“Vaishampaayana said, ‘Vargaa continued, ‘O foremost one of Bharata’s
race (Arjuna), we were then deeply
distressed at this curse. We sought to favour that Brahmana of Tapas wealth
that did not retire from his vow (Vrata in Sanskrit). Addressing him, we said, ‘Inflated with a sense of our beauty and
youth, and urged by Kaamadeva, we have acted very improperly. It is your duty,
O Brahmana, to forgive us! Truly, O Brahmana, it was death to us that we had at
all come here to tempt you of rigid vows (Vrata in Sanskrit) and Tapas wealth. The
people with Dharma, however, have said that women should never be slain.
Therefore you grow in Dharma. It is your duty not to slay us so. O you that are
knowledgeable with Dharma, it has been said that a
Brahmana is ever the friend of every creature. O you of great
prosperity, let this speech of the wise become true. The
respected always protect those that seek protection at their hands. We
seek your protection. It is your duty to grant us pardon.’
“Vaishampaayana continued, ‘O hero (Janamejaya), thus addressed, that Brahmana of Dharmaatma, good deeds and equal in
splendour, to the Sun or the Moon, became favourable to them. The Brahmana
said, ‘The words hundred and hundred thousand are all
indicative of eternity. The word hundred, however, as employed by me is
to be understood as a limited period and not indicative of a period without
end. You shall, therefore, becoming crocodiles, catch and take away men (for
only a hundred years as explained by me).
At the end of that period, a noble individual will drag you all from water to
the land. Then you will resume your real forms. Never have I spoken an untruth
even in joke. Therefore, all that I have said must happen. Those sacred waters (within
which I assign you your places), will,
after you will have been delivered by that individual, become known all over
the world by the name of Naari-Teerthas (or sacred waters connected with
the sufferings and the deliverance of females), and all of them shall become sacred and sin cleansing in the eyes of
the Dharmic people and the wise.’
“Vaishampaayana continued, ‘Vargaa then addressing Arjuna, finished her
conversation, saying, ‘Hearing these words of the Brahmana, we saluted him with
respect and walked round him. Leaving that region we came away with heavy hearts,
thinking as we proceeded, ‘Where shall we all soon meet with that man who will
give us back our own shapes (after our transformation)?’ O Bharata (Arjuna), as we
were thinking of it, in almost a moment, we saw even the eminent Deva Rishi
Narada. Seeing that Rishi of immeasurable energy, our hearts were filled with
joy. Saluting him with respect, O Paartha (Arjuna), we stood before him, with blushing faces. He asked of us the cause of
our sorrow and we told him all. Hearing what had happened the Rishi (Narada) said, ‘In the low-lands bordering on the
southern ocean, there are five regions of sacred water. They are delightful and
eminently holy. You go there without delay. That tiger among men, Dhananjaya (Arjuna), the son of Pandu of pure soul, will soon relieve
you, without doubt, from this sad plight.’ O hero (Arjuna), hearing the Rishi’s words, all of us came
here. O sinless one (Arjuna), true
it is that I have today been relieved by you. But those four friends of mine
are still within the other waters here. O hero (Arjuna), do a good deed by relieving them also.’
“Vaishampaayana continued, ‘Then, O monarch (Janamejaya), that foremost of the Pandavas (Arjuna), filled with great prowess, cheerfully relieved
all of them from that curse. Rising from the waters they all regained their own
forms. O king (Janamejaya), those
Apsaras then all looked as before. Freeing those sacred waters (from the
danger for which they had been notorious),
and giving the Apsaras leave to go where they chose, Arjuna became desirous of
once more seeing Chitraangada. He, therefore, proceeded towards the city of
Manipura. Arrived there, he (Arjuna) saw on the
throne (of Manipura) the son he had fathered
upon Chitrangada, and who was called by the name of Babhruvaahana. O monarch (Janamejaya), seeing Chitraangada once more, Arjuna proceeded, towards the spot called Gokarna (present-day Gokarna, Kumta Taluk, Uttara Kannada district,
Karnataka, India).’”
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