OR Kaushala. The name given to Skanda when he had the face of a goat, as per Mahabharata Vanaparva Chapter 228 verse 4.

A holy place. Undergoing upavasa here for three consecutive nights grants one redemption from sins as per Mahabharata Vanaparva Chapter 84.

Also known as Gomati. A river on the banks of which is located Vishwamitra’s hermitage. It is known as Kosi and flows through Bihar. Bathing in this river is way of redeeming sins as per Mahabharata Vanaparva Chapter 84.

A holy place where the daughter of the king of Kashi meditated as per Mahabharata Udyogaparva Chapter 156 verse 27.

Another name for the king Aakriti. He ruled Saurashtra as per Mahabharata Sabhaparva Chapter 21.

A holy place. As per Mahabharata Vanaparva Chapter 84 verse 142, this was where Vishwamitra obtained his  powers.

A king who used to turn into a rooster at night. His wife Vishala was disappointed and consulted the sage Galava. Galava told her that in his previous birth, the king had consumed a lot of chicken to get stronger. The king of roosters Tamrachuda cursed that Kaushika would become a  rooster in his next birth. As per Galava’s advice, the king conducted a shivalingapuja for redemption, according to Skandapurana.

A Puruvanshi king. His father was Kapila and his brother’s name was Gritsapati. From Gritsapati were born the four classes – brahmins, kshatriyas, vasishyas and shudras as per Agnipurana Chapter 278.

During the Pandavas’ exile, the sage Markandeya told them a story about the brahmin Kaushika. Kaushika once meditated under a tree. A bird came and sat down on a branch and excreted on the sage’s chest. The sage was furious and turned the bird into ashes. But instantly he felt remorseful . He decided to spend his life begging on the streets. He once reached a brahmin household and the brahmin woman asked him to wait for a while. The master of the house reached there then, and the woman forgot about Kaushika. Kaushika spoke angrily to the woman, who argued that serving one;s husband was the biggest dharma and brahmins should not become angry easily. She advised him to go to Mithila and learn from Dharmavyadha. He did that and then went back to serve his parents as per Mahabharata Vanaparva Chapters 206-216.

Kaushika finally attained naraka despite this. This was because, once, while he was meditating in a forest, a few robbers passed that way with loot. They were being chased by the rightful owners of the loot. It was Kaushika who told them the direction the robbers had gone in. So he was sent to naraka as per Mahabharata Karnaparva Chapter 96.

A minister of Jarasandha. He was also known as Hamsa as per Mahabharata Sabhaparva Chapter 23.