The Mahabharata, of, Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa, BOOK 3, (Tirtha-yatra Parva), SECTION XCI

Vaisampayana continued, "O son of the Kuru race, while Dhaumya was

speaking thus, there arrived at the spot the Rishi Lomasa of great

energy. And the king, who was the eldest of Pandu's sons, with his

followers and those Brahmanas sat round the highly righteous one, like

celestials in heaven sitting round Sakra. And having received him duly,

Yudhishthira the just enquired after the reason of his arrival, and the

object also of his wanderings. Thus asked by Pandu's son, the illustrious

ascetic, well-pleased, replied in sweet words delighting the Pandavas,

'Travelling at will, O Kaunteya, over all the regions, I came to Sakra's

abode, and saw there the lord of the celestials. There, I saw thy heroic

brother capable of wielding the bow with his left hand, seated on the

same seat with Sakra. And beholding Partha on that seat I was greatly

astonished, O tiger among men! And the lord of the celestials then said

unto me, 'Go thou unto the sons of Pandu.' At the request, therefore, of

Indra as also of the high-souled son of Pritha have I come hither with

speed, desiring to see thee with thy younger brothers. O child, I will

relate what will please thee highly, O son of Pandu! Do thou listen to

it, O king, with Krishna and the Rishis that are with thee. O bull of the

Bharata race, Partha hath obtained from Rudra that incomparable weapon

for the acquisition of which thou hadst sent him to heaven. That fierce

weapon, known by the name of Brahma-sira which arose after Amrita, and

which Rudra had obtained by means of ascetic austerities, hath been

acquired by Arjuna together with the Mantras for hurling and withdrawing

it, and the rites of expiation and revival. And, O Yudhishthira, Arjuna

of immeasurable prowess hath also acquired Vajras and Dandas and other

celestial weapons from Yama and Kuvera and Varuna and Indra, O son of the

Kuru race! And he hath also thoroughly learnt music, both vocal and

instrumental, and dancing and proper recitation of the Saman (Veda) from

Vishwavasu's son. And having thus acquired weapons and mastered the

Gandharva Veda, thy third brother Vibhatsu liveth happily (in heaven).

Listen to me, O Yudhishthira, for I shall now deliver to thee the message

of that foremost of celestials. He hath commanded me saying, "Thou wilt,

no doubt, go to the world of men. O best of Brahmanas, tell thou

Yudhishthira these words of mine. Soon will thy brother Arjuna come to

thee, having acquired arms and accomplished a great deed for the

celestials that is incapable of being accomplished by themselves. Do thou

meanwhile devote thyself to ascetic austerities, with thy brothers. There

is nothing superior to asceticism, and it is by asceticism that a person

achieveth great results. And, O bull of the Bharata race, well do I know

that Karna is endued with great ardour and energy and strength and

prowess that is incapable of being baffled. Well do I know that, skilled

in fierce conflict, he hath not his rival in battle; that he is a mighty

bowman, a hero deft in the use of fierce weapons and cased in the best of

mail. Well do I know that that exalted son of Aditya resembleth the son

of Maheswara himself. Well do I also know the high natural prowess of the

broad-shouldered Arjuna. In battle Karna is not equal unto even a

sixteenth part of Pritha's son. And as for the fear of Karna which is in

thy heart, O repressor of foes, I shall dispel when Savyasachin will have

left heaven. And as regards thy purpose, O hero, to set out on a

pilgrimage to tirthas, the great Rishi Lomasa will, without doubt, speak

unto thee. And whatever that regenerate Rishi will relate unto thee

touching the merits of asceticism and tirthas, thou shouldst receive with

respect and not otherwise!'"

SECTION XCII

"Lomasa continued, 'Listen now, O Yudhishthira, to what Dhananjaya hath

said: 'Cause my brother Yudhishthira to attend to the practice of virtue

which leadeth to prosperity. Endued with wealth of asceticism, thou art

conversant with the highest morality, with ascetic austerities of every

kind, with the eternal duties of kings blessed with prosperity, and the

high and sanctifying merit that men obtain from tirthas. Persuade thou

the sons of Pandu to acquire the merit attaching to tirthas. Do thou with

thy whole soul persuade the king to visit the tirthas and give away

kine.' This is what Arjuna said unto me. Indeed he also said, 'Let him

visit all the tirthas protected by thee. Thou wilt also protect him from

Rakshasas, and watch over him in inaccessible regions and rugged mountain

breasts. And as Dadhichi had protected Indra, and Angiras had protected

the Sun, so do thou, O best of regenerate ones, protect the sons of Kunti

from Rakshasas. Along the way are many Rakshasas, huge as

mountain-cliffs. But protected by thee these will not be able to approach

the sons of Kunti. Obedient to the words of Indra and at the request of

Arjuna also protecting thee from dangers, I shall wander with thee.

