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Library: Description of the forest in which Kanwa’s hermitage was located.
Vaishampayana spoke:
Then, the king, after hunting thousands of deer with his great chariot, entered another forest in pursuit of more game.
A man of great strength, though afflicted by hunger and thirst, reached the edge of the forest and came upon a vast desert.
After crossing that, the king proceeded to another vast forest, which was home to an excellent hermitage. It was a place that delighted the mind, was extremely pleasing to the eyes, and was accompanied by a refreshing breeze.
The lawn, adorned with flowering trees, is very pleasant and filled with the sweet sounds of birds.
The place was enveloped by trees with grown branches providing pleasant shade, adorned with creepers swaying with bees, and endowed with supreme beauty.
In that forest, every tree had flowers and fruits, none were thorny, and all were surrounded by bees.
The great archer entered the beautiful forest, which was resounding with birds, adorned with flowers, and had a very pleasant lawn with trees and flowers of all seasons.
There, the trees laden with flowers, swayed by the wind, repeatedly showered a varied rain of blossoms.
The trees, touching the sky, resounded with the sweet sounds of birds, and shone with a variety of flowers.
In that place, where the sprouts bend under the weight of flowers, the birds softly chirp along with the bees.
There, the greatly radiant one saw many regions adorned with clusters of flowers and surrounded by bowers, which enhanced the pleasure of the mind, and he became joyful then.
The forest appeared beautiful with trees whose branches were intertwined with each other, laden with flowers, resembling the flags of great Indra.
The cool and fragrant breeze, laden with flower pollen, seems to wander through the forest, as if yearning to embrace the trees.
The king saw the beautiful forest, which was endowed with qualities and originated from the river bank, resembling a raised flag.
He saw the beautiful and charming hermitage in the forest, which was filled with very happy birds.
The place was filled with various trees and a blazing fire, surrounded by ascetics and Vālakhilyas, and accompanied by groups of sages.
The place was adorned with numerous fire-houses and flower-spreads, and was magnificently illuminated by large and grand canopies.
O King, around the sacred and pleasant-watered Malini river, which is filled with many flocks of birds and is as charming as a hermitage, he found delight in observing the gentle wild animals there.
The glorious great charioteer reached the hermitage, which was delightful everywhere and resembled the world of gods.
He saw the river, which was joined with the hermitage and had sacred water, standing there like the mother of all living beings.
The river, with its sandbanks inhabited by chakravaka birds and flowing with flower-like foam, is the dwelling place of kinnara groups and is frequented by monkeys and bears.
The place was vibrant with the sound of sacred studies, beautifully adorned by sandbanks, and frequented by intoxicated elephants, tigers, and serpents.
The king, upon seeing the hermitage by the river, decided to enter it.
The place of Nara and Nārāyaṇa is beautifully adorned by the island, the garlanded one, and the charming bank, much like it is by the Ganges.
He entered the great forest, which was echoing with the cries of intoxicated peacocks.
The king, having reached a place resembling Chaitraratha, which was extremely virtuous and indescribable in its splendor, went to see the great sages Kashyapa and Kanva, who were rich in penance.
He stationed the army, which was crowded with chariots and horses and filled with foot soldiers, at the forest gate and then spoke.
I am going to see the pure sage Kashyapa, the ascetic. Please stay here until I return.
The king, upon reaching the forest resembling the celestial Nandana, was relieved of hunger and thirst and experienced great joy.
The king, accompanied by his ministers and the priest, removed his royal insignia and went to the excellent hermitage, eager to see the sage who was a treasure of penance and imperishable.
He saw the hermitage that looked like the world of Brahma, resonating with the humming of bees and filled with many kinds of birds.
The noble man, known as the tiger among men, listened to the verses inspired by the chief of many hymns and the sequence of words, amidst the widespread activities here.
The hermitage was resplendent with scholars of sacrificial rituals and those who followed the steps, along with individuals of boundless spirit and self-discipline.
The eminent scholars of Atharvaveda, known as Pūgayājñika, are approved and they recite the collection in the prescribed word order.
The hermitage, filled with the refined sounds of the twice-born speaking, resounded gloriously like the world of Brahma.
The rituals were conducted by experts in sacrificial rites, learned scholars proficient in the sequence of teachings, and those who have mastered the Vedas, possessing deep understanding of justice and truth.
The text refers to individuals who are experts in compiling and combining various statements, knowledgeable about special duties, and devoted to the principles of liberation.
The knowledge of the ultimate truth regarding establishment, objection, and conclusion was attained and was echoed all around by the leaders of the materialists.
In various places, the slayer of enemy heroes saw the disciplined brahmins, firm in their vows, engaged in chanting and sacrificial rituals, who were perfected ones.
The king was amazed to see the various flowered seats that were carefully arranged.
Upon witnessing the rituals conducted by the Brahmins at the divine temples, the noble king perceived himself as residing in the realm of Brahma.
He observed the excellent and auspicious hermitage, protected by Kashyapa's penance, and was not satisfied, as it was filled with groups of ascetics.
He, the enemy-slayer, entered the solitary and extremely charming abode of Kashyapa, which was surrounded by sages and ascetics with great vows, along with his ministers and priests.
