In the sacred month of Bhādrapada, on the auspicious twelfth day when the star Śravaṇa shines bright, the devout rise early to bathe at the holy confluence of rivers. After this purifying bath, they offer worship to Vāmana, the divine dwarf incarnation of Lord Viṣṇu. As part of this worship, they give away a hundred tawny cows, each adorned with vessels of gold, as an offering of devotion and charity. Those who undertake the vow of Śravaṇa-Dvādaśī on this day are protected from falling into demonic births. Even a brāhmaṇa who has fallen from heaven but remains learned in the Vedas, if he turns his mind wholly to meditation, is freed from the cycle of rebirth and attains liberation. According to one’s means, a golden image of Vāmana is fashioned for the ritual. With heartfelt invocation, the devotee calls, “Come, O endless giver of boons, Lord of Śrī, by my favor!” Addressing the Śravaṇa constellation, which dwells in the sky on this twelfth day, they offer salutations: “Salutation to you, lotus-naveled, abode of lotuses, Keśava. Salutation to you, all-pervading, source of the universe, imperishable one composed of all.” Incense is offered to the Lord of gods, who bears the conch, discus, and mace, with a prayer: “By your radiance, may all the worlds be revealed and remain imperishable.” The worshipper recalls that Vāmana, assuming the embryo of Aditi and the form of Vairocaniśa, is honored by the gods and is the supreme goal of yogis. Food and water are offered with reverence, recognizing the Lord as the enjoyer, the maker, the priest, and the very offering itself. The devotee acknowledges, “O Lord, you are gold, you are food, you are made of water and garments. Rain, Varuṇa, the Sun, water, Keśava, and Śiva—these are present. Food is Prajāpati, Viṣṇu, Rudra, the Moon, Indra, and the Sun. Vāmana is the giver of wisdom and abides in the liquid form.” With deep humility, the devotee says, “I receive Vāmana; Vāmana grants to me.” It is remembered that the fourteen worlds abide in the limbs of Kapila. The offering is made with the words: “To you, O divine-born, highly honored, I give this for the destruction of my sins.” Whoever, with faith and learning, performs this worship on the twelfth day accrues merit a hundredfold. “I too, with faith, have served this holy place at the proper time,” declares the devotee, secure in the knowledge that by such devotion, sinful beings can no longer trouble them. The vow is to be observed until a full cycle is completed. By hearing these teachings, one attains liberation directly. As the brāhmaṇa spoke these words, the sound of celestial drums resounded in the sky, and aerial chariots of the departed arrived from all directions. Through conversation with the virtuous brāhmaṇa and his praise of righteous conduct, the supreme value of association with the virtuous is revealed. Just as those who bathe at the holy place are purified, so too are even the evil-minded transformed by hearing of its power. The fruit of liberation is granted simply by hearing of the holiness of this place. Whoever recites these teachings with supreme devotion, or listens to them with a focused heart, attains great merit. The holy place called Piśāca, renowned throughout the three worlds, is glorified in this way. Thus concludes the one hundred and seventy-fourth chapter, entitled “The Glory of the Confluence of the Yamunā at All Holy Places,” in the Śrī Varāha Purāṇa, Madhu-mā-sa section. Continuing the sacred narrative, Lord Varāha speaks: Having bathed in the stream of the Yamunā, the sage Kṛṣṇa Dvaipāyana meditated deeply upon the Gaṅgā and the Yamunā, those destroyers of sin. In the region between Soma and Vaikuṇṭha, this confluence is known as Kṛṣṇaṅga, sanctified by the presence of the holy rivers and the devotion of the wise.