“Dhaumya continued, ‘I shall describe to thee those sacred spots capable
of producing merit that lie on the west, in the country of the Anarttas,
O Bharata, there, flows in a westward course the sacred river Narmada,
graced by Priyangu and mango trees, and engarlanded with thickest of
canes. All the tirthas and sacred spots, and rivers and woods and
foremost of mountains that are in the three worlds, all the gods with the
Grandsire, along with the Siddhas, the Rishis and the Charanas, O best of
the Kurus, always come, O Bharata, to bathe in the sacred waters of the
Narmada. And it hath been heard by us that the sacred asylum of the Muni
Visravas, had stood there, and that there was born the lord of treasures,
Kuvera, having men for his vehicles. There also is that foremost of
hills, the sacred and auspicious Vaidurya peak abounding with trees that
are green and which are always graced with fruit and flowers. O lord of
the earth, on the top of that mountain is a sacred tank decked with
full-blown lotus and resorted to by the gods and the Gandharvas. Many are
the wonders, O mighty monarch, that may be seen on that sacred mountain
which is like unto heaven itself and which is visited by celestial
Rishis. There, O subjugator of hostile cities, is the sacred river called
Viswamitra belonging to the royal sage of that name and which abounds, O
king, in many sacred tirthas. It was on the banks of this river, that
Yayati, the son of Nahusha, (fell from heaven) among the virtuous, and
obtained once more the eternal regions of the righteous. Here also are
the well-known lake called Punya, the mountain called Mainaka, and that
other mountain called Asita abounding in fruits and roots. And here also
is the sacred asylum of Kakshasena, and O Yudhishthira, the asylum of
Chyavana also, which is famed over every country, O son of Pandu! In that
spot, O exalted one, men attain to (ascetic) success without severe
austerities. Here also, O mighty king, is the region called Jamvumarga,
inhabited by birds and deer, and which constitutes the retreat of
ascetics with souls under control, O thou foremost of those that have
subdued their senses! Next lie the exceedingly sacred Ketumala, and
Medhya ever graced with ascetics, and, O lord of earth, Gangadwara, and
the well-known woods of Saindhava which are sacred and inhabited by the
regenerate ones. There also is the celebrated tank of the Grandsire,
called Pushkara, the favourite abode of the Vaikanasas, and Siddhas and
Rishis. Moved by the desire of obtaining its protection, the Creator sang
this verse at Pushkara, O chief of the Kurus and foremost of virtuous
men! If a person of pure soul purposes a pilgrimage to the Pushkaras in
imagination even, he becometh purged from all his sins and rejoiceth in
heaven!’”