“Vaishampaayana said, ‘That bull of Bharata’s race (Arjuna) then went to the sacred waters on the
banks of the southern ocean, all adorned with the Rishis residing there. There
lay scattered five such regions where also stayed many Rishis. But those five waters
(Pancha Teertha in Sanskrit)
themselves were shunned by all of them. Those sacred waters were called Agastya
(Teertha), Saubhadra (Teertha), Pauloma (Teertha) of great holiness, Kaaramdhama (Teertha) of great favour yielding the fruits of a Ashwamedha (yagna) to those that bathed there, and Bharadwaja
(Teertha), that great washer of
sins.
“That foremost one among the Kurus (Arjuna), seeing those five sacred waters, and finding them uninhabited, and
also discovering that they were avoided by the Dharma Rishis staying around,
asked those religious men with joined hands, saying, ‘Why, O Rishis, are these
five sacred waters avoided by utterers of Brahma?’
“Hearing him, the Rishis replied, ‘There stay in these waters five
large crocodiles which take away the Rishis that may happen to bath in them. It
is for this, O son of Kuru’s race (Arjuna), that these waters are avoided.’
“Vaishampaayana continued, ‘Hearing these words of the Rishis, that
foremost of men (Arjuna) endued with
mighty arms, though prevented by them went to see those waters. Arrived at the
excellent sacred water called Saubhadra after a Maharishi, the brave burner of
all enemies suddenly plunged into it (Saubhadra Teertha) to have a bath. As soon as that tiger
among men had plunged into the water a great crocodile (that was in it) catched him by the leg. But the
strong-armed Dhananjaya (Arjuna) the
son of Kunti, that foremost of all men endued with strength, catched that
struggling ranger of the water (crocodile) and dragged it forcibly to the shore.
“But dragged by the famed Arjuna to the land, that crocodile became (transformed
into) a beautiful lady decorated with
ornament. O king (Janamejaya), that
charming lady of divine form seemed to shine for her beauty and complexion.
Dhananjaya (Arjuna), the son of
Kunti, seeing that strange sight, asked that lady with a pleased heart, ‘Who
are you, O beautiful one? Why have you been a ranger of the waters? Why also
did you commit such a dreadful sin?’
“The woman replied, saying, ‘I am, O mighty-armed one (Arjuna), an Apsara that sported in the divine
forest (Devaaranya in Sanskrit). I
am, O mighty one, Vargaa by name, and dear to the divine treasurer (Lord
Kubera). I have four other companions,
all beautiful and capable of going everywhere at will. Accompanied by them I
was one day going to the abode of Kubera. On the way, we saw a Brahmana of
rigid vows (Vrata in Sanskrit), and
exceedingly handsome, studying Vedas in isolation. The whole forest (in
which he was sitting) seemed to be
covered with his glory of Tapas.
“He seemed to have illuminated the whole region like the Sun himself. Looking
his Tapas devotion of that nature and his wonderful beauty, we desceded in that
region, in order to disturb his meditations. O Bharata (Arjuna), myself, Saurabheyi, Sameechi, Budbuda and
Lata, approached that Brahmana at the same time. We began to sing and smile and
otherwise tempt that Brahmana. But, O hero (Veera in Sanskrit), that Brahmana (youth) did not set his heart even once upon us. O
bull among Kshatriyas (Arjuna), his
mind fixed on pure meditation, that youth of great energy did not suffer his
heart to waver the looks, he looked upon us was one of anger. He said, staring
at us, ‘Becoming crocodiles, you range the waters for a hundred years.’”
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