Before this, O son of the Kuru race, I have twice visited the tirthas.

With thee I shall repair to them for the third time. O Yudhishthira, Manu

and other royal Rishis of meritorious deeds had undertaken journeys to

tirthas. Indeed, a trip to them is capable of dispelling all fear, O

king! They that are crooked-minded, they that have not their souls under

control, they that are illiterate and perverse, do not, O Kauravya, bathe

in tirthas. But thou art ever of a virtuous disposition and conversant

with morality and firm in thy promises. Thou wilt surely be able to free

thyself from the world. For, O son of Pandu, thou art even as king

Bhagiratha, or Gaya, or Yayati, or any one, O son of Kunti, that is like

them.'

"Yudhishthira answered, 'I am so overwhelmed with delight, O Brahmana,

that I cannot find words to answer thee. Who can be more fortunate than

he who is remembered even by the lord of the celestials? Who can be more

fortunate than he who hath been favoured with thy company, who hath

Dhananjaya for a brother, and who is thought of by Vasava himself? As to

thy words, O illustrious one, in respect of a trip to the tirthas, my

mind had already been made up at the words of Dhaumya. O Brahmana, I

shall start, at whatever hour thou mayst be pleased to appoint, on the

proposed journey to tirthas. Even this is my firm resolve!'

Vaisampayana continued, "Lomasa then said unto Yudhishthira, who had made

up his mind to start on the proposed journey, 'O mighty king, be thou

light as regards thy retinue, for by this thou wilt be able to go more

easily!'

"Yudhishthira then said, 'Let those mendicants and Brahmanas and Yogis

that are incapable of bearing hunger and thirst, the fatigues of travel

and toil, and the severity of winter, desist. Let those Brahmanas also

desist that live on sweetmeats, and they also that desire cooked viands

and food that is sucked or drunk as well as meat. And let those also

remain behind that are dependent on cooks. Let those citizens that have

followed me from motives of loyalty, and whom I have hitherto kept on

proper stipends, repair to king Dhritarashtra. He will give them their

allowances in due time. If, however, that king refuses to grant them

proper allowances, the king of the Panchalas will, for our satisfaction

and welfare, give them these.'"

Vaisampayana continued, "And thereupon oppressed with grief, the citizens

and the principal Brahmanas and Yatis set out for Hastinapura. And out of

affection for Yudhishthira the just, the royal son of Amvika received

them properly, and gratified them with proper allowances. And the royal

son of Kunti, with only a small number of Brahmanas, abode for three

nights at Kamyaka, cheered by Lomasa."

SECTION XCIII

Vaisampayana said, "Those Brahmanas then, that had been dwelling (with

him) in the woods, beholding the son of Kunti about to set out (on the

pious pilgrimage), approached him, O king, and said, 'Thou art about to

set out, O king, on thy journey to the sacred tirthas, along with thy

brothers and accompanied by the illustrious Rishi Lomasa. O king, it

behoveth thee, O son of Pandu, to take us with thee. Without thee, we

shall not be able, O son of the Kuru race, to visit them at any time.

Surrounded by dangers and difficult of access, they are infested by

beasts of prey. Those tirthas, O lord of men, are inaccessible to persons

in small parties. Foremost of all wielders of the bow, thy brothers are

ever brave. Protected by your heroic selves, we also would proceed to

them. Permit us to acquire, O lord of earth, through thy grace the

blessed fruit of tirthas. Protected by thy energy, let us, O king, be

cleansed of all our sins by visiting those tirthas and purified by baths

therein. Bathing in those tirthas, thou also, O Bharata, wilt acquire

without doubt the regions difficult of acquisition that Kartavirya and

Ashtaka, the royal sage Lomapada and the imperial and heroic Bharata only

had earned. In thy company, O king, we desire to behold Prabhasa and

other tirthas, Mahendra and other hills, Ganga and other rivers, and

Plaksha and other gigantic trees. If, O lord of men, thou hast any regard

for the Brahmanas, do thou our bidding. Thou wilt surely have prosperity

from this. O thou of mighty arms, the tirthas are infested by Rakshasas

that ever obstruct ascetic penances. It behoveth thee to protect us from

them. Protected by Lomasa and taking us with thee, go thou to all the

tirthas spoken of by Dhaumya and the intelligent Narada, as also all

those that have been spoken of by the celestial Rishi Lomasa, endued with

great ascetic wealth, and be thou, by this, cleansed of all thy sins."

"Thus addressed respectfully by them, the king--that bull amongst the

sons of Pandu--surrounded by his heroic brothers headed by Bhima, with

tears of joy in his eyes, said unto all those ascetics, 'Let it be so.'

