"Lomasa said, 'When the god who had performed a hundred sacrifices
(Indra) beheld the demon _Mada_ of a frightful mien, coming towards him
with open mouth, his intention being to devour him, and looking like the
god of death himself, while his own arms remained paralysed, he through
fear repeatedly licked the corners of his mouth. Then the lord of the
celestials, tortured with fright, spake to Chyavana saying, "O Bhrigu's
son! O Brahmana! verily I tell thee as truth itself, that from this day
forward the two Aswins will be entitled to the Soma juice. Be merciful
to me! My undertaking can never come to naught. Let this be the rule.
And I know, O saint of the sacerdotal caste! that thy work can never
come to nothing. 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, I have done this but to spread the fame of thy powers, and my
object was to give thee an occasion for displaying thy powers. My other
object was that the fame of the father of this Sukanya here might spread
everywhere. Therefore be merciful to me: let it be as thou wishest."
Being thus addressed by Indra, the wrath of Chyavana of mighty soul was
quickly appeased, and he set free the demolisher of hostile cities
(Indra). And the powerful saint, O king! distributed _Mada_ (_literally_
intoxication), and put it piece-meal in drinks, in women, in gambling,
and in field sports, even this same _Mada_ who had been created
repeatedly before. Having thus cast down the demon _Mada_ and gratified
Indra with a Soma draught and assisted king Sarvati in worshipping all
the gods together with the two Aswins and also spread his fame for power
over all the worlds, the best of those endued with speech passed his
days happily in the 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 thy forefathers and the gods. And, O ruler of
earth! O scion of Bharata's race! having visited it and Sikataksha also,
thou shalt repair to the Saindhava wood, and behold a number of small
artificial rivers. And O great king, O scion of Bharata's race! thou
shalt touch the waters of all the holy lakes and reciting the hymns of
the god Sthanu (Siva), meet with success in every undertaking. For this
is the junction, O most praiseworthy of men, of the two ages of the
world, _viz_., _Dwapara_ and _Treta_. It is a time, O Kunti's son!
capable of destroying all the sins of a person. Here do thou perform
ablutions, for the spot is able to remove all the sins of an individual.
Yonder is the Archika hill, a dwelling place for men of cultured minds.
Fruits of all the seasons grow here at all times and the streams run for
ever. It is an excellent place fit for the celestials. And there are the
holy cairns of diverse forms, set up by the celestials. O Yudhishthira!
this is the bathing spot belonging to the Moon. And the saints are in
attendance here on all sides round--they are the dwellers of the wood
and the Valakhilyas, and the Pavakas, who subsist on air only. These are
three peaks and three springs. Thou mayst walk round them all, one by
one: then thou mayst wash thyself at pleasure. Santanu, O king! and
Sunaka the sovereign of men, and both _Nara_ and _Narayana_ have
attained everlasting regions from this place. Here did the gods
constantly lie down, as also the forefathers, together with the mighty
saints. In this Archika hill, they all carried on austerities. Sacrifice
to them, O Yudhishthira! Here did they, also the saints, eat rice cooked
in milk, O protector of men! And here is the Yamuna of an exhaustless
spring. Krishna here engaged himself in a life of penances, O Pandu's
son. O thou that draggest the dead bodies of thy foes! the twin
brothers, and Bhimasena and Krishna and all of us will accompany thee to
this spot. O lord of men, this is the holy spring that belongeth to
Indra. Here the creative and the dispensing deity, and Varuna also rose
upwards, and here too they dwelt, O king! observing forbearance, and
possessed of the highest faith. This excellent and propitious hill is
fit for persons of a kindly and candid disposition. This is that
celebrated Yamuna, O king! frequented by hosts of mighty saints, the
scene of diverse religious rites, holy, and destructive of the dread of
sin. Here did Mandhata himself, of a mighty bow, perform sacrificial
rites for the gods; and so did Somaka, O Kunti's son! who was the son of
Sahadeva, and a most excellent maker of gifts.'"