SECTION –CXXI
(Tirtha-yatra Parva Continued)
Lomasa said, "O king! when the Nriga
performed a sacrifice here, he gratified Indra, the demolisher of hostile
cities, by offering the Soma juice. And Indra was refreshed and was very much
pleased. Here the gods together with Indira, and the protectors of all born
beings, celebrated sacrifices of various kinds on a large scale, and paid
abundant gratuities to the ministering priests. Here king Amurtarayasa, the
lord of the world, satisfied Indra, the holder of the thunderbolt, by the offer
of the Soma juice, when seven horse-sacrifices were performed by that king. The
articles which in other sacrificial rites are uniformly made of the timber,
wood and of earth, were all made of gold in the seven sacrifices performed by
him. And it is said that in all those rites, seven sets of stakes, rings for
the sacrificial stakes, spots, ladles, utensils, spoons were prepared by him.
On each sacrificial stake, seven rings were fastened at the top. And, O
Yudhishthira! the celestials together with Indira, themselves erected the
sacrificial stakes of shining gold which had been prepared for his sacred
rites. In all those magnificent sacrifices instituted by Gaya, the protector of
the earth, Indira, was delighted by drinking the Soma juice, and the
ministering priests were gratified with the gratuities paid to them. And the
priests obtained untold wealth counted out to them. And as the sand-grains of
the earth, or as the stars in the sky, or as the rain-drops when it raineth,
cannot be counted by anyone, so the wealth Gaya gave away was incapable of
being counted by figures. So untold was the wealth, O great king! that was
given to the ministering priests in all those seven sacrifices that even the
above-mentioned objects might be counted by figures, but the gratuities
bestowed by him whose largeness exceeded all that was known before were not
capable of being counted by figures. And images of the goddess of speech were
made of gold by the sculptor of the gods;--and the king gratified the members
of the sacerdotal caste, who had arrived from all the cardinal points, by
making presents to them of those images, of gold. O protector of men! when the
high-souled Gaya performed his sacrificial rites, he erected sacrificial piles
at so many different spots that but little space was left on the surface of the
earth. And, O scion of Bharata's race! he by that sacred act attained the
regions of Indra. Whoever should bathe in the river, Payosini, would go to the
regions attained by Gaya. Therefore, O lord of kings! O unswerving prince! thou
and thy brothers should bathe in this river; then, O protector of the earth,
thou wilt be freed from all these sins."
Vaisampayana said, "O most praiseworthy of
men! Yudhishthira with his brothers performed ablutions in the Payosini river.
Then, O sinless prince! the powerful monarch together with his brothers,
journeyed to the hill of sapphires and the great river Narmada. The blessed
saint Lomasa there named to him all the delightful holy spots and all the
sacred shrines of the celestials. Then he with his brothers visited those
places, according to his desire and convenience. And at various places
Brahmanas by thousands received gifts from him."
"Lomasa said, 'O son of Kunti! one who
visits the sapphire Hill and plunges his body in the river Narmada attains the
regions inhabited by the celestials and kings. O most praiseworthy of men! this
period is the junction between the Treta and the Kali age, O Kunti's son! This
is the period when a person gets rid of all his sins. O respected sir! this is
the spot where Saryati performed sacrificial rites, wherein Indra appeared in a
visible form and drank the Soma juice, with the two celestial physicians. And
Bhrigu's son of severe austerities conceived anger towards the great Indra; and
the mighty Chyavana paralysed Indra, and for his wife obtained the princess,
Sukanya.'"
"Yudhishthira said, 'How was the chastiser
of the demon Paka, the god possessed of the six attributes, paralysed by
Chyavana? And for what reason did the mighty saint conceive wrath towards
Indra? And how, O Brahmana! did he raise the celestial physicians to the rank
of the drinkers of Soma? All this, precisely as it happened, thy venerable self
will be pleased to recount to me.'"
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