1. This world believed that creative power is the best, that the creator was great, and that he has the entitlement to all honors. That is not the case. That is a mere flurry, pomposity, and a selfish self-celebration: Most people do not know it.

  2. A flying golden city of immense size descended on earth with a humongous thud, destroying the flora and the fauna of every size, roiling the lake, smashing the forest, spreading the mud, and making life impossible to live.

3. A flying silver city descended on the earth, grazing the adjoining mountains, raising mud and dust where it landed, destroying everything and paralyzing life forms.

  4. A flying iron city landed heavily in another place, destroying even the worms by its weight and heat and rendering the spot a wasteland.

  5. The blue lake became a dry and fissured land. Because of this devastation, the Devas did not receive their customary homage from the earth, causing them distress. They worried about the planet earth and its welfare. They wondered what they could do to alleviate the conditions on earth. Nāradar talked with them.

  6. Vitthiyunmāli headed the golden town, Thārakākṣan the silver town, and Kamalākṣan the iron town. Nāradar met them, and they received him with loud laughter.

  7. The heads: What do you think of our strength?

  8. Nāradar: Who are you?

  9. We are Tārakāsūran's sons. On our father's advice, we performed severe austerities (Tapas) for hundreds and thousands of years. Extolling our Tapas, Brahma appeared before us and declared he had no power to give us requested immortality. Conferment of Immortality is in the hands of Śiva, who is the destroyer. We asked for boons: Strength, cities of unique nature, simultaneous death of us when we are together. Brahma gave us those boons prompting us to circle the world with immense strength and destroying one town at a time.  Saying thus, they all laughed riotously. The sound of victory boomeranged.

  10. Tapas has its elusive objective, which one may miss. Creative fervor gives a humongous arrogance, morphing the person into an Arkkar (demon).

  11. The ability to create something inculcates self-conceit in a person, giving him a feeling of being at the summit of the world. All creators brim with arrogance. The curse goes with creation.  Modesty is alien to the nature of a creator. If one is modest, he will never be a creator.

 12. Nāradar instigated the Devas and said, "If you carry on like this, the earth will become desolate, and there will be no one to pray to you. Go to Tirumāl (Viṣṇu) for a resolution." They went to Tirumāl, paid homage. Tirumāl held himself back and became thoughtful.

  13. Viṣṇu thought I could not destroy them. They sing songs of praise to Śiva,  live their life in the thoughts of Śiva, and know no one can touch them under these circumstances. We have to draw them away from their present thoughts and actions. We have to distract them from Śiva and engage them in other matters. Their Buddhi needs remediation.  Thinking in like manner, Viṣṇu created a Puruṣa, well-versed in Māyā (illusion and magic). The Puruṣa left the premises to tell the three Arakkars (in charge of the golden, silver, and iron cities) something greater than Śiva existed.

  14. Nāradar appeared in the trio's assembly hall and told them, "Adēde! Here I see the greatest Māyā Meister. He taught me everything I know. Good things will happen to whosoever pays homage to him. You reach the summit if you follow his ideas. Therefore, cock your ears to him. I did the same to reach this high position."

  15. The Threesome heads: If you pay homage to him, we are mere nothing. We will pay tribute to him. "AYYā, what do you have to say."

  16. The Māyā-meister revealed to them what is beyond the purview of Śiva, what was opposing Śiva, what confused, the earthly pleasures, their gradations, the heights one could reach from those pleasures, and the tranquility that came thereof. They were confused.

  17. The three brothers gave up Śiva panegyric and hated Śiva precipitating Śiva's anger. When they were away from each other, Śiva destroyed each one of them. (According to their boon, no one can kill them when they were together.)

  18. Because of Nāradar's provocation, the earth escaped from a colossal ruin. All the Devas paid homage to Nāradar; the earth prospered again, and the earth people gave the Devas their share of worship.

  19. Because Nāradar took Dakṣa's 2000 sons on a different path, Dakṣa bore daughters in place of sons. He fathered hundreds of girls and married them off to Ṛṣis and Munis, from whose goodwill, Dakṣa lived well. Praying to have Pārvati as his daughter, he supplicated and had her as his daughter.

  20. Brahma's daughter Dakṣāyini left her father at age six, went elsewhere, and performed austerities (Tapas) in the name Śiva. At the marital age of Dakṣāyini, Śiva appeared before her and married her.

  21.  Dakṣa was upset that his daughter married, without his permission, an ash-smeared wanderer (Śiva) frequenting the funeral grounds. He thought a woman's Buddhi is retrograde.

  22. Dakṣa knew Śiva's supreme qualities, and he was the end of all. But his Karma and arrogance made him overlook Śiva's supremacy, spread falsity about Śiva and think of him so low Dakṣa was ashamed of having Śiva as his son-in-law. Because Dakṣa thought Śiva had an undue influence on his daughter and married him,  he wanted to insult Śiva. Dakṣa vowed to take on the Supreme Soul.

  23. How to insult Śiva.

  Go to war. No, that is not an option. Dakṣa hit upon an alternate idea. He said to himself: Let me raise a big fire sacrifice. I invite all the Devas, except Śiva.  (No fire sacrifice is complete without the physical presence of Śiva.)

  24. Showing contempt, as a punishment, to a person is the supreme insult, better than cutting and casting him on the ground. He crowed with delight about his plan. He invited all except Śiva for his fire sacrifice.

  25. Dakṣayini heard about the sacrifice on the grapevine. She indulged herself in a reverie. O, my father is conducting a sacrifice. How come he did not inform and invite me? Should I not go? He is my father. That was my house. Would he ignore or oppose my visit? I must go. He invited all the gods except my husband.  What flaw did you find in him? Why do you insult my husband? Is not your act a mistake? I am your daughter. If you are my father, you must be his uncle. Is it not proper that you treat him with respect? Should you not pay homage to my husband and receive him with respect?  Why this forgetfulness? Why this denial?

  26. Did you plan this fire sacrifice to insult him?  Could you possibly insult him? He is supreme. Don't you know his supremacy? Were you not the one who stood up and paid homage to him? You know all the devas who pay respects to him. Did you not pray to them to receive boons? Those devas-who gave you boons- raised their opposed palms, lowered their heads in obeisance, fear, and trepidation, and worshipped my husband. How could you be indifferent to him? How could it be justifiable to disinvite my husband for the fire sacrifice when no one could and would neglect him?

  27. If I am your dear daughter, and you are my father, you are a relation to Śiva. You invite him. It would be best if you gave him the sacrificial offering. If you deny his due, I do not know what will happen. Pārvati Devi raged inside.