With the permission then of Lomasa, as also of his priest Dhaumya, that

foremost of Pandu's sons with soul under complete control, resolved,

along with his brothers and Drupada's daughter of faultless features, to

set out. Just at this time, the blessed Vyasa, as also Parvata and

Narada, all endued with high intelligence, came to Kamyaka for seeing the

son of Pandu. Beholding them, king Yudhishthira worshipped them with due

rites. And worshipped by the monarch thus, those blessed ones, addressing

Yudhishthira, said, 'O Yudhishthira, O Bhima, and ye twins, banish all

evil thoughts from your minds. Purify your hearts and then set out for

the tirthas. The Brahmanas have said that the observance of regulations

in respect of the body are called earthly vows, while efforts to purify

the heart, so that it may be free from evil thoughts, are called

spiritual vows. O king, the mind that is free from all evil thoughts is

highly pure. Purifying yourselves, therefore, harbouring only friendly

feelings for all, behold ye the tirthas. Observing earthly vows in

respect of your bodies and purifying your minds by spiritual vows, obtain

ye the fruits as recited, of pilgrimages."

"Saying, 'So be it,' the Pandavas with Krishna, caused those celestial

and human Rishis to perform the usual propitiatory ceremonies. And those

heroes, having worshipped the feet of Lomasa and Dwaipayana and Narada

and the celestial Rishi Parvata, O king, and accompanied by Dhaumya as

also the ascetics that had been residing with them in the woods, set out

on the day following the full moon of Agrahayana in which the

constellation Pushya was ascendant. Dressed in barks and hides, and with

matted lock on head, they were all cased in impenetrable mail and armed

with swords. And O Janamejaya, the heroic sons of Pandu with quivers and

arrows and scimitars and other weapons, and accompanied by Indrasena and

other attendants with fourteen and one cars, a number of cooks and

servants of other classes, set out with faces turned towards the east!"

SECTION XCIV

"Yudhishthira said, 'O best of celestial Rishis, I do not think that I am

without merits. Yet am I afflicted with so much sorrow that there never

was a king like me. I think, however, that my enemies are destitute of

good qualities and even destitute of morality. Yet why, O Lomasa, do they

prosper in this world?"

"Lomasa said, 'Grieve not ever, O king, O son of Pritha, that sinful men

should often prosper in consequence of the sins they commit. A man may be

seen to prosper by his sins, obtain good therefrom and vanquish his foes.

Destruction, however, overtakes him to the roots. O king, I have seen

many Daityas and Danavas prosper by sin but I have also seen destruction

overtake them. O exalted one, I have seen all this in the righteous age

of yore. The gods practised virtue, while the Asuras abandoned it. The

gods visited the tirthas, while the Asuras did not visit them. And at

first the sinful Asuras were possessed with pride. And pride begat vanity

and vanity begat wrath. And from wrath arose every kind of evil

propensities, and from these latter sprang shamelessness. And in

consequence of shamelessness, good behaviour disappeared from among them.

And because they had become shameless and destitute of virtuous

propensities and good conduct and virtuous vows, forgiveness and

prosperity and morality forsook them in no time. And prosperity then, O

king, sought the gods, while adversity sought the Asuras. And when the

Daityas and the Danavas, deprived of sense by pride, were possessed by

adversity. Kali also sought to possess them. And, O son of Kunti,

overwhelmed with pride, and destitute of rites and sacrifices, and devoid

of reason and feeling, and their hearts full of vanity, destruction

overtook them soon. And covered with infamy, the Daityas were soon

exterminated. The gods, however, who were virtuous in their practices,

going to the seas, the rivers, the lakes and the holy spots, cleansed

themselves of all sins, O son of Pandu, by means of ascetic penances and

sacrifices and gifts and blessings, and obtained prosperity and the

consequence. And because the gods always performed sacrifices and holy

deeds abandoning every practice that was evil, and visited the tirthas,

as the consequence thereof they acquired great good fortune. Guided by

this, O king, do thou also, with thy brothers, bathe in tirthas, for then

thou wilt obtain prosperity once more. Even this is the eternal road.

And, O monarch, as king Nriga and Shivi and Ausinara and Bhagiratha and

Vasumanas and Gaya and Puru and Pururavas, by practising ascetic penances

and visiting tirthas and touching sacred waters and beholding illustrious

ascetics, obtained fame and sanctity and merit and wealth, so wilt thou

also obtain prosperity that is great. And as Ikshwaku with his sons,

friends and followers, as Muchukunda and Mandhatri and king Marutta, as

the gods through power of asceticism and the celestial Rishis also, had

all obtained fame, so wilt thou also obtain great celebrity. The sons of

Dhritarashtra, on the other hand, enslaved by sinfulness and ignorance,

will, without doubt, be soon exterminated like the Daityas.'"

