Chapter 37

Vaishampayana said, “Then Valadeva, O king, proceeded to Vinasana wherethe Sarasvati hath become invisible in consequence of her contempt forSudras and Abhiras. And since the Sarasvati, in consequence of suchcontempt, is lost at that spot, the Rishis, for that reason, O chief ofthe Bharatas, always name the place as Vinasana. Having bathed in thattirtha of the Sarasvati, the mighty Baladeva then proceeded to Subhumika,situated on the excellent bank of the same river. There manyfair-complexioned Apsaras, of beautiful faces, are always engaged insports of a pure character without any intermission. The gods and theGandharvas, every month, O ruler of men, repair to that sacred tirthawhich is the resort of Brahman himself. The Gandharvas and diverse tribesof Apsaras are to be seen there, O king, assembled together and passingthe time as happily as they like. There the gods and the Pitris sport injoy, with sacred and auspicious flowers repeatedly rained over them, andall the creepers also were adorned with flowery loads. And because, Oking, that spot is the beautiful sporting ground of those Apsaras,therefore is that tirtha on the excellent bank of the Sarasvati calledSubhumika. Baladeva of Madhu’s race, having bathed in that tirtha andgiven away much wealth unto the Brahmanas, heard the sound of thosecelestial songs and musical instruments. He also saw there many shadowsof gods, Gandharvas, and Rakshasas. The son of Rohini then proceeded tothe tirtha of the Gandharvas. There many Gandharvas headed by Viswavasuand possessed of ascetic merit, pass their time in dance and song of themost charming kind. Giving away diverse kinds of wealth unto theBrahmanas, as also goats and sheep and kine and mules and camels and goldand silver, and feeding many Brahmanas and gratifying them with manycostly gifts that were desired by them. Baladeva of Madhu’s raceproceeded thence, accompanied by many Brahmanas and eulogised by them.Leaving that tirtha resorted to by Gandharvas, that mighty-armedchastiser of foes, having but one earring, then proceeded to the famoustirtha called Gargasrota. There, in that sacred tirtha of the Sarasvati,the illustrious Garga of venerable years and soul cleansed by asceticpenances, O Janamejaya, had acquired a knowledge of Time and its course,of the deviations of luminous bodies (in the firmament), and of allauspicious and inauspicious portents. That tirtha, for this reason, cameto be called after his name as Gargasrota. There, O king, highly blessedRishis of excellent vows always waited upon Garga, O lord, for obtaininga knowledge of Time. Smeared with white sandal-paste, O king, Baladeva,repairing to that tirtha, duly gave away wealth unto many ascetics ofcleansed souls. Having given also many kinds of costly viands unto theBrahmanas, that illustrious one attired in blue robes then proceeded tothe tirtha called Sankha. There, on the bank of the Sarasvati, thatmighty hero having the palmyra on his banner beheld a gigantic tree,called Mohasankha, tall as Meru, looking like the White-mountain, andresorted to by Rishis. There dwell Yakshas, and Vidyadharas, andRakshasas of immeasurable energy and Pisachas of immeasurable might, andSiddhas, numbering thousands. All of them, abandoning other kinds offood, observe vows and regulations, and take at due seasons the fruits ofthat lord of the forest for their sustenance and wander in separatebands, unseen by men, O foremost of human beings! That monarch of theforest, O king, is known for this throughout the world! That tree is thecause of this celebrated and sacred tirtha on the Sarasvati. Having givenaway in that tirtha many milch cows, and vessels of copper and iron, anddiverse kinds of other vessels, that tiger of Yadu’s race, Baladeva,having the plough for his weapon, worshipped the Brahmanas and wasworshipped by them in return. He then, O king, proceeded to the Dwaitalake. Arrived there, Vala saw diverse kinds of ascetics in diverse kindsof attire. Bathing in its waters, he worshipped the Brahmanas. Havinggiven away unto the Brahmanas diverse articles of enjoyment in profusion,Baladeva then, O king, proceeded along the southern bank of theSarasvati. The mighty-armed and illustrious Rama of virtuous soul andunfading glory then proceeded to the tirtha called Nagadhanwana. Swarmingwith numerous snakes, O monarch, it was the abode of Vasuki of greatsplendour, the king of the snakes. There 14,000 Rishis also had theirpermanent home. The celestials, having come there (in days of yore), hadaccording to due rites, installed the excellent snake Vasuki as king ofall the snakes. There is no fear of snakes in that place, O thou ofKuru’s race! Duly giving away many valuables there unto the Brahmanas,Baladeva then set out with face towards the east and reached, one afteranother, hundreds and thousands of famous tirthas that occurred at everystep. Bathing in all those tirthas, and observing fasts and other vows asdirected by the Rishis, and giving away wealth in profusion, and salutingall the ascetics who had taken up their residence there, Baladeva oncemore set out, along the way that those ascetics pointed out to him, forreaching that spot where the Sarasvati turns in an eastward direction,like torrents of rain bent by the action of the wind. The river took thatcourse for beholding the high-souled Rishis dwelling in the forest ofNaimisha. Always smeared with white sandalpaste, Vala, having the ploughfor his weapon, beholding that foremost of rivers change her course,became, O king, filled with wonder.”

