conquered his self, once taught to the unmatched Yadava. Vayu taught this knowledge-yoga to the sages, who approached and bowed before him. Then Vayu vanished and went through the air to his own abode. The sacrifice at Naimisha was over. At morning all the stores of austerity got ready for the avabhritha rites. Delighted, Devi Sarasvati followed Brahma's own instruction and flowed as an auspicious river full of tasty water. Seeing the river Sarasvati, the sages' minds were pleased. Having finished the sacrifice they began, they went there to bathe. They did the water rites for the gods and others and offered water to Shiva and Shivaa. Remembering the earlier account, they left for Varanasi. Bhagirathi comes down from the Himalayan foothills and flows south. They bathed in the river and went along her bank. Reaching Varanasi, all were glad. They bathed in the Ganga, which flows north there, saw the lingam of Avimukteshvara and worshipped it properly. As they were about to leave, they saw a radiance in the sky, a mass of divine, great and wonderful energy like ten million suns, spreading in all directions by its brilliance. Hundreds of sages who had won siddhi by keeping the Pashupata vow, smeared with ash, merged into this energy. When the great-souled ascetics merged into it, the energy at once vanished. It was most wonderful. Seeing this great marvel, the great sages of Naimisha wished to know what it was, and they went to Brahmavana.

Before they arrived, Pavana, who purifies the worlds, had already gone to Brahma, maker of the worlds and source of the Vedas, and told him what he had done: how he had gone to Naimisha and talked with the great-souled ones, how he had turned their pure intelligence toward Shiva, Amba and Shiva's followers, and how the long sacrifice of those who performed it had been completed. Having told this, he left for his own city. When the sages arrived, a contest was going on between Tumburu and Narada. They were singing and giving other musical performances. Served by gandharvas and apsaras, Brahma sat comfortably as judge. Meanwhile the gatekeepers refused the sages entry, and they sat down along the sides outside Brahma's residence. In singing, Narada was declared Tumburu's equal. Brahma Parameshthi gave Narada leave to perform together with him. They gave up their rivalry and became great friends. Surrounded by gandharvas and apsaras, Narada came out of the residence like the sun from behind a bank of clouds. He wished to play his veena before Ishvara Nakulishvara. The sages of six lineages saw Narada, bull among sages, and with great affection bowed to him and asked whether it was a good time to see the lord. He said, "Yes, it is the right time. Go." Saying this he left, and they were full of joy. The gatekeeper went and told Brahma they had come. Given leave, they entered the abode of the one born from a lump that was an egg.

Once inside, from a distance they lay flat on the ground before the divinity like rods. With permission they approached and stood around him. Seeing them, the lotus-seated one asked after their welfare: "From what Vayu told me, I know your account. What did you do after the wind god disappeared?" Asked by the lord of the gods, the sages told what had happened after the avabhritha: the visit to the Ganga's holy place and bathing there, the journey to Varanasi, seeing the lingams set up there by lords among the gods, seeing and worshipping the Avimukteshvara lingam, seeing the great mass of energy in the sky and how it vanished after the sages merged into it. They had thought about it and wished to understand what had happened. Bowing again and again, they told him everything. Hearing them, the four-faced maker of the universe shook his head slightly and spoke in a deep voice.

Brahma said

In the next world, siddhi awaits you. You have worshipped the lord a long time through a great sacrifice and he has shown you favour. The signs show your prosperity. In Varanasi you saw a resplendence in the sky. That energy points to the lingam of supreme Maheshvara himself. The sages who merged followed the shrutis and kept the Pashupata vrata. They are faithful and have burned away their impurities. They are well and have won liberation. Before long you will win liberation too. The energy you saw points to this. By destiny that time has itself come before you. Go to the southern summit of Meru, frequented by gods. My son, the supreme sage Sanatkumara, is there, waiting for the arrival of Nandi, lord of bhutas. Earlier Sanatkumara saw Parameshvara, but he was ignorant and tainted by lack of humility, proud of being a lord of yogis. Utterly fearless, he did not stand up or show other honours. Because of this Nandi grew angry and turned him into a huge camel. I grieved over this a long time. I worshipped Deva and Devi and entreated Nandi. With great effort I countered some of his sin, and Sanatkumara got back his earlier form as a boy. Mahadeva smiled and said to the lord of the ganas, "Because of his insolence, he showed disrespect to me. Faultless one, tell him my true nature. Do not take Brahma's eldest son for a fool. Remind him and make him my disciple, so that he spreads knowledge of me. Come back after consecrating him as one who presides over dharma." Thus addressed, the foremost of the leaders of the bhutas did all that. In those earlier times he bowed his head and accepted the command. So, following my instruction, Sanatkumara is on Meru. To please the gana he is performing extremely terrible austerities. Before the lord of the ganas arrives he will see all of you. Before long Nandi will arrive there and please him.

Suta concluded

Having instructed them so, the maker of the universe told the sages to go swiftly to the southern part of Meru, to Kumarashikhara.