‘“Then Indra assumed the form of a brahmana ascetic, who was several hundred years old, feeble and overcome with consumption. He began to construct a bridge of sand on the Bhagirathi, at the tirtha where Yavakrita used to go for his ablutions. Since that supreme of brahmanas had not paid any heed to his words, Shakra sought to fill up the Ganga with scoops of sand. He filled his fists with sand and threw them into the Bhagirathi. Shakra attempted to construct the bridge so as to attract Yavakrita’s attention. When Yavakrita, bull among sages, saw his attempts to bind up the river, he broke into loud laughter and uttered these words. ‘O brahmana! What is going on? What do you wish to do? Why are you expending this great endeavour on this fruitless objective?’ Indra replied, ‘When I have bound up the Ganga through a bridge, it will be easy to cross. O son! People suffer great difficulties when they repeatedly try to cross it.’ Yavakrita said, ‘It is not possible to bind this mighty torrent. Refrain from that which is impossible and embark on something that is possible.’ Indra replied, ‘I have embarked on this task, just as you have embarked on austerities for the Vedas, a burden of mortification that is impossible to accomplish.’ Yavakrita said, ‘O lord of the thirty gods! O chastiser of Paka! If you think that my endeavours are as fruitless as yours, then tell me what you think is possible for me. O lord of the masses of gods! Favour me with boons so that I become superior to others.’ Then Indra granted the boons the great ascetic asked for. ‘As you desire, the Vedas will become manifest in you and your father. All your other desires will also be satisfied. O Yavakrita! You can go now.’ Having attained his objective, he went to his father and said …”’
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‘“Yavakrita said, ‘O father! The Vedas will become manifest in both you and me. I have obtained other boons through which we will be superior to others.’
‘“Bharadvaja replied, ‘O son! Since you have obtained all the boons that you desired, you must be proud. But once you are filled with pride, you will soon be miserably destroyed. O son! On this, an account recited by the gods is cited. In ancient times, there was a valorous sage by the name of Valadhi. He was afflicted by grief over his son and engaged in difficult austerities so that he might obtain a son who was immortal. He obtained this. But though the gods showed him their favours, they did not make him the equal of the immortals. “A mortal one can never be immortal and life must be subject to causes.”642 Valadhi said, “O supreme among the gods! These mountains have been established for an eternal time and are indestructible. They will determine my son’s span of life.”643 Later, a son was born to him. His name was Medhavi and he was prone to anger. Having heard about his origins, he became insolent and insulted the rishis. He roamed the earth, causing injury to the sages. Then he met the immensely energetic and intelligent Dhanushaksha. Medhavi insulted him and the valorous one cursed him. “Be reduced to ashes.” But at these words, he was not reduced to ashes. On seeing that Medhavi was not hurt, the valorous Dhanukaksha caused the determinant of his life to be shattered by buffaloes. When the determinant was destroyed, the child instantly died. The father grasped his dead son and began to lament. On seeing him loudly lament in great misery, all the ancient sages who were learned in the Vedas, recited a verse. Listen to it. “Under no circumstances, can one who is mortal change his destiny. Dhanushaksha shattered the mountains with buffaloes.” Having thus obtained boons, young ascetics are filled with pride and swiftly meet their destruction. Do not become like them. Raibhya is immensely valorous and his sons are like that. O son! Therefore, be careful that you do not cross him. O son! If he is angered, he can crush you with his wrath. Raibhya is a learned ascetic and a great rishi prone to anger.’
‘“Yavakrita replied, ‘O father! I will do as you say. Have no anxiety on my account. You are my father and I will honour Raibhya as I honour you.’”
‘Lomasha said, “Having thus replied to his father in sweet words, Yavakrita, who had nothing to fear, took great pleasure in causing injury to other rishis.”’
