Chapter 129
“Lomasa said, ‘Here, O king! The lord of born beings himself performed asacrifice in former times,–the ceremony called Ishtikrita, whichoccupied one thousand years. And Amvarisha, son of Nabhaga, sacrificednear the Yamuna river. And having sacrificed there, he gave away tenPadmas (of gold coins) to the attendant priests, and he obtained thehighest success by his sacrifices and austerities. And, O Kunti’s son!This is the spot where that sovereign of the entire earth, Nahusha’s son,Yayati, of unmeasured force, and who led a holy life, performed hissacrificial rites. He competed with Indra and performed his sacrificehere. Behold how the ground is studded with places for the sacrificialfires of various forms, and how the earth seems to be subsiding hereunder the pressure of Yayati’s pious works. This is the Sami tree, whichhath got but a single leaf, and this is a most excellent lake. Beholdthese lakes of Parasurama, and the hermitage of Narayana. O protector ofearth! This is the path which was followed by Richika’s son, ofunmeasured energy, who roamed over the earth, practising the Yoga ritesin the river Raupya. And, O delight of the tribe of Kurus! Hear what aPisacha woman (she-goblin), who was decked with pestles for herornaments, said (to a Brahmana woman), as I was reciting here the tableof genealogy. (She said), “Having eaten curd in Yugandhara, and lived inAchutasthala, and also bathed in Bhutilaya, thou shouldst live with thysons. Having passed a single night here, if thou wilt spend the second,the events of the night will be different from those that have happenedto thee in the day-time, O most righteous of Bharata’s race! Today weshall spend the night at this very spot. O scion of Bharata’s race! thisis the threshold of the field of the Kurus. O king! At this very spot,the monarch Yayati, son of Nahusha, performed sacrificial rites, and madegifts of an abundance of gems. And Indra was pleased with those sacredrites. This is an excellent holy bathing-place on the river Yamuna, knownas Plakshavatarana (descent of the banian tree). Men of cultured mindscall it the entrance to the region of heaven. O respected sir! here,after having performed sacrificial rites of the Saraswata king, andmaking use of the sacrificial stake for their pestle, the highest orderof saints performed the holy plunge prescribed at the end of a sacredceremony. O monarch! King Bharata here performed sacrificial rites. Tocelebrate the horse-sacrifice, he here set free the horse who was theintended victim. That monarch had won the sovereignty of the earth byrighteousness. The horse? he let go more than once were of a colourcheckered with black. O tiger among men! it was here that Maruttasheltered by Samvartta, leader of saints, succeeded in performingexcellent sacrifices. O sovereign of kings! Having taken his bath at thisspot, one can behold all the worlds, and is purified from his evil deeds.Do thou, therefore, bathe at this spot.'”
Vaisampayana said, “Then that most praiseworthy of Pandu’s sons, therebathed with his brothers, while the mighty saints were uttering laudatorywords to him. And he addressed the following words to Lomasa, ‘O thouwhose strength lieth in truthfulness! By virtue of this pious act, Ibehold all the worlds. And from this place, I behold that mostpraiseworthy of Pandu’s sons Arjuna, the rider of white steed.”
‘Lomasa said, ‘It is even so, O thou of powerful arms! The saints of thehighest order thus behold all the regions. Behold this holy Saraswatihere, thronged by persons who look upon her as their sole refuge. O mostpraise worthy of men! having bathed here, thou wilt be free from all thysins. O Kunti’s son! here the celestial saints performed sacrificialrites of Saraswata king: and so did the saints and the royal saints. Thisis the altar of the lord of beings, five yojanas in extent on all sidesround. And this is the field of the magnanimous Kurus, whose habit it wasto perform sacrifices.'”
