That king, being terrified again, said, bowing, to Brahmā "O lord, such being the circumstance, upon whom shall I confer this daughter?" Thereupon nodding, the preceptor of the seven worlds—the god, whose throne is lotus, said to the king, standing humbly before—"The being, whose beginning, middle or end we do not know, who exists in all, who is the creator, whose real and infinite nature and essence we do not know is (Vishnu). His power cannot be measured by time, consisting of moments and hours and years; he has no birth or death—all objects are his form—he is eternal—he has no form or name. By the mercy of that imperishable being I am the agent of creation—Rudra is the agent of destruction and Vishnu is the agent of preservation. He, assuming my form creates the universe; in his own essence he provides for its duration; in the form of Rudra he devours all things; and with the body of Ananta he upholds them, In the person of Indra and other celestials he protects mankind and as the sun and moon he dispels darkness. Assuming the nature of fire he bestows warmth and maturity, and in that of earth he nourishes all beings. In the shape of air he gives activity, in the shape of water he gives satisfaction and in the shape of sky he provides space for all objects. He, being creator, creates himself; he, being preserver, preserves himself; he, being destroyer, destroys his own universal form. He is imperishable; there is nothing distinct from him. In him is the world; he is the world; and he, the primeval self-born, is again present in the world. O king, the glorious Vishnu has incarnated a portion of himself on earth. O king, your picturesque city Kusasthali, like the city of Indra, is now called Dwārakā. There reigns a portion of Kesava in the person of Baladeva. O king, confer this daughter of thine upon him, who appears under the guise of a man. He is an excellent bridegroom for this gem of a daughter and she is a fit bride".
Parāçara said:—Being thus advised by the deity springing from lotus, the king returned to earth and beheld mankind, greatly reduced in size and vigour and weakened in intellect. Thereupon that king, having incomparable wisdom, repairing to his own city Kusathali which he saw greatly changed, gave his daughter to Baladeva whose breast was as fair and radiant as crystal. And beholding that damsel of excessive height the king, whose banner is a palm tree, shortened her with the end of his ploughshare. Being thus shortened she became like other women. Balarāma thus married duly Revali, the daughter of Raivata. And the king, too giving away daughter, retired to the mountain Himalaya and engaged in penances with a subdued mind.
SECTION II.
Whilst Kakudmin Raivata was absent in the region of Brahmā, Rākshasas named Punyjanas devastated his capital Kusasthali. His hundred brothers, afraid of the enemies, fled in different directions and their descendants the Kshatriyas settled all over the country.
From Dhristha originated the Kshatriya race of Dharshtaka; the son of Nabhaga was Nābhaga; his son was Ambarisa; his son was Virupa; his son was Prishadāswa; his son was Rathinara, of whom it is said—"These princes of Rathinara family, although Kshatriyas by birth, were called Angerasas or sons of Angera and were Brāhmans and Kshatriyas".
As Manu was sneezing Ikshawku was born from his nostril. He had a hundred sons of whom the three well-known were Vikukshi, Nimi and Danda. These and fifty under Sakuni were the rulers of the north. Forty-eight were the rulers of the south.
Being engaged in the celebration of an ancestral rite upon Ashtaka day Ikshawku ordered Vikukshi to bring him flesh suitable for the offering. The prince, therefore, went into woods and slew many a deer and other wild animals for the purpose. Being exhausted with hunting he was hungry; accordingly he sat down and ate a hare. And being refreshed he carried the rest of the game to his father. Vaisishtha, the family priest of Ikshawakus, was invited to consecrate the food; but he said that it was impure on account of Vikuksh's having eaten a hare from amongst it. Being thus informed by his spiritual preceptor the father abandoned his son who, in consequence thereof, received the epithet Sasāda (hare-eater). On the demise of his father he piously ruled over the earth. A son, Puranjaya by name, was born to him.
There took place a dreadful conflict in the Treta yuga between the gods and demons in which the former were defeated. They accordingly repaired to Vishnu for help and propitiated him by their adorations. Being propitiated the primeval deity, the eternal ruler of the universe, Nārāyana said to them—"What you have desired is known to me. Hear how your desires shall be fulfilled. There is a foremost Kshatriya king named Puranjaya, son of the royal saint Sasāda. Infusing a portion of myself into his body I shall descend on earth and slay all the demons. Do you so endeavour that Putanjaya might engage in the work of the destruction of Asuras". Hearing those words the celestials bowed unto the glorious Vishnu and went to Paranjaya and addressed him, saying, "O foremost of Kshatriyas, we have come to thee to secure thy help in the destruction of our enemies in which we have been engaged. It will not behove thee to neglect our friendship who have come here". Being thus addressed Puranjaya said—"If Indra, the lord of the three worlds, the king of you all, who is known as the performer of hundred sacrifices, agrees to carry me upon his shoulders, I shall then fight with your enemies and help you". The celestials and Indra immediately said "so be it".
Thereupon Satakratu assumed the shape of a bull and the king mounted upon his shoulder. And being invigorated by the power of the undecaying God, the lord of all moveable and and immoveable things, he slew all the Asuras in the battle between the gods and demons. And in consequence of his destroying the Asura army whilst seated upon the hump of the bull he obtained the appellation Kakutstha. The son of Kakutstha was Anenas, whose son was Pritha, whose son was Viswagaswa, whose son was Arda, whose son was Yuvanāswa, whose son was Sravasta, by whom the city of Srāvasti was founded. The son of Sravasta was Vrihadawa whose son was Kuvalayaswa. This prince, invigorated by the energy of Vishnu, slew the Asura Dhundhu, who had disturbed the pious sage Uttanka, and he was accordingly named Dhundhumara (slayer of Dhundhu). Whilst fighting with the demon he was attended by his twenty one thousand sons, who all, with the exception of three, were consumed by the fiery breath of Dhundhu. These three Were Dhridhāswa, Chandrāswa and Kapilāswa. The son of Dhridhāswa was Baryāswa, whose son was Nikumbha, whose son was Sanhataswa, whose son was Krisāswa, whose son was Basenajit, whose son was another Yuvanāswa.
Being aggrieved in consequence of having no son he lived in the hermitage of saints. And being worked up with compassion of sages engaged in the performance of a religious ceremony for this offspring. When half the night had passed away they finished the ceremony and having placed a vessel of consecrated water upon the altar they slept.