Part 2: Incarnation as Śreyāṃsa (introduction)

Now in this very Jambūdvīpa there is a city named Siṃhapura, like a jeweled anklet of the earth, the ornament of Bharatakṣetra. The jeweled roofs of its houses, reflecting the stars, have the appearance of a dice board spotted with dice on it. Clouds resting on the high terraces of its walls look like tilakas of collyrium made for protection of the eyes. A music-festival for the goddess Śrī is held continuously in the houses of its rich men in the form of the tinkling of women’s beautiful foot-ornaments. When it rains, the streams of its houses carry away jewel-dust and reach an equality with the ocean.