Once, as one who dwelled by the sacred riverbank, I went to bathe in the holy waters of the Ganges. Emerging from the river, I again attained the form that sages praise, purified and renewed. Yet, a deep unease stirred within me. What wrongful act had I committed while devotedly serving Madhava? What improper thing had I consumed while in service to Achyuta? I implored, “Tell me truthfully—what deed has caused me to fall into hell?” I recalled that I had already informed you before, though at that time I was deceived by illusion. Hearing my words, filled with lamentation and compassion, a gentle voice responded: “Do not grieve, O foremost of Brahmins, for the suffering that has arisen from your own fault, by which you have attained sorrow and entered the animal womb. I have already spoken before; listen again, O eminent Brahmin. I grant you divine enjoyments, or earthly ones, as you desire. “The Vaiṣṇava illusion you wished to experience has been seen, O Brahmin, and for fifty years—not even in the house of the hunter. Moreover, hear something else: you have not performed any act, whether auspicious or inauspicious. Whatever wrongful deeds or transgressions you have committed, and whatever was done by you in a previous existence, have led you to this great state now. “The pure twice-born who are my devotees, whom you did not greet—those pure devotees of Bhagavan are truly my embodiments. I am known here, O best of Brahmins, through them—of this there is no doubt. Those twice-born who desire to see me are my devotees as well. Especially in the Kali age, I am present in the form of a Brahmin. Whoever wishes to attain me here, for him there is nothing unutterable. Go, O Brahmin—you are perfected; when you relinquish your life-breath, you shall attain.” Having spoken thus, O fair one, I vanished right there. After performing a most difficult deed, I reached Śvetadvīpa, armed with bow, quiver, arrows, and sword, endowed with the power and prowess of illusion. By illusion—what is there for you, O Earth? You are not fit to know my illusion. Thus, O Earth, this account of my illusion, endowed with great power, has been told to you. Among stories, it is the greatest; among austerities, it is supreme, O scorcher of foes. Whoever recites this always among devotees, but does not proclaim it among non-devotees—and who, when asked, recites it before my devotees, even if they are Śūdras—whoever, rising at dawn, O Earth, recites it with firm resolve—then, after the full course of time, that person reaches their end. Whoever listens daily to this great narrative, O Earth, receives its blessings. This, O blessed one, is what you previously desired, and I have now related it to you. Now begins the account of the greatness of Kubjāmraka. Having heard of this power of illusion, the Earth, steadfast in her vows, spoke: “I do not know about that, nor what you have spoken of before. And what merit and eternal nourishment exist at Kubjāmraka?” Varāha replied: “The nourishment at Kubjāmraka, and the sacred ford, O blameless one—all of that, O goddess, listen as I tell you completely and truly, O beautiful one. And what acts, by which one who bathes there, even if dead, attains—hear this as well. “Having slain Madhu and Kaiṭabha at Brahmā’s command, I beheld there the great sage named Raibhya, bowed in reverence, O Earth. He was wise, a knower of virtues, pure, skilled, and master of his senses.” Thus, the tale unfolds, revealing the sacred mysteries and blessings bestowed upon those who listen, recite, and honor the divine devotees.