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‘Lomasha said, “One day, in the month of Madhava,644 Yavakrita, who was without any fear, roamed around and arrived at Raibhya’s hermitage. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! He saw the beautiful hermitage, adorned with trees in blossom. He saw his645 daughter-in-law, roaming around like a kinnara lady. Having lost his senses because of desire, Yavakrita shamelessly told the bashful one, ‘Come to me.’ Knowing his conduct and fearing his curse, as well as the energetic Raibhya, she went to him and said, ‘Let it be that way.’ O descendant of the Bharata lineage! Taking her to a lonely spot, he injected her with seed. Raibhya, the destroyer of enemies, then returned to his own hermitage and saw his daughter-in law, Paravasu’s wife, distressed and weeping. O Yudhishthira! He comforted her with sweet words and asked her the reason. The fortunate one then told him everything that Yavakrita had said and also what she had replied, after carefully thinking it over.
‘“Having heard of Yavakrita’s misconduct, Raibhya was consumed by great anger and it seemed as if his heart would burn. The ascetic’s anger was great. He plucked a lock from his matted hair, and observing the rites, offered it into the fire. A woman arose, exactly like the other one646 in beauty. He again plucked out another lock and offered it into the fire. A rakshasa with terrible eyes, fearful in form, arose. The two of them then asked Raibhya, ‘What should we do?’ In anger, the rishi replied, ‘Kill Yavakrita.’ They promised that they would act as they had been asked to and went to kill Yavakrita. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! The kritya647 whom the great-souled one had created went to Yavakrita, and having deluded him, robbed him of his water-pot.648 Without his water-pot, Yavakrita became unclean. The rakshasa then rushed at him, with an upraised spear. On seeing him approach with an upraised spear and with intent to kill, Yavakrita swiftly arose and dashed towards a pond. On finding that the pond was bereft of water, Yavakrita swiftly went to all the rivers. But they had also dried up.
‘“Pursued by the terrible rakshasa with the upraised spear and in fear, he suddenly went to his father’s agnihotra. But his entry was forcibly barred by a shudra guard who was blind. O king! The doorkeeper restrained him by force. While the shudra restrained Yavakrita, the rakshasa pursued him with the spear. His heart pierced, he fell down. Having killed Yavakrita, the rakshasa returned to Raibhya. With Raibhya’s permission, he began to roam around with the one who was not an arya.”’649
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‘Lomasha said, “O Kounteya! Having completed the studies and rituals and having collected firewood, Bharadvaja entered his hermitage. On seeing him, all the fires used to stand up to greet him. But because his son had been killed, they did not stand up then. On witnessing this distortion in the agnihotra, the great ascetic spoke to the blind shudra house-guard who was seated there. ‘O shudra! Why are the fires not delighted on seeing me? Nor are you, as you used to earlier.650 Is everything well in the hermitage? Is there any chance that my dim-witted son has gone to Raibhya? Tell me all this quickly. My mind is not at peace.’ The shudra replied, ‘Indeed, your dim-witted son did go to Raibhya. He is now lying dead, killed by a powerful rakshasa. He was pursued by the rakshasa with an upraised spear. But as a doorkeeper, I restrained him at the door of the place where the fire is kept. He desired water, but was certainly in an unclean state.651 He was then swiftly killed by the rakshasa with the upraised spear.’
‘“On hearing these unpleasant words of the shudra, Bharadvaja grasped his dead son and lamented in great misery. ‘You performed austerities for the welfare of brahmanas, so that the Vedas not studied by brahmanas might become manifest in you. Your conduct towards the great-souled brahmanas was always driven by welfare. You exhibited no sin towards all beings. Nevertheless, you became harsh. O son! I prohibited you from seeing the place where Raibhya lives, because it is like Yama, the bringer of death. But you went to that mean place. The immensely energetic one knows me to be old and that you were my only son. But that supremely ill-minded one fell prey to anger. Because of R
aibhya’s deed, I am now mourning for my son. O son! Because of your loss and your death, I will give up my life, the most precious thing on earth. Just as I am giving up my body out of sorrow for my son, Raibhya’s eldest son will soon kill him, though he will be innocent. Happy are men to whom sons have not been born. They roam happily, without having to grieve over a son. Who can be more evil than those who, grieving over the death of their sons and miserable and disturbed in senses, curse their dearest friends? Having seen my son dead, I have cursed my best friend. Where is there a second one who confronts such calamity?’ Having thus lamented in many ways, Bharadvaja cremated his son. Later, he himself entered a fire that had been kindled well.”’
