Listen, O Vasundhara, as I reveal to you something more, filled with great significance. There is a sacred place, the pure Soma-tirtha, nestled in the waters of the Yamuna. There, after one has bathed and drunk the holy waters, observing discipline and a regulated diet, one should perform ablutions, completing all proper duties. Those who undertake this sacred act, and relinquish their bodies at that place, ascend to my world. O Devi, know this: even a person of no caste, if he bathes there, is elevated to the state of an ascetic. Whoever bathes at Soma-tirtha after fasting for three nights, and then gives up his life there, surely attains my world. For those who bathe with discipline at this tirtha, heaven is not difficult to reach. In the very beginning of creation, Brahma himself fashioned this place through the power of his mind. Those who bathe there and depart from their bodies ascend to heaven and are freed from the cycle of rebirth. At this sacred ford, the lord of obstacles does not trouble those who have bathed; the king of obstacles cannot afflict them. The son of Parvati—Ganesha—always removes obstacles for such devoted souls. Beyond this lies the supremely pure Koṭitīrtha. Whoever, at that place, abandons greed and delusion and departs from life, attains liberation. Further ahead is the Śiva-kshetra, half a krosha distant and difficult to reach. Bathing and drinking the waters there bestows the merit of Māthura itself. Thus concludes the one hundred fifty-fourth chapter, extolling the power of the Yamuna Ford, from the Mathura-mahatmya of the glorious Varaha Purana. Now, O goddess, listen as I declare the greatness of the Akrura Ford, a place exceedingly rare in the mortal realm. There, for the welfare of all worlds, I always abide. At the times of the solstices, the equinoxes, and the Viṣṇupadī, my sacred field there is renowned as Akrura. By bathing at Akrura Ford, a person gains the merit of both the Rājasūya and Aśvamedha sacrifices. Indeed, bathing there brings the same fruit as bathing at the sacred Prayāga. Among my devotees is one named Sudhana, who always remains devoted to me. He enjoys unsurpassed affection at home, surrounded by his relatives, sons, and wife, as his days, months, and years pass by in contentment. Sudhana is honest, never committing fraud in weights or measures. He dedicates himself to excellent worship of Hari, offering divine gifts and fragrant incense. He observes fasts and keeps vigil at night. Coming to the sacred ford, he dances before me, his appearance auspicious and radiant. But as Sudhana was moving about, he was suddenly seized at the feet by a Brahma-rākṣasa. Clutching his feet, the rākṣasa addressed the earth, saying, “I am a rākṣasa, O best of merchants, dwelling in the forest.” Sudhana replied, “Will you devour my body, which has been nourished with delicious food? Yet, O rākṣasa, I wish to keep vigil for the Lord of gods. Allow me this: after I have kept my vigil through the night, in your presence, then, in the morning, you may eat my body, once my worship is complete.