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