Lomasha Narrates the History of Kurukshetra
Lomasha recites the Kuru genealogy and then tells Yudhishthira a cryptic saying from a pishacha woman about bathing at Bhutilaya. He reveals that the place where they stand is Kurukshetra's gate — a tirtha so sacred that bathing there cleanses all evil deeds and lets a man see all the worlds.
Lomasha had been reciting the genealogy of the Kuru lineage — the long chain of kings stretching back to the beginning — and Yudhishthira listened. Then the sage told him something strange.
"A pishacha woman," Lomasha said, "adorned with ulukhala (wooden mortars), once spoke these words: 'Eat curds in Yugandhara. Spend the night in Achyutasthala. Then bathe in Bhutilaya and dwell there with your sons. After having spent one night there, if you stay for a second night, then the deeds of the day will be different from the deeds of the night.'"
Lomasha did not explain the riddle. He simply applied it.
"O supreme among the Bharata lineage! O Kounteya! Therefore, we will stay here tonight. This is Kurukshetra's gate."
He told Yudhishthira what had happened at this very spot. King Yayati Nahusha had performed sacrifices here — sacrifices where so many jewels were given away that Indra himself was delighted. This was Plakshavatarana, the supreme tirtha (sacred bathing place) on the Yamuna. The learned ones called it the gate to the vault of heaven. The supreme rishis had performed sarasvata sacrifices here, and with their sacrificial stakes and mortars, they had gone to take their final baths.
King Bharata — the ancient ancestor from whom the entire lineage took its name — had performed a horse sacrifice right here and let loose a black sacrificial steed to roam the earth. Marutta, tiger among men, had performed a supreme sacrifice here, seated under the protection of Samvarta, foremost among devarshis (divine sages).
"O Indra among kings! Bathe here and you will be able to see all the worlds. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! Having touched the water here, you will be cleansed of all evil deeds." Aranyaka Parva, Chapter 426