SECTION –XCIII
(Tirtha-yatra Parva Continued)
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!"
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