Narada describes Vaishravana's celestial assembly hall
Narada tells Yudhishthira of a radiant assembly hall floating in the sky, built by the god of wealth through his own austerities. He describes its divine perfumes, its golden trees, and the constant celestial festivities presided over by Vaishravana himself, often joined by the formidable god Shiva.
Narada, the divine sage who travels between worlds, turned his description to the sabha of Vaishravana — the god Kubera, lord of riches. The hall was radiant and white, one hundred yojanas long and seventy wide. Vaishravana had not inherited it or commissioned it; he had built it himself through the power of his austerities. It possessed the cool luminosity of the moon, was established in the sky, and resembled a peak of Mount Kailasa. Held aloft by his guhyaka attendants, celestial and adorned with tall golden trees, it seemed fixed to the firmament yet also seemed to float, beautiful and cloud-like.
It radiated its own light and was fragrant with divine scents. There, on a supreme and pure throne as radiant as the sun, covered with divine spreads and footstools, sat the handsome King Vaishravana. He was adorned in lustrous earrings and colourful ornaments and garments, surrounded by one thousand women. Pure breezes carried perfume from the extensive coral trees, scented groves, water lilies from his lotus pond known as Alaka, and from the Nandana gardens — all of it pleasing the mind and heart like an offering of homage.
Gods and gandharvas, surrounded by crowds of apsaras (celestial dancers), sang divine songs in celestial tones. Narada listed the apsaras by name: Mishrakeshi, Rambha, the sweet-smiling Chitrasena, Charunetra, Ghritachi, Menaka, Punjikasthala, Vishvachi, Sahajanya, Pramlocha, Urvashi, Ira, Varga, Sourabheyi, Samichi, Budbuda, and Lata. These and a thousand others, skilled in singing and dancing, paid homage to the granter of riches. With these masses of gandharvas and apsaras, the sabha was never empty, always magnificent and filled with divine music.
There were also the gandharvas known as kinnaras, and others known as naras — Anibhadra, Dhanada, Shvetabhadra, Guhyaka, Kasheraka, Gandhakandu, the immensely strong Pradyota, Kustumbura, Pishacha, Gajakarna, Vishalaka, Varahakarna, Sandroshtha, Phalabhaksha, Phalodaka, Angachuda, Shikhavarta, Hemanetra, Vibhishana, Pushpanana, Pingalaka, Shonitoda, Pravalaka, Vrikshavasya, Aniketa, Chitravasa. These and many other yakshas, in hundreds and thousands, were in constant attendance. The fortunate Shri (the goddess of prosperity) and Nalakubara (Vaishravana's son) were always present. Narada himself and other sages went there often, as did many preceptors and devarshis (divine sages).
And then there was the formidable guest. The three-eyed, illustrious god Pashupati Umapati — Shiva, the wielder of the trident, the destroyer of Bhaganetra — was often there with the unblemished goddess Parvati. He was surrounded by hundreds and thousands of his followers: dwarfs, horrible in form, hunchbacked, bloody-eyed, swift as thought, feeding on flesh, fat, and marrow, fearful to see and hear, wielding many terrible weapons and moving like powerful wind storms. This god, Narada said, was always seated with his friend, the granter of riches.
Such was the sabha of Vaishravana. Narada concluded, stating he had seen it while travelling through the sky. Then he announced he would next tell Yudhishthira about the grandfather's — Brahma's — sabha, where all fatigue was dispelled.