In the first section, Sage Bhusunda Jabala (descendant of Sage Jabali) goes to Mount Kailash, the abode of the god Shiva, and offers obeisance to the deity. Shiva's iconography is described as having the form of Om, three eyes, wearing a tiger skin and holding an antelope in his hand. His whole body is smeared with Bhasma, sacred ash, and he wears the Tripundra, three horizontal lines of Bhasma on the forehead. He is described as superior to the gods Brahma, Vishnu, and Rudra (Shiva as the Destroyer), and is described as Infinite and the Supreme Being. The sage worships Shiva with bilva leaves and Bhasma. Then he appeals to Shiva to enlighten him on the norms of the Tripundra and thus acquire emancipation. He asks Shiva to let him understand the process of making Bhasma, what and how many hymns to be chanted while preparing it, when and how to apply it, and who are the people seeking it.