Ajagara Parva — The return of the region of Dvaitavana

Vaishampayana said : Those foremost of the Bharatas, on leaving their delightful abode on that excellent mountain with waterfalls, the elephants of eight quarters, the Kinnaras and birds, were not happy at heart.

But those best of the Bharatas again experienced a great delight on beholding the favourite mountain of Kubera, the Kailasa looking (white as the clouds).

And those heroes, the excellent of mortals, armed with bows and swords, felt a great delight, beholding (on their way) elevations and defiles, dens of lions, rows of craggy causeways, numerous waterfalls, low lands here and there and various other great forests inhabited by numerous deer, birds and elephants.

(And as they journeyed on), romantic forests, rivers, lakes, caves of mountain, mighty mountain, caverns-all these always, by day and night became the dwelling places of those most excellent men.

(Thus) resting in many inaccessible places and crossing the mountain Kailasa of incomprehensible grandeur, they at length reached the exceedingly beautiful hermitage of Vrishaparva.

Meeting with the king, Vrishaparva and being welcomed by him they recovered from fatigue and then they related to him) faithfully and fully the story of their stay in the mountains.

And having happily spent a night in that sacred hermitage frequented by the celestials and the Maharshis, those warriors gladly repaired to the great Jujube tree for a sojourn again.

Then arriving at the place of Narayana, all those high-souled men, devoid of sorrow, began to dwell there, beholding the beloved lake of Kubera, frequented by the celestials and he Siddhas.

(And) seeing that lake, those sons of Pandu, the best of all men, devoid of sorrow, began to sport there, (just) as the sinless Brahmana sages do on getting a habitation in the garden of Nandana.

Then having spent a month happily at Badari, all those heroes gradually proceeded towards the country of Subahu, the king of the Kiratas, along the same route by which they had come (before).

Journeying through China, Turaska, Darada and all the provinces of Kulinda, rich in heaps of jewels and crossing the inaccessible Himalayan regions, those warriors (at length) beheld the capital of Subahu.

Hearing of the arrival of those sons and grandsons of kings in his capital, King Subahu, full of joy, advanced to welcome them. And thosc best of the Kurus also greeted him.

Meeting with King Subahu and joined by their charioteers with Vishoka at their head, by all their attendants together with Indrasena, by the porters and by the servants of the kitchen,

They spent a night there happily. Dismissing Ghatotkacha together with all his attendants and retaining all the charioteers and he cars, they then proceeded towards the prince of mountains in the neighbourhood of Yamuna.

And having found in that mountainabounding in water falls-whose orange and grey coloured plateau is covered with a sheet of snow, the great forest (named) Vishakhayupa, inhabited by boars and birds and resembling the forest of Chitraratha, those heroic men began to dwell there. And those foremost of hunters, the Parthas lived peacefully in that forest for a year.

There, in a mountain cave, Vrikodara coming across a very powerful serpent distressed with hunger and terrible like death itself, became afflicted at heart with sorrow and distraction.

(But) Yudhishthira, of immeasurable prowess, became the liberator of Vrikodara and extricated him from the gripe of the snake which coiled round his whole body.

And when the twelfth of their forest life had arrived, those descendants of the Kurus, blazing in splendour, engaged in asceticism and given principally to the practice of archery, leaving that forest looking like that of Chitraratha, repaired gladly towards the confines of the desert. Thence they arrived at the banks of the river Sarasvati and therefrom desirous of dwelling there repaired to the Lake Dvaitavana.

And seeing them enter Dvaitavana, the inhabitants of that place engaged in asceticism, restraining their passions, practising purity and fervid devotion and living on (foods) crushed with stone, approached them with grass mats and water vessels (in their hands for their reception).

The banks of the river Sarasvati were adorned with the holy fig, the Rudraksha, the cane, the Jujube, the Catechu, the Sirisa, the Bel, the Inguda, the Pilu, the Shami and the Karira tree.

Wandering joyfully by the Sarasvati, beloved by the Yakshas, the Gandharvas and the Maharshis and looking like the abode of the celestials, those sons of king lived there happily.