it to be the doing of the king. And therefore,
he directed his course towards the city of Champa
having made up his mind to burn the king, his city,
and his whole territory. And on the way he was
fatigued and hungry, when he reached those same settlements
of cowherds, rich with cattle. And he was honoured
in a suitable way by those cowherds and then spent
the night in a manner befitting a king. And having
received very great hospitality from them, he asked
them, saying, ‘To whom, O cowherds, do ye belong?’
Then they all came up to him and said, ’All
this wealth hath been provided for thy son.’
At different places he was thus honoured by that best
of men, and saw his son who looked like the god Indra
in heaven. And he also beheld there his daughter-in-law,
Santa, looking like lightning issuing from a (cloud).
And having seen the hamlets and the cowpens provided
for his son and having also beheld Santa, his great
resentment was appeased. And O king of men!
Vibhandaka expressed great satisfaction with the very
ruler of the earth. And the great saint, whose
power rivalled that of the sun and the god of fire,
placed there his son, and thus spake, ’As soon
as a son is born to thee, and having performed all
that is agreeable to the king, to the forest must
thou come without fail.’ And Rishyasringa
did exactly as his father said, and went back to the
place where his father was. And, O king of men!
Santa obediently waited upon him as in the firmament
the star Rohini waits upon the Moon, or as the fortunate
Arundhati waits upon Vasishtha, or as Lopamudra waits
upon Agastya. And as Damayanti was an obedient
wife to Nala, or as Sachi is to the god who holdeth
the thunderbolt in his hand or as Indrasena, Narayana’s
daughter, was always obedient to Mudgala, so did Santa
wait affectionately upon Rishyasringa, when he lived
in the wood. This is the holy hermitage which
belonged to him. Beautifying the great lake here,
it bears holy fame. Here perform thy ablutions
and have thy desire fulfilled. And having purified
thyself, direct thy course towards other holy spots,’”
SECTION CXIV
(Tirtha-yatra Parva continued)
“Vaisampayana said, ’Then, O Janamejaya, the son of Pandu started from the river Kausiki and repaired in succession to all the sacred shrines. And, O protector of men, he came to the sea where the river Ganga falls into it; and there in the centre of five hundred rivers, he performed the holy ceremony of a plunge. Then, O ruler of the earth, accompanied by his brothers, the valiant prince proceeded by the shore of the sea towards the land where the Kalinga tribes dwell.”