Having fulfilled the Earth’s earlier wishes and narrated all she had desired, Varāha now began to recount the greatness of Kubjāmraka. The steadfast Earth, devoted to her vows, listened intently. Yet, she confessed, “I do not know of what you speak, nor of what you have spoken before. Tell me, what merit and eternal nourishment are found at Kubjāmraka?” Varāha replied, “The nourishment found at Kubjāmraka, and the sacred ford there, O blameless one, I shall now relate to you fully and truthfully, O beautiful goddess. Listen carefully to what acts bring merit to those who bathe there—even those who have passed away.” He continued, “After I had slain the demons Madhu and Kaiṭabha at Brahmā’s command, I beheld at Kubjāmraka a great sage named Raibhya. He was bowed in reverence, O Earth. Wise, pure, skilled, and a master of his senses, Raibhya had subsisted for a thousand years on water alone, and also on Śaiva leaves. Because of his great austerity, O goddess, I was pleased with this noble-souled sage. “As Raibhya practiced his austerities, he reached the gateway of the sacred Gaṅgā. For a special reason, I revealed myself to him. Thus, O wise one, this place came to be known as Kubjāmraka. “Now, listen as I tell you more. There, I saw Raibhya assuming a hunchbacked form. After bowing to him—steadfast in his vows—I stood before the sage. Hearing my words, that sage, endowed with austerity, spoke: ‘If the Blessed Lord, Janardana, Protector of the Worlds, is pleased, may devotion to you, Janardana, always remain for as long as your abode exists, and as long as the worlds endure, O Great Lord. This alone is cherished in my heart and upheld by me.’ “Having heard the words of Raibhya, I spoke again. When the brahmin heard my words in this manner, he asked about the greatness of this foremost of sacred fords, and of the other sacred fords established in this region. Hear from me, O brahmin, in truth, what you ask. “There is a sacred ford in the form of a water-lily, situated at Kubjāmra. During the month of Kaumuda, as well as in Mārgaśīrṣa, whoever—woman, man, or neuter—gives up their life there attains great merit. “And I shall tell you more, O Earth. Whoever bathes there, O wide-eyed one, goes to the Nandana forest. After a full thousand years, one is born in a noble family. On the twelfth day of the bright fortnight of Kartika, if one gives up their life there, they attain special merit. “Now, listen further. If one offers water at the Māyā-tīrtha, O illustrious Brahman, one attains supreme nourishment, as if entering the abode of Kubera. Or, if one dies there at the Māyā-tīrtha, O renowned one, listen again as I tell you something more, O Earth.” Thus, Varāha lovingly revealed to the Earth the sacred power and eternal nourishment found at Kubjāmraka, honoring the devotion of Raibhya and the sanctity of the holy fords.