Hearing the words of the sage Dadhīca, Janārdana—who had been appearing in the guise of a Brahmin—at once cast aside his disguise. Smiling in his own divine form, he addressed Dadhīca with gentle words, “O steadfast Dadhīca, you have nothing to fear anywhere. You are devoted to the worship of the Lord and possess true knowledge. Still, for my sake, you should say just once, ‘I am afraid.’ Salutations to you! Go and say this to King Kṣupa in the assembly, by my command, O best of Brahmins.” Even after hearing these conciliatory words from Viṣṇu, the great sage Dadhīca replied firmly to the Lord of gods, “I do not fear.” Empowered by the grace of Śambhu, the god of gods who wields the Pināka bow—by Śarva, by Śaṅkara, the all-knowing—Dadhīca stood his ground. Hari, hearing the sage’s unwavering words, became angry. Raising his mighty discus, Sudarśana, the Lord prepared to burn the great sage. But, astonishingly, the Sudarśana discus itself became blunt at the tip, rendered powerless by the spiritual strength of Dadhīca, all in the presence of King Kṣupa. Seeing his discus dulled, Viṣṇu was addressed by Dadhīca, who smiled—he who is the very cause of all that is manifest and unmanifest. Dadhīca said, “O Lord, this discus, Sudarśana, which you obtained long ago through great effort and which is famed as Viṣṇu’s weapon, does not wish to harm me here. Therefore, you should try Brahmā’s weapons and others.” Hearing these words and seeing his weapon defeated, Viṣṇu summoned forth all the celestial missiles from every side. The imperishable gods themselves came to assist Viṣṇu, the mighty ones preparing to fight the Brahmin sage alone. Dadhīca, undaunted, took a handful of sacred kusa grass. Remembering Bhava, he created from it the thunderbolt-bone for all the gods, sovereign in every way. Then, a divine trident appeared, blazing like the fire of destruction at the end of the age, intent on burning the gods like a cosmic conflagration. All the weapons abandoned by Indra, Nārāyaṇa, and the other gods bowed before the trident. Their strength broken, all the gods fled. But Viṣṇu, supreme among men, created from his own body divine hosts by the hundreds of thousands, all resembling himself. Yet the best of sages, Dadhīca, suddenly burned them all with his power. Then, for the sake of wonder, Hari revealed himself as the universal form. Dadhīca, the foremost of Brahmins, beheld this cosmic form of Hari directly. In that vision, the blessed sage saw the hosts of gods, the multitudes of Rudras, and their various groups. He also saw countless cosmic eggs within the body of the universal form. Witnessing all this, Cyavana was filled with amazement. Turning to Viṣṇu, the Lord of the universe, unborn and all-pervading, Dadhīca sprinkled him with water and addressed him, “Abandon this illusion, O mighty-armed one; appearances are deceptive. O Madhava, thousands of kinds of knowledge are difficult to grasp. See the entire world within me, together with yourself, Brahmā, and Rudra. I grant you divine sight.” Having spoken thus, the sage revealed everything within his own body and addressed Hari, the god and origin of all gods, “Is this by illusion, or by the power of mantra, or by the power of substance, O Lord? Or is it by the power of meditation, O Viṣṇu? Therefore, abandon this illusion and strive to fight.” Hearing these words and witnessing such wondrous greatness, the gods again fled. But Brahmā, the Lotus-born Lord of the World, restrained Nārāyaṇa, who stood motionless. At Brahmā’s words, Viṣṇu, now overcome, approached the great sage Dadhīca and bowed to him. King Kṣupa, afflicted by sorrow, honored the best of sages, bowed quickly to Dadhīca, and pleaded with distress, “Dadhīca, forgive me, O god. What I did was out of ignorance, O friend. What is there for you, devoted to Rudra, from Viṣṇu or even the other gods? Be gracious, Supreme Lord. Among the wicked, devotion is rare, and among those like me, the lowest of kṣatriyas, devotion is hard to find.” Hearing and accepting his plea, Dadhīca, the foremost of ascetics, cursed the king and the excellent gods: “By the fire of Rudra’s wrath, may the gods, along with Indra and the great sages, be destroyed by the god, together with Viṣṇu, at the auspicious sacrifice of Dakṣa, the great-souled lord of creatures.” Having thus cursed Kṣupa, Dadhīca spoke again, “O king of rulers, the gods are to be worshipped by kings and by various groups, but, O king, the brāhmaṇas alone are truly powerful and capable.” Having said this, the illustrious sage entered his hermitage. The king, bowing to Dadhīca, returned to his own abode. That very place became a sacred ford, known as Sthāneśvara; one who reaches Sthāneśvara attains union with Śiva. Thus, in brief, has the dispute between Kṣupa and Dadhīca been told, as well as the greatness of Dadhīca and of Bhava. Whoever recites this divine dispute between Kṣupa and Dadhīca conquers premature death and attains Brahmā’s world at the end of the body. Whoever, having recited this battle, enters combat, will never fear death and will always be victorious.