Vaisampayana said, "Having, O great king, heard from the illustrious
Markandeya the history of the attainment of heaven by the royal sage
Indradyumna, Yudhishthira, that bull of the Bharata race, once more
asked that sinless _Muni_ endued with great ascetic merit and long life,
saying, 'Thou knowest, O virtuous one, the entire host of the gods, the
_Danavas_, and the _Rakshasas_. Thou art acquainted also with various
royal genealogies and many eternal lines of _Rishis_! O best of
Brahmanas, there is nothing in this world that thou dost not know! Thou
knowest also, O _Muni_, many delightful stories about _men, Snakes_ and
_Rakshasas_; about gods, _Gandharvas_, and _Yakshas_, and about
_Kinnaras_ and _Apsaras_! I desire now to hear from thee, O best of
Brahmanas, as to why Kuvalaswa--that unvanquished king of Ikshavaku's
race changed his name, assuming another, viz., _Dhundhumara_. O thou
best of Bhrigu's line, I desire to know in detail why the name of
Kuvalaswa of great intelligence underwent such a change!'"
Vaisampayana continued, "Thus addressed by Yudhishthira, the great
_Muni_ Markandeya, O Bharata, then began the history of Dhundhumara!"
"Markandeya said, 'O royal Yudhishthira, listen to me, I will tell thee
all! The story of Dhundhumara is a moral one. Listen to it then! Listen
now, O king, to the story of how the royal Kuvalaswa of Ikshvaku's race
came to be known as Dhundhumara. O son, O Bharata, there was a
celebrated _Rishi_ of the name of Utanka and, O thou of the Kuru race,
Utanka had his hermitage in a delightful wilderness. And, O great king,
the _Rishi_ Utanka underwent ascetic austerities of the severest kind
and the lord Utanka underwent those penances for numberless years with
the object of obtaining the favours of Vishnu, and gratified with his
penances that illustrious Lord presented himself before Utanka. And
beholding the Deity, the _Rishi_ in all humility began to gratify him
with many hymns, and Utanka said, "O thou of great effulgence all
creatures with the gods, _Asuras_ and human beings, all things that are
mobile or immobile, even _Brahma_ himself, the Vedas, and all things
that are capable of being known, have, O lord, been created by thee! The
firmament is thy head, O god, and the sun and the moon are thy eyes!
And, O Unfading One, the winds are thy breath and fire thy energy! The
directions of the horizon constitute thy arms and the great ocean thy
stomach! And, O god, the hills and mountains constitute thy thigh and
the sky thy hips, O slayer of Madhu! The earth constitutes thy feet, and
the plants the bristles on thy body. And, O lord, Indra and Soma and
Agni and Varuna, indeed all the gods, the _Asuras_ and the great Snakes
all wait upon thee with humility, adoring thee with various hymns! O
Lord of the Universe, created things are pervaded by thee. The great
_Rishis_ of high energy and ever plunged in ascetic meditation, always
adore thee. When thou art gratified, the universe is in peace. And when
thou art angry, terror pervadeth every soul. Thou art, O Lord, the great
dispeller of all terrors and thou art the One Supreme Male Being! Thou
art the cause of happiness of both gods and human beings! And, O Lord,
by three steps of thine thou didst cover the three worlds! And it was by
thee that the _Asuras_ in the height of their power were destroyed! It
is owing to thy prowess, O God, that the celestials obtained peace and
happiness and, O thou of great effulgence, it was thy anger that
destroyed hundred great _Daitya_ chiefs. Thou art the Creator and
destroyer of all creatures in the world. It is by adoring thee that the
gods have obtained happiness." It was thus, O Yudhishthira, that the
high-souled Utanka praised the Lord of the senses. And Vishnu,
therefore, said unto Utanka, "I am gratified with thee. Ask thou the
boon that thou desirest." And Utanka said, "This indeed hath been a
great boon to me, in that I have been able to behold Hari, that eternal
Being, that divine Creator, that Lord of the universe!" Thus addressed
Vishnu said, "I am gratified with this absence of all desires on thy
part and with thy devotion, O thou best of men! But, O Brahmanas, O
regenerate one, thou shouldst of a certainty accept some boon from me!"
Thus requested by Hari to accept a boon Utanka then, O thou best of
Bharatas, with joined hands begged a boon saying, "O illustrious one, O
thou of eyes like lotus leaves, if thou hast been gratified with me,
then let my heart always rest on virtue, truth, and self-content. And, O
Lord, let my heart always turn to thee in devotion." And hearing these
words of Utanka, the holy one said, "O regenerate one, all this shall
happen to thee through my grace. And there will also appear in thee a
_yoga_ power endued with which thou shalt achieve a great thing for the
dwellers of Heaven, as also for the triple world. Even now a great
_Asura_ of the name of Dhundhu is undergoing ascetic penances of fierce
austerity with the object of destroying the triple world. Hear now as to
who will slay that _Asura_. O son, there will appear a king of
invincible energy and great prowess and he will be born in the race of
Ikshvaku and will be known by the name of Vrihadaswa who will have a son
of the name of Kuvalaswa endued with great holiness and self-control and
celebrity. And that best of kings will be furnished with _yoga_ power
springing from me and urged and commended by thee, O regenerate _Rishi_,
that king will be the slayer of the Asura Dhundhu." And having said
these words unto that Brahmana, Vishnu disappeared there and then.'"