Shloka 23
Kapālamocana-tīrtha (Auśanasa) and Balarāma’s Sarasvatī Pilgrimage
भरतनन्दन! यज्ञपरायण उद्दालक ऋषिके यज्ञमें भी सरस्वतीका आवाहन किया गया। वे शीघ्रगामिनी सरस्वती हिमालयसे निकलकर उस यज्ञमें आयी थीं ।। समेते सर्वतः स्फीते मुनीनां मण्डले तदा । उत्तरे कोसलाभागे पुण्ये राजन् महात्मना,राजन्! उन दिनों समृद्धिशाली एवं पुण्यमय उत्तर कोसल प्रान्तमें सब ओरसे मुनिमण्डली एकत्र हुई थी। उसमें यज्ञ करते हुए महात्मा उद्दालकने पूर्वकालमें सरस्वती देवीका ध्यान किया। तब मुनिका कार्य सिद्ध करनेके लिये सरिताओंमें श्रेष्ठ सरस्वती उस देशमें आयीं
vaiśampāyana uvāca |
bharatanandana! yajñaparāyaṇa uddālaka ṛṣike yajñe’pi sarasvatyā āvāhanaṃ kṛtam | sā śīghragāminī sarasvatī himālayāt niṣkramya taṃ yajñam upāgamat ||
samete sarvataḥ sphīte munīnāṃ maṇḍale tadā | uttare kosalābhāge puṇye rājan mahātmanā ||
pūrvakāle yajñam ācaratā mahātmanā uddālakena sarasvatī devī dhyātā | tadā munikāryasiddhyarthaṃ saritāṃ śreṣṭhā sarasvatī tasmin deśe samāgatā ||
Vaiśampāyana said: “O descendant of Bharata, the sage Uddālaka—steadfast in sacrifice—invoked Sarasvatī even within the rite. Swift-moving Sarasvatī, issuing forth from the Himālaya, came to that sacrifice. At that time, in the holy and prosperous region of Northern Kosala, the circle of sages had assembled from all directions. There, while performing the sacrifice, the great-souled Uddālaka contemplated the goddess Sarasvatī; and to bring the sage’s purpose to fulfillment, Sarasvatī—foremost among rivers—arrived in that land.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच