Mahabharata · Chapter 13.85
darśane kīdṛśaḥ snehaḥ saṃvāse ca pitāmaha /
mahābhāgyaṃ gavāṃ caiva tanme vyākhyātumarhasi //
bhīṣma uvāca /
hanta te kathayiṣyāmi purāvṛttaṃ mahādyute /
nahuṣasya ca saṃvādaṃ maharṣeścyavanasya ca //
purā maharṣiścyavano bhārgavo bharatarṣabha /
udavāsakṛtārambho babhūva sa mahāvrataḥ //
nihatya mānaṃ krodhaṃ ca praharṣaṃ śokameva ca /
varṣāṇi dvādaśa munirjalavāse dhṛtavrataḥ //
ādadhatsarvabhūteṣu visramyaṃ paramaṃ śubham /
jalecareṣu sarveṣu śītaraśmiriva prabhuḥ //
sthāṇubhūtaḥ śucirbhūtvā daivatebhyaḥ praṇamya ca /
gaṅgāyamunayormadhye jalaṃ sampraviveśa ha //
gaṅgāyamunayorvegaṃ subhīmaṃ bhīmaniḥsvanam /
pratijagrāha śirasā vātavegasamaṃ jave //
gaṅgā ca yamunā caiva saritaśca sarāṃsi ca /
pradakṣiṇamṛṣiṃ cakrurna cainaṃ paryapīḍayan //
antarjaleṣu suṣvāpa kāṣṭhabhūto mahāmuniḥ /
tataścordhvasthito dhīmānabhavadbharatarṣabha //
jalaukasāṃ sasatvānāṃ babhūva priyadarśanaḥ / upājighnanta ca tadā matsyāstaṃ hṛṣṭamānasāḥ /
tatra tasyāsataḥ kālaḥ samatīto'bhavanmahān //
tataḥ kadācitsamaye kasmiṃścinmatsyajīvinaḥ /
taṃ deśaṃ samupājagmurjālahastā mahādyute //
niṣādā bahavastatra matsyoddharaṇaniścayāḥ / vyāyatā balinaḥ śūrāḥ salileṣvanuvartinaḥ /
abhyāyayuśca taṃ deśaṃ niścitā jālakarmṇi //
jālaṃ te yojayāmāsurnavasūtrakṛtaṃ dṛḍham /
matsyoddharaṇamākarṣastadā bharatasattama //
tataste bahubhiryogaiḥ kaivartā matsyakāṅkṣiṇaḥ /
gaṅgāyamunayorvāri jālenāvakiranti te //
jālaṃ suvitataṃ teṣāṃ navasūtrakṛtaṃ tathā /
vistārāyāmasampannaṃ yattatra salile kṣamam //
tataste sumahaccaiva balavacca suvartitam /
avatīrya tataḥ sarve jālaṃ cakṛṣire tadā //
abhītarūpāḥ saṃhṛṣṭā anyonyavaśavartinaḥ /
babandhustatra matsyāṃśca tathā'nyāñjalacāriṇaḥ //
tathā matsyaiḥ parivṛtaṃ cyavanaṃ bhṛgunandanam /
ākarṣayanmahārāja jālenātha yadṛcchayā //
nadīśaivaladigdhāṅgaṃ hariśmaśrujaṭādharam / lagnaiḥ śaṅkhanakhairgātre kroḍaiścitrairivārpitam /
taṃ jālenoddhṛtaṃ dṛṣṭvā te tadā vedapāragam /
sarve prāñjalayo dāśāḥ śirobhiḥ prāpatanbhuvi //
parikhedaparitrāsājjālasyākarṣaṇena ca /
matsyā babhūvurvyāpannāḥ sthalasaṃsparśanena ca //
sa munistattadā dṛṣṭvā matsyānāṃ kadanaṃ kṛtam /
babhūva kṛpayāviṣṭo niḥśvasaṃśca punaḥpanaḥ //
niṣādā ūcuḥ /
ajñānādyatkṛtaṃ pāpaṃ prasādaṃ tatra naḥ kuru /
karavāma priya kiṃ te tanno brūhi mahāmune //
ityukto matsyamadhyasthaścyavano vākyamabravīt /
yo me'dya paramaḥ kāmastaṃ śṛṇudhvaṃ masāhitāḥ //
prāṇotsargaṃ visargaṃ vā matsyairyāsyāmyahaṃ saha /
saṃvāsānnotsahe tyaktuṃ salile'dhyupitānaham //
ityuktāste niṣādāstu subhṛśaṃ bhayakampitāḥ /
sarve vivarṇavadanā nahuṣāya nyavedayan //
Original text: Mahābhārata (southern recension) · Edition: Śrīman Mahābhāratam, ed. T. R. Krishnacharya and T. R. Vyasacharya, Nirnaya Sagar Press, Bombay 1906–1910; e-text by SARIT (Shrinivasa Varakhedi and others) · SARIT: Search and Retrieval of Indic Texts · SARIT (e-text) via Internet Archive · CC BY-SA 3.0