vows. Men of piety
and learning are able to visit these _tirthas_, by reason of their
purified senses, their belief in Godhead, and their acquaintance with
the Vedas. He that doth not observe vows, he that hath not his soul
under control, he that is impure, he that is a thief, and he that is of
crooked mind, doth not, O Kauravya, bathe in _tirthas_. Thou art ever
observant of virtue, and art of pure character. By thy virtue, O
virtuous one, thou hast always gratified thy father and thy
grand-father, and great-grand-fathers, and the gods with Brahma at their
head, and the _Rishis_ also, O thou versed in virtue! Thou who
resemblest Vasava, thou wilt, O Bhishma, attain to the region of the
Vasus, and also eternal fame on earth!"'

"Narada continued, 'Having cheerfully spoken thus, the illustrious Rishi
Pulastya, well-pleased, bidding Bhishma farewell, disappeared there and
then. And Bhishma also, O tiger among men, well understanding the true
import of the _Shastras_, wandered over the world at the command of
Pulastya. Thus, O thou blessed one, did Bhishma end at Prayaga his
highly meritorious journey to the _tirthas_ capable of destroying all
sins. The man that ranges the earth in accordance with these
injunctions, obtains the highest fruit of a hundred horse-sacrifices and
earns salvation hereafter. Thou wilt, O son of Pritha, obtain merit
consisting of the eight attributes, even like that which Bhishma, the
foremost of the Kurus, had obtained of yore. And as thou wilt lead these
ascetics to those _tirthas_, thy merit will be much greater. Those
_tirthas_ are infested by Rakshasas, and no one, save thyself, O son of
Kuru race, can go there. Rising early he that reciteth this narrative by
the celestial Rishis on the subject of the _tirthas_, becometh free from
all sins. Those foremost of Rishis, Valmiki, and Kasyapa, and Atreya,
and Kundajathara, and Viswamitra, and Gautama, and Asita, and Devala,
and Markandeya, and Galava, and Bharadwaja, and Vasishtha, and the
_Muni_ Uddalaka, and Saunaka with his son, and Vyasa, that best of
ascetics, and Durvasas, that foremost of _Munis_, and Javali of great
austerities--all these illustrious _Rishis_ endued with wealth of
asceticism, are staying in expectation of thee. With these, O mighty
king, do thou meet by visiting these _tirthas_. And, O illustrious
monarch, a great Rishi of immeasurable energy, Lomasa by name, will come
to thee. Do thou follow him, and me, and by turns visi