Shloka 22
Ṛśyaśṛṅgopākhyāna-praveśaḥ — Lomāśa narrates the origins of Ṛśyaśṛṅga and the Anga drought (ऋश्यशृङ्गोपाख्यान-प्रवेशः)
वैशम्पायनजी कहते हैं--तदनन्तर राजा युधिष्ठिर अपने दल-बलके साथ नन््दामें गोता लगाकर रमणीय एवं शीतल जलवाली शुभ पुण्यमयी कौशिकीके तटपर गये ।। लोगश उवाच एषा देवनदी पुण्या कौशिकी भरतर्षभ । विश्वामित्रा श्रमो रम्य एष चात्र प्रकाशते,वहाँ लोमशजीने कहा--भरतगश्रेष्ठ! यह देवताओंकी नदी पुण्यसलिला कौशिकी है और यह विश्वामित्रका रमणीय आश्रम है, जो यहाँ प्रकाशित हो रहा है
Lomaśa uvāca—eṣā devanadī puṇyā Kauśikī bharatarṣabha | Viśvāmitrasya āśramo ramyaḥ eṣa cātra prakāśate ||
Lomaśa said: “O bull among the Bharatas, this is the sacred Kauśikī, a divine river whose waters are purifying. And here, clearly visible before us, is the delightful hermitage of Viśvāmitra.”
लोगश उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage highlights tīrtha-yātrā and sacred places as supports for dharma: holy rivers and sages’ hermitages are portrayed as purifying environments where one renews ethical resolve, learns from rṣi-traditions, and steadies the mind through contact with sanctified geography and exemplary ascetic life.
During the Pāṇḍavas’ forest journey, Lomaśa identifies a revered location for Yudhiṣṭhira: the divine, purifying river Kauśikī and the nearby beautiful hermitage of the sage Viśvāmitra, which is now visible to them.