Prithvi requested lord Varaha to shed light on the famous penance which sage Shalankayan had performed. Lord Varaha narrated the following tale- “Long long ago sage Shalankayan did an austere penance to please me (lord Vishnu). There was a ‘sal’ tree nearby and the sage was ignorant of the fact that I dwell in that sacred tree. When I appeared, he requested me to bless him with a divine son who had qualities like lord Shiva. I revealed to him that his son (Nandikeshwar) had already manifested and was presently staying at ‘Vraja’ (Mathura). I also revealed to him that although I was present in the ‘sal’ tree but he was unware of this fact because of his ignorance. In course of time, this very place became famous as ‘Shalgram tirth’. A devotee who makes a pilgrimage to this holy place is liberated from all kinds of worldly bondages.”
