In the illustrious line of Haihaya, the heir was the renowned Dharmanetra. Dharmanetra’s son was Kunti, whose own son was Samhata. Samhata was succeeded by King Mahishman, and Mahishman’s son was the valiant Rudrashrenya. As previously described, Rudrashrenya ascended the throne of Varanasi. His son, Durdama, continued the lineage, and Durdama’s son was the wise and powerful Kanaka. Kanaka had four sons, whose fame spread throughout the world: Kritavirya, Kritagni, Kritavarma, and Kritaujas. From Kritavirya was born Arjuna, the illustrious king known as Kartavirya Arjuna. This remarkable monarch was born with a thousand arms and was the lord of the seven islands. He undertook severe austerities for ten thousand years. Kartavirya Arjuna worshipped Dattatreya, the son of Atri, and from this divine sage he received four supreme boons. First, he asked for a thousand arms; then, for the power to restrain the wicked and to prevent unrighteousness even among the virtuous. He sought the ability to conquer the earth in battle, to rule it righteously, and, in war, to slay those who transgressed their bounds. With these boons, Kartavirya Arjuna conquered the entire earth, including its seven islands, mountains, and the lands encircled by the seven oceans, all according to the law of Kshatriyas. At his wish, a thousand arms appeared upon him, and his chariot and banner manifested as well, as tradition recounts. This wise king performed ten thousand sacrifices, unobstructed, upon the islands. His sacrifices were abundant in gifts, with golden sacrificial posts and altars, and were adorned by the presence of gods who arrived in their aerial chariots. Gandharvas and Apsarases beautified these occasions, and at one such sacrifice, the Gandharva Narada sang a song, marveling at Kartavirya’s greatness. Narada declared that no Kshatriya could attain the path of Kartavirya—whether by sacrifices, gifts, austerities, valor, or learning. Kartavirya, armed with sword, discus, bow, and arrows, rode his chariot across the seven islands as a yogi, ever vigilant against thieves. He reigned as a universal emperor for eighty-five thousand years, his treasury filled with all precious gems. By his yogic power, he became not only king but also a herdsman and protector of fields, and was known as Arjuna, the bringer of rain. His thousand arms, hardened by the bowstring, shone with a thousand rays, like the autumn sun. At Mahishmati, Kartavirya conquered the son of the serpent Karkotaka among men and settled him in that city. In the rainy season, the king would playfully cross the rushing ocean currents, delighting in the opposing streams. As he sported on the shore, adorned with garlands of rival flowers, the river Narmada, frightened by the frown of his waves, approached timidly. With his thousand arms, Kartavirya plunged into the great ocean, causing Narmada, swollen by rains, to surge with force. When he agitated the mighty ocean with his thousand arms, the demons dwelling in the netherworld became utterly motionless. He churned the ocean, scattering great waves, submerging fish and whales, and tossing up masses of foam struck by the wind, rendering the waters impassable. The gods, startled by the churning of the ocean, suspected the birth of nectar, as if Mandara itself were being stirred. The great serpents became motionless, their heads stilled like banana trunks at sunset, quieted by the wind. Having strung his bow and set it with five arrows, Kartavirya bewildered Ravana and his army in Lanka by force. After conquering and binding Ravana, he brought him to Mahishmati and imprisoned him there. Pulastya, Ravana’s ancestor, came to Kartavirya Arjuna to appease him, and upon being soothed, Arjuna released the Rakshasa. From his thousand arms arose the sound of the bowstring, like the thunderclap of a thousand clouds at the end of an age, or the crash of Indra’s bolt. Yet, alas, such is the power of fate, that Bhargava—Parashurama—struck him down. Kartavirya’s thousand arms, shining like golden palm trees, were severed. Enraged, the lord cursed Arjuna, declaring, “Because you, Haihaya, burned my renowned forest, another will accomplish this difficult deed and take it from you.” He foretold that a powerful and ascetic Brahmin of the Bhargava line would cut off his thousand arms with force and slay him. At that time, Rama became his death by the curse of the wise, a boon that Kartavirya himself had once chosen. Kartavirya Arjuna had a hundred sons, five of whom were great chariot-warriors: skilled in weapons, strong, valiant, righteous, and mighty. Among them were Shurasena, Shura, Dhrishta, Kroshtri, Jayadhvaja, Vaikarta, and Avanti. Jayadhvaja’s son was the mighty Talajangha, whose own sons, the Talajanghas, numbered a hundred. Among these great Haihayas, five clans are renowned: the Vitihotras, Sharyatas, Bhojas, Avantis, and Vritihotras. Thus unfolded the glorious tale of Kartavirya Arjuna and his lineage, whose deeds and legacy shine forth in the annals of dharma.