Chapter 219
“Vaisampayana said, ‘Varga continued, ‘We were then, O foremost one ofBharata’s race, deeply distressed at this curse. We sought to propitiatethat Brahmana of ascetic wealth that departed not from his vow.
Addressing him, we said, ‘Inflated with a sense of our beauty and youth,and urged by the god of desire, we have acted very improperly. Itbehoveth thee, O Brahmana, to pardon us! Truly, O Brahmana, it was deathto us that we had at all come hither to tempt thee of rigid vows andascetic wealth. The virtuous, however, have said that women should neverbe slain. Therefore grow thou in virtue. It behoveth thee not to slay usso. O thou that art conversant with virtue, it hath been said that aBrahmana is ever the friend of every creature. O thou of greatprosperity, let this speech of the wise become true. The eminent alwaysprotect those that seek protection at their hands. We seek thyprotection. It behoveth thee to grant us pardon.’
“Vaisampayana continued, ‘Thus addressed, that Brahmana of virtuous souland good deeds and equal in splendour, O hero, unto the sun or the moon,became propitious unto them. And the Brahmana said, ‘The words hundredand hundred thousand are all indicative of eternity. The word hundred,however, as employed by me is to be understood as a limited period andnot indicative of a period without end. Ye shall, therefore, becomingcrocodiles, seize and take away men (for only a hundred years asexplained by me). At the end of that period, an exalted individual willdrag you all from water to the land. Then ye will resume your real forms.Never have I spoken an untruth even in jest. Therefore, all that I havesaid must come to pass. And those sacred waters (within which I assignyou your places), will, after you will have been delivered by thatindividual, become known all over the world by the name of Nari-tirthas(or sacred waters connected with the sufferings and the deliverance offemales), and all of them shall become sacred and sin cleansing in theeyes of the virtuous and the wise.’
“Vaisampayana continued, ‘Varga then addressing Arjuna, finished herdiscourse, saying, ‘Hearing these words of the Brahmana, we saluted himwith reverence and walked round him. Leaving that region we came awaywith heavy hearts, thinking as we proceeded, ‘Where shall we all soonmeet with that man who will give us back our own shapes (after ourtransformation)?’ As we were thinking of it, in almost a moment, OBharata, we beheld even the eminent celestial Rishi Narada. Beholdingthat Rishi of immeasurable energy, our hearts were filled with joy.Saluting him with reverence, O Partha, we stood before him, with blushingfaces. He asked of us the cause of our sorrow and we told him all.Hearing what had happened the Rishi said, ‘In the low-lands bordering onthe southern ocean, there are five regions of sacred water. They aredelightful and eminently holy. Go ye thither without delay. That tigeramong men, Dhananjaya, the son of Pandu of pure soul, will soon deliveryou, without doubt, from this sad plight.’ O hero, hearing the Rishi’swords, all of us came hither. O sinless one, true it is that I have todaybeen delivered by thee. But those four friends of mine are still withinthe other waters here. O hero, do a good deed by delivering them also.’
“Vaisampayana continued, ‘Then, O monarch, that foremost of the Pandavas,endued with great prowess, cheerfully delivered all of them from thatcurse. Rising from the waters they all regained their own forms. ThoseApsaras then, O king, all looked as before. Freeing those sacred waters(from the danger for which they had been notorious), and giving theApsaras leave to go where they chose, Arjuna became desirous of once morebeholding Chitrangada. He, therefore, proceeded towards the city ofManipura. Arrived there, he beheld on the throne the son he had begottenupon Chitrangada, and who was called by the name of Vabhruvahana. SeeingChitrangada once more, Arjuna proceeded, O monarch, towards the spotcalled Gokarna.'”
