(-vanavasa Parva continued)
" said, 'Then that bull of Bharata's race went to the sacred waters on the banks of the southern ocean, all adorned with the ascetics residing there. And there lay scattered five such regions where also dwelt many ascetics. But those five waters themselves were shunned by all of them. Those sacred waters were called Agastya, and Saubhadra and Pauloma of great holiness, and Karandhama of great propitiousness yielding the fruits of a horse-sacrifice unto to those that bathed there, and , that great washer of sins. That foremost one among the Kurus, beholding those five sacred waters, and finding them uninhabited, and ascertaining also that they were shunned by the virtuous ascetics dwelling around, asked those pious men with joined hands, saying, 'Why O ascetics, are these five sacred waters shunned by utterers of Brahma?' Hearing him, the ascetics replied, 'There dwell in these waters five large crocodiles which take away the ascetics that may happen to bathe in them. It is for this, O son of Kuru's race, that these waters are shunned.'
" continued, 'Hearing these words of the ascetics, that foremost of men endued with mighty arms, though dissuaded by them went to behold those waters. Arrived at the excellent sacred water called Saubhadra after a great Rishi, the brave scorcher of all foes suddenly plunged into it to have a bath. As soon as that tiger among men had plunged into the water a great crocodile (that was in it) seized him by the leg. But the strong-armed the son of , that foremost of all men endued with might, seized that struggling ranger of the water and dragged it forcibly to the shore. But dragged by the renowned to the land, that crocodile became (transformed into) a beautiful damsel bedecked with ornament. O king, that charming damsel of celestial form seemed to shine for her beauty and complexion. , the son of , beholding that strange sight, asked that damsel with a pleased heart, 'Who art thou you, O beautiful one? Why hast have thou you been a ranger of the waters? Why also didst did thou you commit such a dreadful sin?' The damsel replied, saying, 'I am, O mighty-armed one, an Apsara that sported in the celestial woods. I am, O mighty one, Varga by name, and ever dear unto to the celestial treasurer (). I have four other companions, all handsome and capable of going everywhere at will. Accompanied by them I was one day going to the abode of . On the way we beheld a Brahmana of rigid vows, and exceedingly handsome, studying the Vedas in solitude. The whole forest (in which he was sitting) seemed to be covered with his ascetic splendour. He seemed to have illuminated the whole region like the Sun himself. Beholding his ascetic devotion of that nature and his wonderful beauty, we alighted in that region, in order to disturb his meditations. Myself and Saurabheyi and Samichi and Vudvuda and Lata, approached that Brahmana, O Bharata, at the same time. We began to sing and smile and otherwise tempt that Brahmana. But, O hero, that Brahmana (youth) set not his heart even once upon us. His mind fixed on pure meditation, that youth of great energy suffered not his heart to waver, O bull among Kshatriyas, the glance he cast upon us was one of wrath. And he said, staring at us, 'Becoming crocodiles, range ye you the waters for a hundred years.'"
(-vanavasa Parva continued)
" said, 'Varga continued, 'We were then, O foremost one of Bharata's race, deeply distressed at this curse. We sought to propitiate that Brahmana of ascetic wealth that departed not from his vow. Addressing him, we said, 'Inflated with a sense of our beauty and youth, and urged by the god of desire, we have acted very improperly. It behoveth behooves thee you, O Brahmana, to pardon us! Truly, O Brahmana, it was death to us that we had at all come hither here to tempt thee you of rigid vows and ascetic wealth. The virtuous, however, have said that women should never be slain. Therefore grow thou you in virtue. It behoveth behooves thee you not to slay us so. O thou you that art conversant with virtue, it hath has been said that a Brahmana is ever the friend of every creature. O thou you of great prosperity, let this speech of the wise become true. The eminent always protect those that seek protection at their hands. We seek thy your protection. It behoveth behooves thee you to grant us pardon.'
" continued, 'Thus addressed, that Brahmana of virtuous soul and good deeds and equal in splendour, O hero, unto to the sun or the moon, became propitious unto to them. And the Brahmana said, 'The words hundred and hundred thousand are all indicative of eternity. The word hundred, however, as employed by me is to be understood as a limited period and not indicative of a period without end. Ye you shall, therefore, becoming crocodiles, seize and take away men (for only a hundred years as explained by me). At the end of that period, an exalted individual will drag you all from water to the land. Then ye you will resume your real forms. Never have I spoken an untruth even in jest. Therefore, all that I have said must come to pass. And those sacred waters (within which I assign you your places), will, after you will have been delivered by that individual, become known all over the world by the name of Nari-tirthas (or sacred waters connected with the sufferings and the deliverance of females), and all of them shall become sacred and sin cleansing in the eyes of the virtuous and the wise.'