Janamejaya said, “Why, O Brahmana, did the Sarasvati bend her coursethere in an easternly direction? O best of Adharyus, it behoveth thee totell me everything relating to this! For what reason was that daughter ofthe Yadus filled with wonder? Why, indeed, did that foremost of riversthus alter her course?”

Vaishampayana said, “Formerly, in the Krita age, O king, the asceticsdwelling in Naimisha were engaged in a grand sacrifice extending fortwelve years. Many were the Rishis, O king, that came to that sacrifice.Passing their days, according to due rites, in the performance of thatsacrifice, those highly blessed ones, after the completion of that twelveyears’ sacrifice at Naimisha, set out in large number for visiting thetirthas. In consequence of the number of the Rishis, O king, the tirthason the southern banks of the Sarasvati all looked like towns and cities.Those foremost of Brahmanas, O tiger among men, in consequence of theireagerness for enjoying the merits of tirthas, took up their abodes on thebank of the river up to the site of Samantapanchaka. The whole regionseemed to resound with the loud Vedic recitations of those Rishis ofcleansed souls, all employed in pouring libations on sacrificial fires.That foremost of rivers looked exceedingly beautiful with those blazinghoma fires all around, over which those high-souled ascetics pouredlibations of clarified butter. Valkhilyas and Asmakuttas,Dantolakhalinas, Samprakshanas and other ascetics, as also those thatsubsisted on air, and those that lived on water, and those that lived ondry leaves of trees, and diverse others that were observant of diversekinds of vows, and those that forswore beds for the bare and hard earth,all came to that spot in the vicinity of the Sarasvati. And they madethat foremost of rivers exceedingly beautiful, like the celestialsbeautifying (with their presence) the heavenly stream called Mandakini.Hundreds upon hundreds of Rishis, all given to the observance ofsacrifices, came thither. Those practisers of high vows, however, failedto find sufficient room on the banks of the Sarasvati. Measuring smallplots of land with their sacred threads, they performed their Agnihotrasand diverse other rites. The river Sarasvati beheld, O monarch, thatlarge body of Rishis penetrated with despair and plunged into anxiety forwant of a broad tirtha wherein to perform their rites. For their sake,that foremost of streams came there, having made many abodes for herselfin that spot, through kindness for those Rishis of sacred penances, OJanamejaya! Having thus, O monarch, turned her course for their sake, theSarasvati, that foremost of rivers, once more flowed in a westerlydirection, as if she said, ‘I must go hence, having prevented the arrivalof these Rishis from becoming futile!’ This wonderful feat, O king, wasaccomplished there by that great river. Even thus those receptacles ofwater, O king, were formed in Naimisha. There, at Kurukshetra, O foremostof Kuru’s care, do thou perform grand sacrifices and rites! As he beheldthose many receptacles of water and seeing that foremost of rivers turnher course, wonder filled the heart of the high-souled Rama. Bathing inthose tirthas duly and giving away wealth and diverse articles ofenjoyment unto the Brahmanas, that delighter of Yadu’s race also gaveaway diverse kinds of food and diverse desirable articles unto them.Worshipped by those regenerate ones, Vala, O king, then set out from thatforemost of all tirthas on the Sarasvati (Sapta-Saraswat). Numerousfeathery creatures have their home there. And it abounded with Vadari,Inguda, Ksamarya, Plaksha, Aswattha, Vibhitaka, Kakkola, Palasa, Karira,Pilu, and diverse other kinds of trees that grow on the banks of theSarasvati. And it was adorned with forest of Karushakas, Vilwas, andAmratakas, and Atimuktas and Kashandas and Parijatas. Agreeable to thesight and most charming, it abounded with forests of plantains. And itwas resorted to by diverse tribes of ascetics, some living on air, someon water, some on fruit, some on leaves, some on raw grain which theyhusked with the aid only of stones, and some that were called Vaneyas.And it resounded with the chanting of the Vedas, and teemed with diversekinds of animals. And it was the favourite abode of men without maliceand devoted to righteousness. Valadeva, having the plough for his weapon,arrived at that tirtha called Sapta-Saraswat, where the great asceticMankanaka had performed his penances and became crowned with success.”