Having come to a deep realization, the seeker understood that there is no happiness greater than renunciation, and that nothing brings more suffering than attachment. In truth, the abandonment of all desires is considered the highest path. As this understanding dawned, the sight of the citizens, accompanied by their splendid fourfold army, came into view. Before him stretched the beautiful city, radiant like the very city of Indra. Within this sacred place lay the delightful Madhuvana, the supreme abode of Viṣṇu. On the eleventh day of the bright fortnight in the month of Bhādrapada, pilgrims would visit the forest called Kundavana, esteemed as the third and most excellent among holy groves. Or, on the eleventh day of the dark fortnight of Bhādrapada, they would journey to Kāmyakavana, the fourth and best of forests. At the pure pond in these sacred places, all sins are washed away. Next is Bakula, the fifth forest, honored as the foremost among them. Farther still, on the distant shore of the Yamunā—a place difficult even for the gods to reach—devotees wholly dedicated to Viṣṇu would come, seeking liberation. The seventh forest, Khādira, renowned among people, is found there, followed by the eighth, the great forest especially dear to Viṣṇu. Then lies the forest named Lohajaṅgha, protected by the one of the same name. The tenth forest is the Bilva grove, worshipped by the gods themselves. The eleventh is Bhāṇḍīra, most excellent and beloved of yogis. Upon reaching Bhāṇḍīra, the foremost of all forests, one comes to the twelfth, Vṛndāvana, lovingly protected by Vṛndā herself. O Earth, those who behold Vṛndāvana and Govinda attain the highest blessing. Thus concludes, in the glorious Varāha Purāṇa, the chapter describing the greatness of Mathurā Tīrtha. Now begins the narration of the glory of the Yamunā tīrtha. Having seen Mathurā in all its splendor, both the king and his queen were filled with joy. The queen, curious about a secret spoken earlier, asked her husband to reveal it. The king replied, “You too once spoke of a secret to me—tell me yours, and then I shall share mine.” The queen then revealed the cause of her heart’s delight: “I came to this city on the twelfth day of Kumuda, and immediately, by the power of that tīrtha, I was separated from my life-breath. O King, though you married me, the memory of that event never left me.” At the holy place of Dhārāpatanaka, she had given up her own life. She also recounted how he, too, had died in Yama’s realm. While they were looking at her, both met their end there, as destined. “O Devi,” the narrator continued, “this great and wondrous event has been told to you.” One who has abandoned sin does not attain the world of the ancestors, but instead reaches the world of Viṣṇu, adorned with a divine form and four arms. Here, when one gives up the body, one goes to Viṣṇu’s world; after bathing at this holy place, those who die go to heaven and do not return to mortal existence. Thus, here too, when one relinquishes life, one attains my world.