(O janamejaya !) Then lord viShNu (kR^iShNa) told the sages all about the incident with pishAcha, the great soul, right from the beginning.

Hearing about the incident, all the sages wondered the most. They said: Oh! The (wonderous) fruit of his deeds (became manifest), just by seeing you, etc.

kR^iShNa, worshipped by all the sages, was pleased. The lord who is dear to those who please him, in the clear morning, as the sun rose up,

viShNu (kR^iShNa), mounted garuDa and proceeded towards the mountain kailAsa, the best, telling the sages that "you shall also proceed to kailAsa".

Where the lords of the world, the siddha-s perform penances, observing vows, where, lord vaishravaNa (lord of wealth) himself performs the service of sha~Nkara always,

Where the great lake named mAnasaM, the abode of swans, bhR^i~NgIriTi, serves on the auspicious lord sha~Nkara who causes auspiciousness and prosperity,

where he stands always by the side of shiva, taking up the leadership of the gaNa-s, along with lions, boars, and also elephants, tigers and deer,

where wild animals play with each other as they like, where the ocean-going rivers such as ga~Nga originate,

where the lord of the world, the lord causing happiness (shambhu), cut off the head of brahma, where the great cane (Calamus Rotang) originated and became the staff of punishment of the beings,

where lord sha~Nkara who causes auspiciousness and prosperity, the lord with blue colour, stays with umA, where long ago, the giri (himAlaya) gave the daughter, according to the prayers of sages, to lord sha~Nkara who causes auspiciousness and prosperity, the protector of the universe, shiva, the lord of the universe.

where hari (viShNu) obtained his chakra after serving the lord of the universe (shiva) for many days, with blue lotuses and lotuses with hundred petals and also with his eyes,

where, inside the caves, siddha-s and kinnara-s play and enjoy with their dear women, drinking the best, sweet honey,

which the son of pulastya (rAvaNa), lifted up with all his arms and withdrew,

climbing that great mountain, the son of devakI, hari (kR^iShNa, viShNu), the son of yadu, reached the north bank of the lake mAnasa.

hari, viShNu (kR^iShNa) wanted to perform penance to please the lord of all, lord shiva.

The lord of the universe was having twisted locks of hair. Taking the body of man, he was wearing bark strips.

Alighting from his vehicle, garuDa, established by the veda-s and fixing his mind on penance, the lord sat on the clean place.

Then hari (viShNu, kR^iShNa) decided in his mind to perform penance for two and ten (twelve) years. The lord of the universe began his penance in the month of phAlguna (February- March).

The lord of the universe performed penance, eating vegetables, chanting, and immersed in the study of veda-s. It was not known why he was performing penance as a man. The lord's thinking is difficult (for others) to know.

While viShNu (kR^iShNa) was performing penance on the mountain (kailAsa) served by bhUta-s, the son of kashyapa, garuDa, gathered the firewood for the sacrificial fire for vAsudeva (kR^iShNa) who was performing the best penance.

The king of chakra-s (sudarshana) then gathered the flowers for hari (viShNu, kR^iShNa). Then the conch (pA~nchajanya ), obtained from the waters (of the ocean) protected all directions (during the penance).

khaDga AhR^itya yatnena kushAnsubahushastadA |
gadA kaumodakI chaiva paricharyAM chakAra ha ||3-84-22

The sword (of kR^iShNa) then gathered many kusha grass (for the penance ) with effort. The mace, kaumodakI performed service (during the penance).

dhanuHpravaramatyugraM shAr~NgaM dAnavabhIShaNam |
sthitaM hi puratastasya yatheShTaM bhR^ityavatsvayam ||3-84-23

The chief among the bows, the highly powerful shAr~NgaM, fearful for the sons of danu stood in front of kR^iShNa as a servant to his like.

juhoti bhagavAnviShNuredhobhirbahubhiH sadA |
AjyAdibhistadA havyairagniM saMpUjya mAdhavaH ||3-84-24
saptArchiShaH samAptiM cha samastavyastataH kR^itI |

Lord viShNu (kR^iShNa), mAdhava, lighted the firewood and worshipped the fire god by pouring clarified butter and many other offerings to the fire performing the sacrifice in a brief as well as detailed manner and completing the same.

ekasminnekadA mAse bhu~njAno niyatAtmavAn ||3-84-25

kR^iShNa, the one with controlled soul performed the penance, eating food once a day for the first month.

dvitIye tvatha paryAye bhu~njannekena keshavaH |
ekasminvatsare bhu~njaMstathaivaikena kenachit ||3-84-26

From the second month onwards, keshava ate during every alternate months. Then he performed penance by eating only once in an year some time.

samApya tattapaH sarvamevameva jagatpatiH |
dvAdashAbde tathA pUrNaM UnamAse jagatpatiH ||3-84-27
juhvannagniM samAsthAya paThanmantraM janArdanaH |

Completing all those penances in this way, the lord of the world, at the time when one month is required to complete twelve years, janArdana (kR^iShNa) performed the fire sacrifice, reciting the mantras.

AraNyakaM paThanviShNuH sAkShAtsarveshvaro hariH |
Aste dhyAnaparastatra paThanpraNavamuttamam ||3-84-28

Lord viShNu (kR^iShNa), hari, the real lord of all, reciting AraNyaka, performed meditation, by reciting the praNava mantra, the best.

iti shrImahAbhArate khileShu harivaMshe bhaviShyaparvaNi kailAsayAtrAyAM kR^iShNatapovarNane chaturashItitamo.adhyAyaH

This is the eighty-fourth lesson of bhaviShyaparva, harivaMsha, khila of mahabhArata, in kalAsayAtra, kR^iShNa's penance

##Itranslated by G. Schaufelberger, schaufel@wanadoo.fr August 3, 2008
Proof-read by K S Rmachandran, ramachandran_ksr @ yahoo.ca.
If you find any errors compared to Chitrashala Press edition, send corrections to A. Harindranath harindranath_a @ yahoo.com
Translated to English by A. Purushothaman [purushothaman_avaroth @ yahoo.com] and A. Harindranath
February 17, 2013 ##