Chapter 125

“Lomasa said, ‘When the god who had performed a hundred sacrifices(Indra) beheld the demon Mada of a frightful mien, coming towards himwith open mouth, his intention being to devour him, and looking like thegod of death himself, while his own arms remained paralysed, he throughfear repeatedly licked the corners of his mouth. Then the lord of thecelestials, tortured with fright, spake to Chyavana saying, ‘O Bhrigu’sson! O Brahmana! verily I tell thee as truth itself, that from this dayforward the two Aswins will be entitled to the Soma juice. Be merciful tome! My undertaking can never come to naught. Let this be the rule. And Iknow, O saint of the sacerdotal caste! that thy work can never come tonothing. These two Aswins will have a right to drink the Soma juice,since thou hast made them entitled to the same. And, O Bhrigu’s son, Ihave done this but to spread the fame of thy powers, and my object was togive thee an occasion for displaying thy powers. My other object was thatthe fame of the father of this Sukanya here might spread everywhere.Therefore be merciful to me: let it be as thou wishest.’ Being thusaddressed by Indra, the wrath of Chyavana of mighty soul was quicklyappeased, and he set free the demolisher of hostile cities (Indra). Andthe powerful saint, O king! distributed Mada (literally intoxication),and put it piece-meal in drinks, in women, in gambling, and in fieldsports, even this same Mada who had been created repeatedly before.Having thus cast down the demon Mada and gratified Indra with a Somadraught and assisted king Saryati in worshipping all the gods togetherwith the two Aswins and also spread his fame for power over all theworlds, the best of those endued with speech passed his days happily inthe wood, in the company of Sukanya, his loving wife. This is his lake,shining, O king! and resounding with the voice of birds. Here must thou,together with thy uterine brothers, offer libations of water to thyforefathers and the gods. And, O ruler of earth! O scion of Bharata’srace! having visited it and Sikataksha also, thou shalt repair to theSaindhava wood, and behold a number of small artificial rivers. And Ogreat king, O scion of Bharata’s race! thou shalt touch the waters of allthe holy lakes and reciting the hymns of the god Sthanu (Siva), meet withsuccess in every undertaking. For this is the junction, O mostpraiseworthy of men, of the two ages of the world, viz., Dwapara andTreta. It is a time, O Kunti’s son! capable of destroying all the sins ofa person. Here do thou perform ablutions, for the spot is able to removeall the sins of an individual. Yonder is the Archika hill, a dwellingplace for men of cultured minds. Fruits of all the seasons grow here atall times and the streams run for ever. It is an excellent place fit forthe celestials. And there are the holy cairns of diverse forms, set up bythe celestials. O Yudhishthira! this is the bathing spot belonging to theMoon. And the saints are in attendance here on all sides round–they arethe dwellers of the wood and the Valakhilyas, and the Pavakas, whosubsist on air only. These are three peaks and three springs. Thou maystwalk round them all, one by one: then thou mayst wash thyself atpleasure. Santanu, O king! and Sunaka the sovereign of men, and both Naraand Narayana have attained everlasting regions from this place. Here didthe gods constantly lie down, as also the forefathers, together with themighty saints. In this Archika hill, they all carried on austerities.Sacrifice to them, O Yudhishthira! Here did they, also the saints, eatrice cooked in milk, O protector of men! And here is the Yamuna of anexhaustless spring. Krishna here engaged himself in a life of penances, OPandu’s son. O thou that draggest the dead bodies of thy foes! the twinbrothers, and Bhimasena and Krishna and all of us will accompany thee tothis spot. O lord of men, this is the holy spring that belongeth toIndra. Here the creative and the dispensing deity, and Varuna also roseupwards, and here too they dwelt, O king! observing forbearance, andpossessed of the highest faith. This excellent and propitious hill is fitfor persons of a kindly and candid disposition. This is that celebratedYamuna, O king! frequented by hosts of mighty saints, the scene ofdiverse religious rites, holy, and destructive of the dread of sin. Heredid Mandhata himself, of a mighty bow, perform sacrificial rites for thegods; and so did Somaka, O Kunti’s son! who was the son of Sahadeva, anda most excellent maker of gifts.