riest as he was, he won
all those blessings to which he had entitled himself by his meritorious
acts and shared everything with the family priest. This is his hermitage
which looketh lovely before our eyes. Any one would attain the blessed
regions, if he should spend six nights here controlling his passions. O
king of kings! O leader of the tribe of Kurus! Here, free from excitement
and self-controlled, we must spend six nights. Be thou ready therefor.'"

SECTION CXXIX

"Lomasa said, 'Here, O king! The lord of born beings himself performed a
sacrifice in former times,--the ceremony called Ishtikrita, which
occupied one thousand years. And Amvarisha, son of Nabhaga, sacrificed
near the Yamuna river. And having sacrificed there, he gave away ten
Padmas (of gold coins) to the attendant priests, and he obtained the
highest success by his sacrifices and austerities. And, O Kunti's son!
This is the spot where that sovereign of the entire earth, Nahusha's son,
Yayati, of unmeasured force, and who led a holy life, performed his
sacrificial rites. He competed with Indra and performed his sacrifice
here. Behold how the ground is studded with places for the sacrificial
fires of various forms, and how the earth seems to be subsiding here
under the pressure of Yayati's pious works. This is the Sami tree, which
hath got but a single leaf, and this is a most excellent lake. Behold
these lakes of Parasurama, and the hermitage of Narayana. O protector of
earth! This is the path which was followed by Richika's son, of
unmeasured energy, who roamed over the earth, practising the Yoga rites
in the river Raupya. And, O delight of the tribe of Kurus! Hear what a
Pisacha woman (she-goblin), who was decked with pestles for her
ornaments, said (to a Brahmana woman), as I was reciting here the table
of genealogy. (She said), "Having eaten curd in Yugandhara, and lived in
Achutasthala, and also bathed in Bhutilaya, thou shouldst live with thy
sons. Having passed a single night here, if thou wilt spend the second,
the events of the night will be different from those that have happened
to thee in the day-time, O most righteous of Bharata's race! Today we
shall spend the night at this very spot. O scion of Bharata's race! this
is the threshold of the field of the Kurus. O king! At this very spot,
the monarch Yayati, son of Nahusha, performed sacrificial rites, and made
gifts of an abundance of gems. And Indra was pleased with those sacred
rites