verse! Salutation to thee that art beyond the universe!
O Lord of gods, vouchsafe thy presence in this sea._ O Pandu's son, thou
must recite the following words of truth, and while so reciting, thou
must quickly ascend this altar, "The god of fire, and the sun, and the
organ of generation, and water, and goddess and the seed of Vishnu, and
the navel of nectar. The god of fire is the organ that generated the
(ocean); the earth is thy body; Vishnu deposited the seed that caused
thy being and thou art the navel of nectar." Thus, O Pandu's son, the
words of truth must be audibly recited, and while so reciting, one must
plunge into the lord of rivers. O most praiseworthy of Kunti's son,
otherwise this lord of waters of divine birth, this best storehouse of
the waters (of the earth), should not be touched, O son of Kunti, even
with the end of a sacred grass.'"

Vaisampayana said, "Then when the ceremony for averting evil had been
completed in his behalf, the magnanimous Yudhishthira went into the sea,
and having performed all that the saint had bid, repaired to the skirts
of the Mahendra hill, and spent the night at that spot."

SECTION CXV

Vaisampayana said, "The protector of the earth spent there a single
night, and with his brothers, paid the highest honours to the religious
men. And Lomasa made him acquainted with the names of all of them, such
as the _Bhrigus_, the _Angiras_, the _Vasishthas_, and the _Kasyapas_.
And the royal saint paid visit to them all and made obeisance to them
with joined palms. And then he asked the valiant Akritavrana, who was a
follower of Parasurama, 'when will the revered Parasurama show himself
to the religious men here? It is desired on that occasion to obtain a
sight of the descendant of Bhrigu.'

"Akritavrana said, 'Thy journey to this spot is already known to Rama,
whose soul spontaneously knows everything. And he is in every way
well-pleased with thee, and he will show himself readily to thee. And
the saints who practise penances here, are permitted to see him on the
fourteenth and the eighth day of the lunar course. On the morrow at the
end of this very night there will set in the fourteenth day of the lunar
course. On that occasion thou wilt have a sight of him, clad in a sable
deerskin, and wearing his hair in the form of a matted mass.'

"Yudhishthira said, 'Thou hast been a follower of the mighty Rama,
Jamadagni's son; thou must, therefore, have been the eye-witness of all
th