Once, a maiden who had come to gather fruit lost her footing and fell into a mountain stream. Immersed in its waters, she emerged transformed—her form now radiant and auspicious, a beauty beyond compare. As she beheld her reflection, she realized that all the gods themselves were subject to her charm; what could she possibly desire that she did not already possess? Freed from all worldly passion, a great being addressed her, slender-waisted as she was, and said, “Your humility has pleased me. I shall grant you the highest boon. Whoever bathes here with devotion will win the favor of all the gods. They will be blessed with beauty so rare that even the gods themselves seldom attain it.” With these words, he took her hand, and together they ascended to heaven in a celestial chariot. O best of kings, it is because she attained that divine form that, on the third day of the bright half of the month of Māgha, the gods themselves come to that sacred reservoir to bathe. There, other divine maidens, along with Siddha and Yakṣa women, also acquire such wondrous forms, just as she once did. To the east of that holy place lies a beautiful cave, where the maidens of Pātāla come to bathe. After their ablutions, they take water and enter the cave. Anyone who anoints themselves with that water becomes accomplished, and none—whether in heaven or on earth—can overpower such a person. The flowers and fruits of that place grant the fulfillment of all desires. Within that cave, the stones themselves resemble conch-shells. If a barren woman drinks the water marked with sesame seeds, she is blessed with fertility. Even mortals stricken by disease are healed by bathing there; afflictions caused by spirits, ghosts, and fiends are destroyed in an instant. Insects, moths, fiends, birds, and beasts—all are touched by the sanctity of this Rūpa-tīrtha, a place without equal in all the worlds. You may wonder, O Brāhmaṇa, what makes this place so supremely holy. Listen: When Indra lost his kingdom and Bali became lord of the three worlds, the mighty Viṣṇu was born as the son of Aditi to destroy the Asuras. As soon as Hari was born, Aditi placed him at that very waterfall. This, O King, is the true and only reason for the sanctity of the place. There, the tilaka tree, foremost among all trees, was cherished as a son. Thus, I have revealed to you the supreme glory of this sacred site—a place that grants all desires, both in this world and the next. Nearby lies the sin-destroying tirtha of King Ambarisha in the northeast, where Hrishikesha himself appeared in the Kali age. In ancient times, during the Krita age, Ambarisha ruled the earth. At that holy site, the king, mastering his senses and eating sparingly, resided for two thousand years, subsisting only on leaves. For three thousand more years, he lived on air alone. After ten thousand years had passed, Ambarisha assumed the form of the lord of the gods and mounted the divine elephant Airavata. Seeing your devotion, O king, I have come to you without doubt. When Indra appeared before Ambarisha, the king said, “O slayer of Vritra, you cannot grant liberation. Welcome, O lord of gods, but I desire no boon from you.