With reverence and due decorum, the guards of Janaka escorted the young sages, Aṣṭāvakra and Śvetaketu, into the grand hall of debate. The assembly glittered with the radiance of wisdom; sages, scholars, and masters of ancient sciences adorned its breadth, while the royal seer Janaka presided with serene majesty upon his throne. The atmosphere shimmered not with jewels of earth, but with the brighter gems of intellect and divine learning.
Janaka, desirous to test the mettle of the boy-sage, wove intricate questions designed to confound the keenest mind. Yet Aṣṭāvakra, serene and unshaken, untied every knot of argument with effortless clarity. The king, astonished by the child’s profundity, bowed inwardly to his vast wisdom. Soon, Vandi—the pride of the court and son of Varuṇa—rose with imperious confidence and opened a debate filled with abstruse and lofty subjects. But Aṣṭāvakra, clear as the rising sun, unveiled their hidden meanings with simplicity and precision. The scholars, sages, and even celestial witnesses acclaimed him victorious, while Vandi stood humbled amidst the brilliance he once commanded.
When Janaka, in admiration, asked what boon the boy desired, Aṣṭāvakra spoke with humility: he sought the release of his father and the many scholars whom Vandi had condemned to drowning for defeat in debate. The king, moved by the boy’s plea and by the applause of the assembly, decreed the abolition of that cruel custom. The imprisoned sages were freed and honored with generous gifts, while Aṣṭāvakra, obtaining his wish, returned joyfully with his father Ekapāda to their hermitage. The community of scholars blessed him, declaring that he had conquered not only Vandi but the arrogance and vanity that had long darkened the realm of learning.
Thereafter, sage Romasa guided Dharmaja through sacred lands, describing each holy site with vivid eloquence. “Behold,” said he, “the confluence where Bhārata was crowned and Indra regained his purity and wealth by sprinkling these waters upon his head. This is Mynāka Kukshi, sanctified by Aditi’s penance for sons. Here stands Khanākala, beloved alike by gods and sages. This is the Ganga wherein Sanatkumāra attained liberation; and this, the Ushnaganga, whose waters fulfill all desires. Yonder lies the hermitage of R̥bhya, where the proud Yavakreetha, son of Bharadvāja, fell victim to his arrogance.”
Dharmaja entreated Romasa to recount the tale, and the sage began. “R̥bhya and Bharadvāja were saints of immense virtue and friendship, each aware of the other’s pulse and thought. Their sons, Ardhavāsu and Pārāvāsu, were brilliant scholars, worshipped by the wise. Yet Bharadvāja’s son Yavakreetha, envious of their fame, chose to gain wisdom not through a preceptor but by austerity alone. His severe penance drew the attention of Indra, who warned him that knowledge without discipline or service to a teacher breeds pride and ruin. But Yavakreetha, blinded by ambition, persisted.
Indra, to awaken him, took the form of an aged Brahmin who strove in vain to stop the Ganga’s flow by casting handfuls of sand into it. When Yavakreetha mocked the old man’s folly, Indra revealed his true form and said, ‘As futile is your quest for learning without guidance.’ Yet Yavakreetha refused to desist, and Indra, bound by divine law, granted his wish with warning. Filled with conceit, Yavakreetha returned home, but his father Bharadvāja reproved him gently, recounting how pride had destroyed the sage Medhāvi, who, blessed with immortality, insulted a holy seer and was cursed to death.
Ignoring all counsel, Yavakreetha wandered into R̥bhya’s hermitage—a paradise of peace, where parrots recited hymns and mynas chanted blessings. Amid its beauty he beheld the graceful Kṛṣṇā, wife of Parāvāsu, and overcome by desire, approached her shamelessly. Terrified, she fled and reported the outrage to her father-in-law. Enraged, R̥bhya created by his ascetic power a dazzling enchantress and a dreadful demon, commanding them to destroy the wicked Yavakreetha. The woman lured him; he touched her hand and at once lost his sanctity. The demon pursued and slew him with his trident.
Bharadvāja, returning to his ashram, found his sacred fires dimmed and learned the tragic fate of his son. In grief he lamented, ‘Pride has consumed you, my son; you ignored my warning,’ and in sorrow cast himself into the fire, renouncing his mortal frame.
Later, King Bruhadyumna sought to perform a vast sacrifice and invited the sons of R̥bhya to preside. On the way, Parāvāsu, mistaking his father for a beast in the darkness, slew him unwittingly. In repentance he implored his brother Ardhavāsu to perform rites to absolve the sin of Brahmin-slaying. Ardhavāsu, pure and forgiving, agreed and completed the sacred atonement. But when he came to join the sacrifice, Parāvāsu, still tainted by guilt, forbade his entry, accusing him falsely.
Then the gods themselves descended, proclaiming Ardhavāsu’s truth and virtue. Pleased with his selfless spirit, they offered him a boon. He prayed for the revival of his father, Bharadvāja, and Yavakreetha, and for the purification of Parāvāsu. The gods granted his wish, restoring all three to life. Yavakreetha then asked, bewildered, how R̥bhya had surpassed even divine favor. The gods replied, “Knowledge earned through humble service and study shines with its own radiance; that gained through pride is shadow without flame.”
Romasa concluded, “This sacred place, once graced by Yavakreetha’s penance, purifies the soul of all who dwell or bathe here. Beyond lies Mount Kala, from whose heights the Ganga descends in seven hidden streams. Here, prayer to her brings supreme sanctity. Beyond stands Mandagiri, abode of celestial musicians and warriors, and beyond that, the sacred Kailāsa, dwelling of Kubera. Thus did the Pāṇḍavas, guided by Romasa’s wisdom, meditate upon these holy realms, receive the grace of the Ganga, and cleanse themselves of every sin. The sage’s narration remains a treasury of moral counsel and spiritual insight—a model of how divine guidance redeems the proud and uplifts the penitent across the ages.”