SECTION XCV

Vaisampayana said, "The heroic sons of Pandu, accompanied by their

followers, proceeding from place to place, at last arrived at Naimisha. O

king, reaching the Gomati, the Pandavas bathed in the sacred tirtha of

that stream, and having performed their ablutions there, they gave away,

O Bharata, both kine and wealth! And repeatedly offering oblations of

water, O Bharata, to the gods, the pitris, and the Brahmanas, in the

tirthas called Kanya, Aswa, and Go and staying (as directed) in Kalakoti

and the Vishaprastha hills, the Kauravas then, O king, reached Vahuda and

performed their ablution in that stream. Proceeding next, O lord of

earth, to the sacrificial region of the gods known by the name Prayaga,

they bathed in the confluence of Ganga and Yamuna and residing there

practised ascetic penances of great merit. And the Pandavas, of truthful

promises, bathing in the tirtha, cleansed themselves of every sin. The

sons of Pandu then, O king of the Bharata race, accompanied by those

Brahmanas, proceeded to the tirtha called Vedi, sacred to the Creator and

adored by the ascetics. Residing there for some time and gratifying the

Brahmanas with the fruit and roots of the wilderness and clarified

butter, those heroes began to practise ascetic penances of great merit.

They then proceeded to Mahidhara consecrated by that virtuous royal sage

Gaya of unrivalled splendour. In that region is the hill called Gayasira,

as well as the delightful river called Mahanadi, with fine banks graced

by bushes of canes. On that celestial hill of holy peaks is a sacred

tirtha called Brahmasara  which is much adored by ascetics. There on the

banks of that lake had dwelt of yore the eternal god himself of justice,

and it was thither that the illustrious Rishi Agastya had repaired to

behold that deity. It is from that lake that all the rivers take their

rise and there in that tirtha, Mahadeva the wielder of the Pinaka, is

present for aye. Arriving at that spot, the heroic sons of Pandu

practised the vow that is known by the name of the Chaturmasya according

to all the rites and ordinances of the great sacrifice called Rishiyajna.

It is there that that mighty tree called the Eternal banian stands. Any

sacrifice performed there produces merit that is eternal. In that

sacrificial platform of the gods producing eternal merit, the Pandavas

began to fast with concentrated souls. And there came unto them Brahmanas

by hundreds endued with wealth of asceticism. And those Brahmanas also

all performed the Chaturmasya sacrifice according to the rites inculcated

by the Rishis. And there in that tirtha, those Brahmanas old in knowledge

and ascetic merit and fully versed in the Vedas, that constituted the

court of the illustrious sons of Pandu, talked in their presence upon

various subject of sacred import. And it was in that place that the

learned vow-observing, and sacred Shamatha, leading, besides, a life of

celibacy, spake unto them, O king, of Gaya, the son of Amurttaraya. And

Shamatha said, 'Gaya, the son of Amurttaraya, was one of the foremost of

royal sages. Listen to me, O Bharata, as I recite his meritorious deeds.

It was here, O king, that Gaya had performed many sacrifices

distinguished by the enormous quantities of food (that were distributed)

and the profuse gifts that were given away (unto Brahmanas). Those

sacrifices, O king, were distinguished by mountains in hundreds and

thousands of cooked rice, lakes of clarified butter and rivers of curds

in many hundreds, and streams of richly-dressed curries in thousands. Day

after day were these got ready and distributed amongst all comers, while,

over and above this, Brahmanas and others, O king, received food that was

clean and pure. During the conclusion also (of every sacrifice) when

gifts were dedicated to the Brahmanas, the chanting of the Vedas reached

the heavens. And so loud, indeed, was the sound of the Vedic Mantras that

nothing else, O Bharata, could be heard there. Thus sacred sounds, O

king, filled the earth, the points of the horizon, the sky and heaven

itself. Even these were the wonders that persons noticed on those

occasions. And gratified with the excellent viands and drinks that the

illustrious Gaya provided, men, O bull of the Bharata race, went about

singing these verses. In Gaya's great sacrifice, who is there today,

amongst creatures, that still desireth to eat? There are yet twenty-five

mountains of food there after all have been fed! What the royal sage Gaya

of immense splendour hath achieved in his sacrifice was never achieved by

men before, nor will be by any in future. The gods have been so surfeited

by Gaya with clarified butter that they are not able to take anything

that anybody else may offer. As sand grains on earth, as stars in the

firmament, as drops showered by rain-charged clouds, cannot ever be

counted by anybody, so can none count the gifts in Gaya's sacrifice!"

"O son of the Kuru race, many times did king Gaya perform sacrifices of

this description, here, by the side of this Brahmasara!"