Sūta said, “O brāhmāṇas, once Nārada the excellent sage, son of Brahmā was inclined to perform penance, controlling himself very much. There is a very beautiful cave in the Himālaya mountain, near which the celestial river flows rapidly. There was a great hermitage of divine splendour which was resplendent in many ways. Nārada, endowed with divine vision, went there to perform penance. On seeing the hermitage very convenient for penance, the leading sage performed penance for a long time, seated firmly and steadily, keeping silent, controlling the breath and retaining the purity of the intellect. O brāhmāṇas, the sage performed meditation and contemplation wherein the realisation “I am Brahman” is generated, leading to direct perception of Brahman. When the great sage Nārada was thus performing penance, the mind of Indra became excessively agitated, and he trembled.