Pīvarī, hearing the king’s troubled words, gently questioned him, “Why do you speak in this way, O king?” She reflected that when one is intoxicated, asleep, or careless, the mind wanders and speech becomes incoherent. With deep devotion, Pīvarī declared, “O lord, if you do not protect me, I will give up my life.” The king, moved by the earnestness of his beloved, replied to her, “Dearest with the auspicious face, wherever I must go, I shall speak only the truth. I will ensure our sons and grandsons are established in their proper places, and I will honor all the people who dwell in the city. If it pleases you, O sinless one, I shall appoint our sons to the kingdom. For people always desire what Yama, the lord of destiny, wishes; none can wish otherwise. Therefore, let us, with all our effort, depart for the city of Mathurā.” As he prepared for this journey, the king’s heart was awakened to a deeper realization. “Now I have come to understand,” he said, “that there is no happiness greater than renunciation. No suffering equals attachment, and the abandonment of all desires is considered the highest good.” With this resolve, the king, accompanied by his beloved and a fourfold army, entered the city of Mathurā. To his eyes, the beautiful city shone like that of Indra himself. Within Mathurā lies the delightful Madhuvana, the supreme abode of Viṣṇu. On the eleventh day of the bright fortnight in the month of Bhādrapada, there is the sacred forest called Kundavana, the third and most excellent among forests. Or, on the eleventh day of the dark fortnight in Bhādrapada, one may visit Kāmyakavana, the best of forests. At the pure pond there, all sins are washed away. Continuing, the king beheld Bakula, the foremost among forests, and on the farthest shore of the Yamunā, a place difficult even for the gods to attain. There, O Earth, the devotee who is wholly devoted to the Lord attains sanctity. The seventh forest, Khādira, is renowned among people, and the eighth is the great forest, especially dear to the Lord. The forest named Lohajaṅgha, protected by its guardian of the same name, follows. The tenth is Bilva, worshipped by the gods, and the eleventh is Bhāṇḍīra, most excellent and beloved of yogis. Having reached Bhāṇḍīra, the foremost of all forests, they came to the twelfth: Vṛndāvana, protected by Vṛndā herself. O Earth, those who behold Vṛndāvana and Govinda are truly blessed. Thus concludes the one hundred and fifty-third chapter of the glorious Varāha Purāṇa, which extols the greatness of Mathurā Tīrtha. Now begins the account of the glory of the Yamunā tīrtha. Having seen Mathurā in this way, the king and his wife were filled with joy. Then, the queen turned to her husband and asked him about the secret that had been spoken before. The king replied, “You too once told me—‘Reveal your secret, and afterwards I will tell you mine.’” The queen spoke to the king of the cause of her heart’s delight: “I came to see this city on the twelfth day of Kumuda, and immediately, by the power of that tīrtha, I was separated from my life-breath.