o hands, like unto Yama with
his mace in his hand at the time of the universal dissolution,
Yudhishthira the just, embraced him again and again, and said in sweet
words, 'O Kaunteya, what hast thou done? Good betide thee! If thou
wishest to do good unto me, thou shouldst never again commit such a rash
act, nor offend the gods.' Having thus instructed the son of Kunti, and
taken the flowers those god-like ones began to sport in that very lake.
At this instant, the huge-bodied warders of the gardens, equipped with
rocks for weapons, presented themselves at the spot. And seeing
Yudhishthira the just and the great sage Lomasa and Nakula and Sahadeva
and also the other foremost of Brahmanas, they all bowed themselves down
in humility. And being pacified by Yudhishthira the just, the Rakshasas
became satisfied. And with the knowledge of Kuvera, those foremost of
Kurus for a short time dwelt pleasantly at that spot on the slopes of
the Gandhamadana, expecting Arjuna."

SECTION CLV

Vaisampayana said, "Once upon a time Yudhishthira, while living at that
place, addressed Krishna, his brother, and the Brahmanas, saying, 'By us
have been attentively seen one after another sacred and auspicious
_tirthas_, and woods, delightful to beheld, which had ere this been
visited by the celestials and the high-souled sages, and which had been
worshipped by the Brahmanas. And in various sacred asylums we have
performed ablutions with Brahmanas, and have heard from them the lives
and acts of many sages, and also of many royal sages of yore, and other
pleasant stories. And with flowers and water have the gods been
worshipped by us. And with offerings of fruits and roots as available at
each place we have gratified the _pitris_. And with the high-souled ones
have we performed ablutions in all sacred and beautiful mountains and
lakes, and also in the highly sacred ocean. And with the Brahmanas we
have bathed in the Ila, and in the Saraswati, and in the Sindhu, and in
the Yamuna, and in the Narmada, and in various other romantic _tirthas_.
And having passed the source of the Ganga, we have seen many a lovely
hill and the Himalaya mountains, inhabited by various species of birds,
and also the jujube named Visala, where there is the hermitage of Nara
and Narayana. And (finally) we have beheld this unearthly lake, held in
veneration by the Siddhas, the gods and the sages. In fact, O foremost
of Brahmanas, we have one by one carefully seen all celeb