Lomasha Recounts Chyavana's Anger at Indra

Lomasha said: "O Kounteya! On seeing Mount Vaidurya and descending into the Narmada, one attains the world of the gods and that of the kings. O best of men! This is the union of treta and dvapara — the meeting point of two ages. Once one has reached this spot, one is cleansed of all sins. O son! This is the place of Sharyati's sacrifice, where the Ashvins drank soma in person, with Koushika. The immensely ascetic Bhargava, the lord Chyavana, was angry with the great Indra and paralysed Vasava in his anger. He also obtained the princess Sukanya as his wife." Yudhishthira listened carefully. Then he asked: "How did the illustrious one paralyse the chastiser of Paka? For what reason was the great ascetic Bhargava angered? O brahmana! Why were the Nasatyas — the Ashvins — made to become drinkers of soma? O illustrious one! Tell me all this exactly as it happened." The question was precise. Yudhishthira wanted the full narrative — not just the fact of Chyavana's anger, but its cause; not just the paralysis of Indra, but the sequence of events that led to it; and most intriguingly, the transformation of the Ashvins, the twin gods who were physicians to the heavens, into drinkers of soma — a privilege usually reserved for the greater gods. Lomasha had mentioned these things in passing. Yudhishthira wanted them in full.