having bathed in that _tirtha_, obtaineth the merit that one earneth by properly celebrating a thousand horse-sacrifices. Whatever sins a man or woman committeth, are, without doubt, all destroyed as soon as one batheth in that _tirtha_. Bathing there one also ascendeth to the abode of Brahma on the lotus-coloured car. Bathing next in _Koti-tirtha_, after having worshipped the Yaksha doorkeeper, Machakruka, one obtaineth the merit of giving away gold in abundance. Near to this, O best of the Bharatas, is a _tirtha_ called _Ganga-hrada_. One should bathe there, O virtuous one, with subdued soul and leading a Brahmacharya mode of life. By this, one obtaineth merit that is greater than that of a Rajasuya and horse-sacrifices. The _tirtha_ called _Naimisha_ is productive of good on earth. _Pushkara_ is productive of good in the regions of the firmament; _Kurukshetra_, however, is productive of good in respect of all the three worlds. Even the dust of Kurukshetra, carried by the wind, leadeth sinful men to a highly blessed state. They that reside in Kurukshetra, which lieth to the north of the Drishadwati and the south of the Saraswati, really reside in heaven. '_I will go to Kurukshetra,' 'I will dwell in Kurukshetra_,' he that uttereth those words even once, becometh cleansed of all sins. The sacred _Kurukshetra_ which is worshipped by Brahmarshis, is regarded as the sacrificial altar of the celestials. Those mortals that dwell there, have nothing to grieve for at any time. That which lieth between Tarantuka and Arantuka and the lakes of Rama and Machakruka is Kurukshetra. It is also called _Samantapanchaka_ and is said to be the northern sacrificial altar of the Grandsire."'" SECTION LXXXIV