The twelfth sacred place is Vṛndāvana, a holy grove cherished and protected by the goddess Vṛndā. O Earth, those who are blessed to behold Vṛndāvana and Govinda are truly fortunate. Thus, in the divine scripture of the Varāha Purāṇa, within the section that extols the greatness of Mathurā, the one hundred and fifty-third chapter concludes, bearing the title “The Greatness of the Mathurā Tīrtha.” Now begins the account of the glory of the Yamunā tīrtha. After beholding the sacred city of Mathurā, two travelers—husband and wife—were filled with profound joy. In that moment, the wife turned to her husband and inquired about a secret he had alluded to earlier. The king replied to his queen, reminding her, “You too once spoke to me of a secret. Tell me yours, and then I shall share mine.” Moved by her heart’s delight, the queen revealed the cause of her happiness. “I came to this city on the twelfth day of Kumuda,” she said. “Immediately, through the power of this holy tīrtha, I was separated from my life-breath. Even after you married me, O king, the memory of that event never left me.” She recounted how, at the sacred place called Dhārāpatanaka, she had surrendered her own life. In turn, she also told of how the king himself had once perished in the realm of Yama. As they gazed upon her, both of them met their end there, by the decree of destiny. “O Devi,” the king said, “this great and wondrous event has now been told to you.” He continued, “One who has abandoned sin does not attain merely the world of the ancestors. Instead, such a soul reaches the realm of Vishnu, assuming a divine form with four arms. Here, at this tīrtha, whoever gives up their life is granted entry to my world. Those who bathe here and die ascend to heaven and do not return.” The king added, “Devi, I will tell you something more—listen, O Vasundharā. There, after bathing and drinking, observing discipline and regulated food, at the pure Soma-tīrtha in the waters of the Yamunā, one should perform ablutions after completing one’s duties. Here, too, when a person gives up their life, they go to my world. Even one of no caste who bathes there becomes an ascetic. Whoever bathes after fasting for three nights, and then gives up their life, surely attains my world. Those who bathe with discipline find that heaven is not difficult to reach.” He revealed further, “In the beginning of creation, this tīrtha was fashioned by Brahmā himself, through his mind. Those who bathe here and die ascend to heaven and are not born again. At this place, the lord of obstacles does not trouble those who have bathed; the king of obstacles cannot afflict them. The son of Pārvatī, Ganesha, always removes obstacles for such a person.” Beyond this lies the Koṭitīrtha, remembered as supremely pure. There, one who abandons greed and delusion departs from life. After that is the Śiva-kshetra, half a krosha distant and difficult to reach. By bathing and drinking there, one attains the fruits of Mathurā. Thus ends the one hundred and fifty-fourth chapter, called “The Power of the Yamunā Ford,” within the Mathurā-mahātmya of the glorious Varāha Purāṇa. Now, the narration continues, as the power of the Akrūra Ford—rare even among mortals—is about to be declared once again.