As the sacred narration of the greatness of Kārtika concluded in the Uttarakhaṇḍa of the Padma Purāṇa, Kārtavīrya, filled with wonder, approached the sage Dattātreya with a question. “O best of sages,” he asked, “by what reason is such wondrous power attributed to the Māgha bath? How did a merchant, freed from sin by one act and attaining heaven by another, gain such merit through the Māgha observance? Please satisfy my curiosity, O virtuous one.” Dattātreya replied with gentle wisdom. “Water, by its very nature, is pure, clear, and radiant for the pure. It cleanses all impurity, dissolves suffering, quells burning, saves all beings, nourishes life, and sustains the world. In all the Vedas, water is called Nārāyaṇa. Just as the sun is foremost among planets and the moon among stars, so too is Māgha the greatest of months for all sacred rites. “When the sun enters Capricorn during Māgha, even the simplest dawn bath in pure water—be it just a puddle left by a cow’s hoof—grants heaven, even to those burdened by sin. O King, such a yoga is rare among all beings in the three worlds. Yet if one cannot perform this yoga perfectly, even bathing for just three days during Māgha or giving a little in charity to remove poverty brings great benefit, even to the wealthy and long-lived. “Bathing for five or seven days increases merit as the moon waxes. When the sun enters Capricorn, this practice bestows virtue and brings merit to people. All good deeds—bathing, charity, honoring guests—performed in Māgha grant the doer an imperishable, eternal state. “Therefore, one should bathe outside during Māgha, seeking one’s own welfare. Listen, for I shall explain the supreme rule for the Māgha bath. The best of men should undertake a vow, embracing some discipline and, for greater results, giving up certain foods. One should sleep on the ground, offer ghee mixed with sesame in oblation, and worship Viṣṇu, the eternal Vāsudeva, three times a day. “An unbroken lamp should be offered, dedicated to Mādhava. Give fuel, blankets, garments, sandals, saffron, and ghee. During Māgha, according to one’s means, offer oil, cotton, wicks, pads, cloth, and food. Offer a measure of gold equal to a barleycorn to a knower of the Veda—such a gift is imperishable, like the ever-present ocean. “One should not use another’s fire nor accept gifts during this time. At the end of Māgha, a king should feed Brāhmaṇas according to his means, and give them a fee, completing the observance as one does on Ekādaśī. Faithful performance of these acts, with a desire for inexhaustible heaven, brings endless merit and pleases Viṣṇu. “When the sun is in Capricorn during Māgha, one should pray: ‘O Lord, Govinda, Acyuta, Mādhava, may this bath grant the result as declared.’ Reciting this mantra, one should bathe in silence and concentration, remembering Vāsudeva, Hari, Kṛṣṇa, and Mādhava. “Even at home, a bath taken with water stored in a pot and chilled by the night wind is as meritorious as bathing at a sacred place, and grants all desired results. There, one should also give food with accompaniments as part of the vow; by the power of this bath, a man avoids hell. “If bathing at home with heated water while the sun is in Capricorn, the merit lasts six years. Bathing outside, in a pond, yields the fruit of twelve years; in a tank, the result is doubled, and in a river, it is fourfold. Bathing in a divine reservoir or a great river brings a hundredfold merit, and at the confluence of great rivers, the merit is four hundredfold. “All this merit is multiplied a thousand times when the sun is in Capricorn. And simply by bathing in the Ganges, O King, one attains this merit. Those who immerse themselves in the Ganges during Māgha do not fall from the abode of the gods for four thousand ages. Each day, it is as if one has given a thousand pieces of gold by bathing in the Ganges in Māgha. “At the confluence of the Ganges and Yamunā, the fruit is a thousand times a hundred, O best of kings, as declared by the sages. To burn away the great burden of accumulated sins, the Lord of creatures established Prayāga for the welfare of all beings. “Hear now of this sacred place, with its white and dark waters, ordained long ago by Brahmā for those of sinful nature. Even one burdened with hundreds of sins, if he immerses in the white and dark waters during Māgha with the sun in Capricorn, does not return to the womb again. Even a man attached to household life, if he bathes at Prayāga in Māgha, attains the supreme state. “The stream of white and dark water, originating from Sarasvatī, was created by the Maker of the world as the path to Viṣṇu’s realm. The Māyā of Viṣṇu is difficult to cross, unconquerable even by the gods, but at Prayāga, O king, it is burned away in Māgha. “After enjoying many pleasures in radiant worlds, those who bathe at Prayāga in Māgha dissolve into the disc of Viṣṇu. Whoever touches the white and dark waters in Māgha, with the sun in Capricorn, earns merit so great that even Citragupta cannot measure it. Whoever fully immerses in these waters in Māgha, even Brahmā cannot describe the greatness of his merit. “And finally, the fruit of a hundred years of fasting is obtained by bathing for three days at Prayāga during Māgha.” Thus, Dattātreya revealed to Kārtavīrya the supreme glory and boundless merit of the Māgha observance and the sacred bath, guiding all beings toward the highest good.