"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 Vijanaka, 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.'"