“You are an omniscient knower of Truth, having reached beyond the darkness (of ignorance), intelligent, amiable, straight in your dealings and a storehouse of wisdom, dispassion and Realization. Above all you are a beloved servant of Ýr¶ RŒma (the Lord of the Raghus). Yet wherefore did you get this form (of a crow)? Dear Sir, explain all this to me clearly. Also tell me, my master, where did you get this lovely Lake of Ýr¶ RŒma’s exploits, O good bird? My lord, I have heard it from Ýiva Himself that you do not perish even during MahŒpralaya (the Great Dissolution when BrahmŒ himself retires into the Lord’s body after completing the 100 years of his existence). The divine Lord Ýiva would never utter an idle word and therefore my mind is in doubt. My lord, the whole universe with all its animate and inanimate beings, including the NŒgas, human beings and gods, is an intended victim of Death. The Time-Spirit, which destroys countless universe, is ever mighty and irresistible.” (1—4)