" continued, 'Varga then addressing , finished her discourse, saying, 'Hearing these words of the Brahmana, we saluted him with reverence and walked round him. Leaving that region we came away with heavy hearts, thinking as we proceeded, 'Where shall we all soon meet with that man who will give us back our own shapes (after our transformation)?' As we were thinking of it, in almost a moment, O Bharata, we beheld even the eminent celestial Rishi . Beholding that Rishi of immeasurable energy, our hearts were filled with joy. Saluting him with reverence, O , we stood before him, with blushing faces. He asked of us the cause of our sorrow and we told him all. Hearing what had happened the Rishi said, 'In the low-lands bordering on the southern ocean, there are five regions of sacred water. They are delightful and eminently holy. Go ye you thither there without delay. That tiger among men, , the son of of pure soul, will soon deliver you, without doubt, from this sad plight.' O hero, hearing the Rishi's words, all of us came hither here. O sinless one, true it is that I have today been delivered by thee you. But those four friends of mine are still within the other waters here. O hero, do a good deed by delivering them also.'
" continued, 'Then, O monarch, that foremost of the Pandavas, endued with great prowess, cheerfully delivered all of them from that curse. Rising from the waters they all regained their own forms. Those Apsaras then, O king, all looked as before. Freeing those sacred waters (from the danger for which they had been notorious), and giving the Apsaras leave to go where they chose, became desirous of once more beholding . He, therefore, proceeded towards the city of Manipura. Arrived there, he beheld on the throne the son he had begotten upon , and who was called by the name of . Seeing once more, proceeded, O monarch, towards the spot called Gokarna.'"
(-vanavasa Parva continued)
" said, 'Then of immeasurable prowess saw, one after another, all the sacred waters and other holy places that were on the shores of the western ocean. reached the sacred spot called Prabhasa. When the invisible arrived at that sacred and delightful region, the slayer of Madhu () heard of it. soon went there to see his friend, the son of . and met together and embracing each other enquired after each other's welfare. Those dear friends, who were none else than the Rishis and of old, sat down. asked about his travels, saying, 'Why, O Pandava art thou you wandering over the earth, beholding all the sacred waters and other holy places?' Then told him everything that had happened. Hearing everything, that mighty hero of Vrishni's race said, 'This is as it should be.' And and having sported as they liked, for some time at Prabhasa, went to the Raivataka mountain to pass some days there. Before they arrived at Raivataka, that mountain had, at the command of been well-adorned by many artificers. Much food also had, at 's command, been collected there. Enjoying everything that had been collected there for him, sat with to see the performances of the actors and the dancers. Then the high-souled Pandava, dismissing them all with proper respect, laid himself down on a well-adorned and excellent bed. As the strong-armed one lay on that excellent bed, he described unto to everything about the sacred waters, the lakes and the mountains, the rivers and the forests he had seen. While he was speaking of these, stretched upon that celestial bed, sleep, O , stole upon him. He rose in the morning, awakened, by sweet songs and melodious notes of the Vina (guitar) and the panegyrics and benedictions of the bards. After he had gone through the necessary acts and ceremonies, he was affectionately accosted by him of the Vrishni race. Riding upon a golden car, the hero then set out for Dwaraka, the capital of the Yadavas. And, O , for honouring the son of , the city of Dwaraka, was well-adorned, even all the gardens and houses within it. The citizens of Dwaraka, desirous of beholding the son of , began to pour eagerly into the public thoroughfares by hundreds of thousands. In the public squares and thoroughfares, hundreds and thousands of women, mixing with the men, swelled the great crowd of the Bhojas, the Vrishnis, and the Andhakas, that had collected there. was welcomed with respect by all the sons of Bhojas, the Vrishnis, and the Andhakas. And he, in his turn, worshipped those that deserved his worship, receiving their blessings. The hero was welcomed with affectionate reception by all the young men of the Yadava tribe. He repeatedly embraced all that were equal to him in age. Wending then to the delightful mansion of that was filled with gems and every article of enjoyment, he took up his abode there with for many days.'"