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‘Lomasha said, “At this time, the powerful and immensely fortunate King Brihaddyumna, for whom Raibhya was the sacrificial priest, performed a sacrifice. The intelligent Brihaddyumna appointed Raibhya’s two sons, Arvavasu and Paravasu, as assistants at the sacrifice. O Kounteya! Having obtained their father’s permission, they went there. Raibhya remained in the hermitage with Paravasu’s wife. One day, Paravasu returned home to see her. He saw his father in the forest, attired in black antelope skin. It was late in the night and he was blind from sleep. He saw his father roaming in the dense forest and took him to be an animal. Thinking that his father was an animal, he killed him. He did not do this out of a desire for violence, but because he wanted to protect his own body. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! He performed all the funeral rites.
‘“Then he returned to the place where the sacrifice was being held and told his brother, ‘You will never be able to accomplish this deed alone. I have killed our father, mistaking him to be an animal. Therefore, you observe the righteous rite that must be observed for killing a brahmana. O sage! I am capable of accomplishing the deed alone.’ Arvavasu replied, ‘Then you complete the intelligent Brihaddyumna’s sacrifice. For your sake, I will control my senses and act so as to expunge the sin of killing a brahmana.’ O Yudhishthira! Having completed the vow required for killing a brahmana, the sage Arvavasu again returned to the sacrifice.
‘“On seeing that his brother had returned, Paravasu spoke these words to Brihaddyumna, who was with his advisers. ‘See that this killer of a brahmana is not permitted to enter the sacrifice. There is no doubt that the mere glance of a killer of a brahmana will cause you injury.’ O king! Arvavasu was then thrown out by the servants, though he cried out repeatedly, ‘I am not the killer of a brahmana.’ O descendant of the Bharata lineage! The servants kept calling him the killer of a brahmana. He did not admit that he had observed the vow of killing a brahmana for his own sake. ‘My brother performed the deed and I have freed him.’ O king! The gods were delighted at Arvavasu’s deeds. They instated him as the priest and Paravasu was dismissed. With Agni at the forefront, the gods granted him boons. He asked for the boon that his father might stand up alive, that his brother might be freed from the sin of killing their father and that both Bharadvaja and Yavakrita might rise up again. O Yudhishthira! All of them manifested themselves again.
‘“Yavakrita then told the gods, with Agni at the forefront, ‘I have observed and accomplished the vow of knowing the brahman. O supreme among the immortals! Using that particular rite, how was it that Raibhya was capable of slaying a learned ascetic like me?’ The gods replied, ‘O Yavakrita! O sage! Do not think it is the way you have spoken. Earlier, you have learned the Vedas in an easy way, without resorting to a preceptor. But he studied it with a great deal of difficulty, after satisfying his preceptors with his own deeds. He learnt about the supreme brahman over a long period of time and after tolerating suffering.’ Thus did the gods speak to Yavakrita, with Agni at the forefront. Having revived all of them, the gods returned to heaven. O tiger among kings! This is the supreme hermitage, with trees that are always full of flowers and fruit. Spend the night here and you will be cleansed of all sins.”’
