Yudhishthira Accepts Lomasha's Proposal to Visit Tirthas

Lomasha had come a long way. He was a brahmana of immense austerity, and he had been sent by Indra himself — carrying a message for Yudhishthira, the eldest Pandava, living in exile in the Kamyaka forest. The message was this: the sacred tirthas (pilgrimage sites) were waiting. Indra wanted Yudhishthira to visit them. And there was more — Arjuna, Yudhishthira's brother, was already with the gods, learning divine weapons. The king of the gods had not forgotten the man suffering in the forest. When Yudhishthira heard Lomasha's words, he was overcome. He sat before the brahmana and tried to find words, but the delight was too great. "I am so overcome with delight that I cannot find words to answer," he said. "There is no one greater than one whom the king of gods remembers. Who can be greater than one who has your company, whose brother is Dhananjaya, and who is remembered by Vasava?" He told Lomasha that the proposal to visit the tirthas had already taken root in his heart. Dhoumya, the Pandavas' family priest, had spoken of the sacred sites before. The idea had settled into Yudhishthira's mind and become a resolution. Now, with Lomasha's arrival and Indra's invitation, that resolution had found its moment. "O brahmana! Whenever you make up your mind about visiting the tirthas, it is my certain resolution that I will also go to the tirthas." The journey was set. The Pandavas would walk the sacred earth, visit the places where gods and rishis had performed their austerities, and wash away the sorrows of exile in the waters of the tirthas.