eyes the path that leads to the region of the gods."

Vaisampayana said, "Then all the sons of Pandu and likewise the daughter
of Drupada--all of whom were the favoured of Fate--descended to the
river Vaitarani, and made libations to the names of their fathers.

"Yudhishthira said, 'O Lomasa, how great must be the force of a pious
deed! Having taken my bath at this spot in a proper form, I seem to
touch no more the region inhabited by mortal men! O saint of a virtuous
life, I am beholding all the regions. And this is the noise of the
magnanimous dwellers of the wood, who are reciting their audible
prayers.'

"Lomasa said, 'O Yudhishthira, the place whence this noise comes and
reaches thy ears is at the distance of three hundred thousand _yojanas_,
to be sure. O lord of men, rest thou quiet and utter no word. O king,
this is the divine forest of the Self-existent One, which hath now come
to our view. There, O king, Viswakarma of a dreaded name performed
religious rites. On the mighty occasion of that sacrifice, the
Self-existent One made a gift of this entire earth with all its hilly
and forest tracts, to Kasyapa, by way of gratuity, for ministering as a
priest. And then, O Kuru's son, as soon as that goddess Earth was giving
away, she became sad at heart, and wrathfully spake the following words
to that great lord, the ruler of the worlds, "O mighty god, it is
unworthy of thee to give me away to an ordinary mortal. And this act of
gift on thy part will come to nothing; (for) here am I going to descend
into the bottom of the nether world." Then when the blessed saint
Kasyapa beheld the goddess Earth, despondent and sad, he, O protector of
men, performed a propitiatory act calculated to appease her wrath. And
then, O Pandu's son, the Earth was pleased with his pious deed. And she
uprose again from within the waters, and showed herself in the form of a
sacred altar. This, O king, is the spot which distinctly manifests the
form of an altar. O great monarch, ascend over it, and thou wilt gain
valour and strength. And, O king, this is the very altar which reaches
as far as the sea, and rests itself upon its bosom. May good luck be
thine, do thou mount hereupon, and of thyself cross the sea. And while
thou this day mountest upon it, I shall administer the ceremony for
averting all evil from thee; for this altar here, as soon as it gets a
mortal's touch, at once enters into the sea. _Salutation to the god who
protects the uni