O King, hear now the sacred observance that brings liberation without doubt. This vow must be performed each month, with steady devotion, for a full year. By faithfully undertaking it, one is surely freed from bondage, O messengers—there is no uncertainty in this. The heart of the vow lies in fasting, which delights Lord Vishnu. With a pure mind, one should resolve each time, “Today, O Lord of gods, I shall keep my fast for You.” On the twelfth day, Govinda is to be worshipped with full devotion. Should there be any lapse—be it through dreams or disturbances of the senses, such as eating or intercourse—one must humbly pray, “O Lord, forgive me, show me Your mercy.” Having thus observed the rule, one should journey to a sacred place at midday. There, with clay, cow dung, and sesame seeds, the devotee follows the prescribed method and bathes to complete the vow. The bath is performed with the sacred mantra: “O Earth, trodden by horses, by chariots, by Vishnu Himself, O Vasundhara—remove the sins I have gathered in the past; by Your grace, may all my sins be destroyed.” The sesame seeds, especially those from Kashi, are considered to be of the very form of Vishnu. Bathing with these, Govinda removes all sin. One addresses the goddess who was born from Vishnu’s body, saying, “O remover of great sins, take away all my faults; I bow to you on behalf of all.” With a tulasi leaf in hand and reciting the holy names, the bath is performed as taught by the virtuous. Emerging purified and dressed in clean garments, one offers libations to the ancestors and to the gods, and then turns to worship Vishnu. A flawless pot is placed, adorned with five kinds of leaves, set with five gems, and scented with divine garlands and fragrances. The pot is filled with water and other proper substances, and a copper vessel is prepared. There, the god Sridhara, Lord of gods and treasury of austerity, is established. With careful procedure, the most excellent worship is performed. A sacred mandala is fashioned from clay, cow dung, and other pure substances, and rice grains—washed white and ground on stone—are used to form the image of Dharmaraja, with barley placed in his hand and elsewhere. In front of this, the copper-colored river Vaitarani is represented, and both are worshipped separately and properly, after being invited. The devotee invokes the Lord of gods, Yama, of universal form: “Come here, O greatly fortunate one. Manifest your presence, O Keshava.” Water for washing the feet is offered to Hari, the beloved of Shri, with a plea for mercy. With reverence, the devotee offers salutations to each divine aspect: to the giver of prosperity at the feet, to the remover of sorrow at the knees, to Shiva at the thighs, to the universal form at the waist, to Kamadeva at the genitals, to Aditya at the testicles, to Damodara at the abdomen, to Vasudeva at the breasts, to Sridhara at the face, to Keshava at the hair, to Sharngadhara at the back, and to Varada at the feet. With his own names—holder of conch, discus, sword, mace, and axe—the devotee offers obeisance to the soul of all, especially at the head. The ten great incarnations are saluted: Matsya, Kurma, Varaha, Narasimha, Vamana, Rama, Rama, Krishna, Buddha, and Kalki. For the destruction of all heaps of sin, the devotee worships with repeated salutations, meditating on Vishnu in every way with all these mantras. Then, homage is paid to Lord Dharma: “O Lord of Dharma, salutations to you. O ruler of the southern region, who rides the buffalo, I bow to you.” To Citragupta, the wondrous scribe, repeated salutations are made, with a prayer for the appeasement of suffering in hell and the granting of heartfelt desires. Further salutations are offered to Yama, to the Lord of Dharma, to Death, to the Ender, to Vaivasvata, to Time, and to the destroyer of all beings. Vṛkodara, Citrā, Citragupta, Nīla, and Dadhna are also remembered with repeated reverence. Thus, Lord Dharmarāja is worshipped with these twelve names. The river Vaitarani is invoked: “O Vaitarani, difficult to cross, destroyer of sin, fulfiller of all desires, come here, accept this offering I have made.” The devotee recalls the dreadful path at Yama’s gate, where the renowned river Vaitarani flows—a river hard to cross for sinners, yet a remover of fear for all creatures. Because of fear of her, beings sink and suffer extreme torments. Whoever wishes to cross that dreadful river, bows to her and prays for deliverance from birth, death, and old age. The gods dwell in that river; when Vaitarani is worshipped with devotion, even Keśava is pleased. On her banks, sages and ancestors take refuge; she, in river form, is honored as the remover of sin. For the sake of crossing her and liberation from all sin, the devotee offers, “For the sake of merit, I will explain to you the river Vaitarani.” With devotion, the goddess is worshipped for the pleasure of Keśava: “O Krishna, Krishna, Lord of the Universe, lift me up from worldly existence. By merely uttering your name, remove all my sin.” A sacred thread of ninety strands is offered, and the devotee prays, “Accept, O Lord of the gods, grant me what I desire. Here is your betel, beautiful and given to the best of my ability. Accept it, lift me up from the ocean of worldly existence. This five-wicked lamp is your worship, O Lord.” Finally, the devotee offers the supreme food, well-cooked and full of all flavors, to the sun-like Lord who dispels the darkness of delusion, who is endowed with devotion and removes all worldly suffering. Thus, with heart and ritual, the worship is fulfilled, bringing satisfaction to the Lord and liberation to the soul.