“Lomasa said, ‘O son of Bharata’s race! If mortals breathe their last at
this spot, they go to heaven. O king! Thousands upon thousands of men
come to this place to die. A blessing was pronounced on this spot by
Daksha, when he was engaged in sacrifice here, (in these words), ‘Those
men that shall die at this spot shall win a place in heaven.’ Here is the
beautiful and sacred river, Saraswati, full of water: and here, O lord of
men, is the spot known as Vinasana, or the place where the Saraswati
disappeared. Here is the gate of the kingdom of the Nishadas and it is
from hatred for them that the Saraswati entered into the earth in order
that the Nishadas might not see her. Here too is the sacred region of
Chamashodbheda where the Saraswati once more became visible to them. And
here she is joined by other sacred rivers running seawards. O conqueror
of foes, here is that sacred spot known by the name of Sindhu--where
Lopamudra accepted the great sage Agastya as her lord and, O thou whose
effulgence is like unto that of the sun, here is the sacred tirtha called
Prabhasa, the favoured spot of Indra and which removeth all sins. Yonder
is visible the region of Vishnupada. And here is the delightful and
sacred river, Vipasa. From grief for the death of his sons the great sage
Vasistha had thrown himself into this stream, after binding his limbs.
And when he rose from the water, lo! he was unfettered. Look, O king with
thy brothers at the sacred region of Kasmeera, frequented by holy sages.
Here, O scion of Bharata’s race, is the spot, where a conference took
place between Agni and the sage Kasyapa, and also between Nahusha’s son
and the sages of the north. And, O great prince, Yonder is the gate of
the Manasasarovara. In the midst of this mountain, a gap hath been opened
by Rama. And here. O prince of prowess incapable of being baffled, is the
well-known region of Vatikhanda, which, although adjacent to the gate of
Videha, lieth on the north of it. And O bull among men, there is another
very remarkable thing connected with this place,--namely, that on the
waning of every yuga, the god Siva, having the power to assume any shape
at will, may be seen with Uma and his followers. In Yonder lake also
people desirous of securing welfare to the family, propitiate with
sacrifices the holder of the great bow Pinaka, in the month of Chaitra.
And persons of devotion having passions under control, performing their
ablutions in this lake, become free from sins and, without doubt, attain
to the holy regions. Here is the sacred tirtha called Ujjanaka, where the
holy sage Vasistha with his wife Arundhati and also the sage Yavakri
obtained tranquillity. Yonder is the lake Kausava, where grown the
lotuses called Kausesaya, and here also is the sacred hermitage of
Rukmini, where she attained peace, after conquering that evil passion,
anger. I think, O prince, that thou hast heard something about that man
of meditations, Bhrigutunga. There, O king, before thee is that lofty
peak. And, O foremost of kings, yonder is Vitasta, the sacred stream that
absolveth men from all sins. The water of this stream is extremely cool
and limpid, and it is largely used by the great sages. O prince, behold
the holy rivers Jala and Upajala, on either side of the Yamuna. By
performing a sacrifice here, king Usinara surpassed in greatness Indra
himself. And, O descendant of Bharata, desirous of testing Usinara’s
merit and also of bestowing boons on him, Indra and Agni presented
themselves at his sacrificial ground. And Indra assuming the shape of a
hawk, and Agni that of a pigeon, came up to that king. And the pigeon in
fear of the hawk, fell upon the king’s thigh, seeking his protection.’”