Vyāsa, you have heard that the supreme sacred place is known as Kṣātāsaṃgama. Whoever listens to this holy story with devotion, especially on festival days, earns merit equal to that of gifting a thousand Kapila cows. Among all holy places, the foremost is renowned as Gayā. There, by bathing daily, a person is freed from the three debts owed to sages, ancestors, and gods. The hermitage of Cyavana is also sacred, as is the holy mountain Rājagiri. One may wonder how these places became celebrated in the auspicious region of Mahākālavana. Remarkably, by merely hearing of them, one’s ancestors attain the highest state. Long ago, in the virtuous Kṛta Yuga at the dawn of the ages, a king ruled, bearing the name of the gods. He protected his subjects with care, regarding them as his own sons. Wherever such a king reigns, righteousness stands firmly on four legs. The earth yields abundant crops, cows give plentiful milk, the Vaiśyas are ever devoted to wealth, and the Śūdras are engaged in service. Dharma, rooted in the Vedas and tradition, brings forth a joyful and nourished people. In those days, one never saw a woman of bad conduct, misfortune, or widowhood. Women were endowed with beauty, virtue, and qualities, devoted faithfully to their husbands. Offerings were made, food enjoyed, and gifts given continually in every household. People everywhere were devoted to all forms of righteousness. Thus, that king, whose soul was righteous, was regarded as a deity at the beginning of the age. In ancient times, Vyāsa himself performed many sacrifices in Avanti. By his efforts, everything—moving and unmoving—in this world was brought under control. Without the path of the Vedas, neither the gods nor sacrifices can exist. Yet, this eternal path of righteousness was destroyed by the wicked. Seeking refuge, the ancestors and the virtuous went together to Brahmā. Having heard their words, Brahmā, the grandfather of the worlds, journeyed there. Together with the hosts of gods, he worshipped Viṣṇu. All acted for the advancement of their own selves. “Hear, O best of gods,” he said, “the highest good for you. This merit is greater than the most secret, pure, and destroyer of sin.” This place is a holy site composed of all sacred fords, bestowing the boon of ten million holy places. The divine Mahākālī, destroyer of demons and sovereign of lineages, abides there. There is Gayā, supremely holy, and the great river Phalgu as well. In the same way, this present-day Gayā is renowned and celebrated in all three worlds. Within Gayā flows the eastern Sarasvatī, holy and remover of all sins. There too stands the eternal, imperishable banyan tree, once spoken of by the great sage. All those deities, born in the manner of ancestors, are present there. The gods, embodying all sacred fords, are at the unsurpassed holy place of Gayā. Merely entering this place liberates ancestors dwelling in hell. Thus concludes the seventy-fifth chapter, named “The Praise of Gayā Tīrtha,” from the section on the greatness of Avanti Kṣetra, in the fifth book of the eighty-one-thousand-verse Mahāpurāṇa Śrī Skanda. O Lord, all is known to you, who are the very form of the universe.