y brothers, wilt, O lord of
men, be relieved from grief. And, O son of Pandu, by hearing only of
these places, thou wilt acquire merit. And by visiting them thou wilt
obtain merit a hundred times greater, O best of men! First, O king, I
will, so far as I recollect, speak of the beautiful eastern country, much
regarded, O Yudhishthira, by royal Rishis. In that direction, O Bharata
is a place called Naimisha which is regarded by the celestials. There in
that region are several sacred tirthas belonging to the gods. There also
is the sacred and beautiful Gomati which is adored by celestial Rishis
and there also in [possibly 'is'?--JBH] the sacrificial region of the
gods and the sacrificial stake of Surya. In that quarter also is that
best of hills called Gaya, which is sacred and much regarded by royal
ascetics. There on that hill, is the auspicious lake called Brahmasara
which is adored by celestial Rishis. It is for this that the ancients say
that one should wish for many sons, so that even one among them may visit
Gaya, celebrate the horse-sacrifice or give away a nila bull, and thereby
deliver ten generations of his race up and down. There, O monarch, is a
great river, and spot called Gayasira. In Gayasira is a banian, which is
called by the Brahmanas the Eternal banian, for the food that is offered
there to the Pitris becometh eternal, O exalted one! The great river that
floweth by the place is known by the name of Phalgu, and its waters are
all sacred. And, O bull among the Bharatas, there also, in that place, is
the Kausiki, whose basin abounds in various fruit and roots, and where
Viswamitra endued with wealth of asceticism acquired Brahmanahood.
Towards that direction also is the sacred Ganga, on whose banks
Bhagiratha celebrated many sacrifices with profuse gifts (to Brahmanas).
They say that in the country of Panchala, there is a wood called Utpala,
where Viswamitra of Kusika's race had performed sacrifices with his son,
and where beholding the relics of Viswamitra's superhuman power, Rama,
the son of Jamadagni, recited the praises of his ancestry. At Kamyaka,
Kusika's son had quaffed the Soma juice with Indra. Then abandoning the
Kshatriya order, he began to say, I am a Brahmana.' In that quarter, O
hero is the sacred confluence of Ganga and Yamuna which is celebrated
over the world. Holy and sin-destroying, that tirtha is much regarded by
the Rishis. It is there that the soul of all things, the Grandsire, had,
in