shnu to grace, cooked rice in milk and
butter and gratified Kesava with oblations, each offered with seven Riks.
And, O king, the gratified Kesava thereupon conferred on them the
eight-fold attributes called Aiswarya and other objects that they
desired. And having bestowed upon them these, that god disappeared in
their sight like lightning in the clouds. And it is for this, O Bharata,
that that tirtha became known by the name of Saptacharu, and if one
offereth Charu there to the seven flamed deity, he obtaineth merit
superior to that of the gift of a hundred thousand kine, to that of a
hundred Rajasuya sacrifices, as also of a hundred horse-sacrifices.
Leaving Vadava, O king, one should then proceed to Raudrapada, and
beholding Mahadeva there one obtaineth the merit of the horse-sacrifice.
Proceeding then, with subdued soul and leading a Brahmacharya mode of
life, to Manimat, and residing there for one night, one acquireth, O
king, the merit of the Agnishtoma sacrifice. One should then go, O king,
to Devika celebrated over the whole world. It was there, O bull of
Bharata race, that, as heard by us, the Brahmanas first sprang into
existence. There also is the region of the holder of the trident--a
region that is celebrated over the world. Having bathed in Devika and
worshipped Maheswara by offering him, to the best of one's might, rice
boiled in milk and butter, a man obtaineth, O bull of the Bharata race,
the merit of a sacrifice that is capable of filling every desire. There
also is another tirtha of Rudra called Kamakhya, which is much resorted
to by the gods. Bathing there, a man speedily obtaineth success. By
touching also the water of Yajana. Brahmavaluka, and Pushpamva, one
becometh free from sorrow in after life. The learned have said that the
sacred tirtha of Devika, the resort of the gods and the Rishis, is five
Yojanas in length and half a Yojana in breadth. One should then, in due
order, proceed, O king, to Dirghasatra. There the gods with Brahma at
their head, the Siddhas, and the greatest Rishis, with regulated vows and
the recitation and acceptance of the preliminary pledge, perform the
long-extending sacrifice. O king, by going only to Dirghasatra, O
represser of foes, one obtaineth merit that is superior, O Bharata, to
that of the Rajasuya or the horse-sacrifice. One should next proceed with
subdued senses and regulated diet to Vinasana, where Saraswati
disappearing on the breast of Meru, re-appeareth at C