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‘Lomasha said, “O descendant of the Bharata lineage! O Kounteya! O king! You have now left behind the mountains Ushirabija, Mainaka and Shveta and also the mountain Kala. O bull among the Bharata lineage! The Ganga is resplendent here in seven streams. This region is beautiful and sacred. Agni always burns here. But this cannot be now seen by a mere man. But if you are collected and concentrate your minds, you will be able to see these tirthas. We will now ascend Mount Shveta and Mount Mandara. The yaksha Manichara, and Kubera, the king of the yakshas, dwell there. O king! O best of men! Eighty-eight thousand gandharvas who are swift in travelling and four times that number of kimpurushas and yakshas, in many different forms and wielding many different weapons, wait upon Manibhadra, the Indra of the yakshas. Their prosperity is immense. Their speed is equal to that of the wind. They are certainly capable of dislodging the king of the gods from his seat. O son! This region is secret and is protected by powerful yatudhanas.652 O Partha! These mountains are difficult of access. Therefore, use supreme concentration. Kubera has other terrible advisers and rakshasas as friends. O Kounteya! We will meet them. Therefore, concentrate your valour. O king! Mount Kailasa extends for six hundred yojanas. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! The gods assemble there, in that extensive region. O Kounteya! There are innumerable yakshas, rakshasas and kinnaras, serpents, divine birds653 and gandharvas, in the direction of Kubera’s abode. O Partha! O king! Protected by me and through Bhimasena’s strength, and with your own austerities and control, mix with them now. May King Varuna and Yama, victorious in battle, and Ganga and Yamuna, and the mountains give you safety. ‘O goddess Ganga!654 I hear your sounds from the top of Indra’s golden mountain. O fortunate one! Protect him from these mountains, this Indra among men who is honoured by all those of the Ajamidha lineage.655 O daughter of the mountains! This king is about to enter these mountains. Therefore, grant him your protection.’”
‘Yudhishthira said, “Lomasha’s confusion is unprecedented.656 All of you guard Krishna and do not be careless. His view is that this region is difficult of access. Therefore, let us observe complete cleanliness.”’
Vaishampayana said, ‘He then told the greatly valorous Bhima, “O Bhimasena! Protect Krishna carefully. O son!657 Whether Arjuna is far or whether he is near, it is you Krishna resorts to in times of fear.” Then the great-souled one went to the twins and inhaled the fragrance of their hands and embraced their bodies. In a voice choking with tears, the king said, “Do not be afraid. Tread carefully.”’
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‘Yudhishthira said, “There are hidden beings here, powerful rakshasas. O Vrikodara! We are capable of passing them with fire and austerities. O Kounteya! Resorting to strength, control your hunger and thirst. O extender of the Kuru lineage! Resort to your strength and dexterity. You have heard the words of the rishi about Mount Kailasa. O Kounteya! Use your intelligence to think about how Krishna will pass this place. O lord! Alternatively, return from here with Sahadeva, Dhoumya, the cooks, the superintendents of the kitchen, all the servants, the chariots, the horses and other brahmanas who cannot bear the difficulties of the road, with all of them. O Bhima! O one with the large eyes! The three of us will go on, restrained in our food and rigid in our vows—the immensely ascetic Lomasha, I and Nakula. Wait carefully for my return at Gangadvara. Dwell there and protect Droupadi until I return.”
‘Bhima replied, “O descendant of the Bharata lineage! The princess is oppressed by exhaustion and miserable. But in a desire to see Shvetavahana,658 there is no doubt that she will travel. Your suffering is also acute at not being able to see him. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! It will be even more without Sahadeva, I and Krishna. If you so wish, let all the chariots return with the servants, the cooks, the superintendents of the kitchen and whoever else you think of. I do not wish to leave you here, in these mountains infested by rakshasas, in this uneven and difficult region. This immensely fortunate princess is devoted to her vows. O tiger among men! She will not be able to return without you. Like that, Sahadeva is always devoted to you. I know
his mind and he will never return. O great king! In addition, all of us wish to see Savyasachi. All of us are desirous and therefore, all of us will travel together. If we cannot use our chariots to travel over these mountains with many caverns, we will travel on foot. O king! Do not worry. I will carry Panchali wherever she is incapable of travelling on her own. This is what I have decided in accordance with my intelligence. O king! Do not worry. I will also carry these two delicate warriors who are the delight of Madri.659 I will bear them over difficult terrain, if they are incapable of doing it themselves.”
‘Yudhishthira said, “O Bhima! Since you have spoken like this, let your strength increase, so that you are capable of carrying Droupadi on this long journey, and also the twins. O fortunate one! No one else can do it. May your strength, fame, devotion to dharma and deeds increase. O mighty-armed one! If you are able to carry your brothers and Krishna, may you not suffer from exhaustion. May defeat never confront you.”’
Mahabharata Vol. 3 (Penguin Translated Texts) Page 18