Pilgrimage Plan with Krishna and Pandavas

The speaker laid out the plan plainly. The twins — Nakula and Sahadeva — would go. Bhimasena would go. Krishna would go. And the speaker himself would go with them. All of them together, lean and extremely ascetic, stripped of the comforts of court, journeying to the sacred places. The destination was Indra's sacred stream — the place where Dhata, Vidhata, and Varuna had ascended upwards. These were ancient beings, powers that had dwelt there in forgiveness and supreme dharma, their minds upright and friendly. The mountain itself was pure, appropriate for those who sought the same qualities. There was Mount Archika, inhabited by the learned, always full of fruit and flowing streams. The winds made it the supreme of regions. Hundreds of sanctuaries built by the thirty gods stood there. The moon's tirtha (sacred water) was there, worshipped by the rishis, the vaikhanasa rishis, and the valakhilyas — orders of ascetics known for their severe penances. And there was the Yamuna, with its eternal currents, where Krishna himself had engaged in austerities. The river was frequented by masses of rajarshis (royal sages). Many sacrifices had been performed there. It was holy and banished fear of sin. The speaker named those who had come before: King Mandhata, the great archer, who had performed a sacrifice here. Somaka Sahadeva, supreme among those who gave. These were the predecessors whose footsteps the group would follow. The commitment was made. The twins, Bhimasena, Krishna, and the speaker — all of them would go there together, lean and extremely ascetic, to the sacred stream where the ancient ones had ascended.