Vaishampayana said: -
1. That magnanimous king then went to many sacred places and to various spots on the sea-shore, all adorned with the presence of Brahmanas. (He went to many) charming Tirthas and saw them.
2. O son of Parikshit, bathing in them and distributing wealth, that son of Pandu with his younger brothers went to a greatly holy and broad river.
3. That magnanimous king, bathing there, offered oblations to the Pitris and the celestials. Giving wealth to the foremost of Brahmanas, he then went to the ocean-going Godavari.
4. O king, then being cleansed of his sins, he came to the sea in the Dravida. The hero then saw the greatly holy and sacred Agastya Tirtha and also the Nari Tirtha.
5. He heard here the story of the famous feat which was achieved by Arjuna, that foremost of wielders of bow and which was beyond the power of man. Being praised by the great Rishis, the son of Pandu derived much pleasure.
6. O ruler of earth, that lord of earth with Krishna (Draupadi) and his younger brothers, praising the prowess of Arjuna, then lived there in great happiness.
7. He then gave away one thousand kine in those Tirthas situated on the shore of the excellent sea; and with his brothers he narrated with joy the account of Arjuna's bestowal of kine.
8. O king, he then went one after the other to all the Tirthas and also to other sacred places and thus his desires were fulfilled. He then saw the very sacred Surparaka.
9. Then having crossed a certain tract on the sea coast, he came to a forest celebrated over the earth. In the days of yore the celestials performed asceticism there and the kings performed sacrifices.
10. The long and lusty-armed hero saw the celebrated altar of Rechika's son, that foremost of all wielders of the bow. It was surrounded by many ascetics and was fit to be worshipped by the virtuous.
11-13. The king then saw the sacred and the charming shrines of all the celestials, of the Vasus, of the Maruts, of the Ashvins of Yama, of Aditya, of the Lord of wealth (Kubera), of Indra, of Vishnu, of Shiva, of Moon, of the author of day (sun), of the lord of waters, of the lord of the Sadhyas and of Brahma, of the Pitris, of the high-souled Rudra, O king, of Sagara, of Sarasvati, of the Sidhyas and of many other immortal holy gods.
14. The king observed many fasts in these Tirthas and gave away many costly gems. Having bathed his body in these holy places, he again came back to Surparaka.
15. He then with his brothers went along those Tirthas on the sea-coast; and he then came to Prabhasa, the fame of which had been spread by the Brahmanas all over the world.
16. The large and red-eyed hero, having bathed in it with his brothers, offered oblations to the celestials and the Pitris. So did Krishna (Draupadi) and all the Brahmanas with Lomasha.
17. For twelve days he lived on air and water. He performed ablutions for day and for night; he surrounded himself with fire kindled on all sides. Thus did that greatest of all virtuous men engaged himself in asceticism.
18. When he was thus practising the severe austerities, Rama and Janardana (Balarama and Krishna) heard of it. The two leaders of the Vrishnis accompanied with soldiers went to Yudhishthira, the descendant of Ajamira.
19. The Vrishnis saw that the sons of Pandu lay down on the ground, their bodies being besmeared all over with dirt. Seeing Draupadi in a sad state, they were filled with grief and broke out into loud lamentations.
20. The king, whom misfortune never could cast down, cordially met Rama and Krishna, Krishna's son Samba, the grandson of Shini and other Vrishni and paid to them all due honours.
21. They also paid due honours to the son of Pandu and were similarly honoured by him. O king, they sat round Yudhishthira as Indra is seated surrounded by the celestials.
22. Being highly pleased, he narrated to them all the machinations of his enemies and how he lived in the forest and how Arjuna had gone to the abode of Indra; all this he narrated in great gladness of heart.
23. They were glad to learn all this from him. When they saw the Pandavas lean, the magnanimous and the majestic Vrishnis began to shed tears, which came out spontaneously from their eyes.
Thus ends the hundred and eighteenth chapter, the meeting of the Vrishnis, in the Tirthayatra of the Vana Parva.