Yayāti, filled with curiosity, turned to the great sage Pulastya and asked, “How was it recovered right there?” Pulastya began to recount the tale: In those days, the whole world was afflicted by terrible hunger, and a great doubt seized the hearts of all living beings. Most had perished, and those who remained alive wandered the earth as if dead, weakened and hopeless. Such hardship befell the world of mortals, O King, and with the absence of food and medicinal herbs, only bones remained scattered across the land. Driven by severe hunger and thirst, a desperate soul arrived at the dwelling of a caṇḍāla. The caṇḍāla took him in, brought him home, and washed him with water. At that time, Agni, the fire-god, who knew well what was fit to eat and what was not, observed the world’s plight. With the medicinal herbs vanished from the earth, Agni declared, “This is indeed appropriate now. I will not consume what is unfit to eat; I will abandon the earth.” Thus, filled with anger and having considered deeply in his mind, Agni resolved to depart. With Agni’s sudden disappearance, all sacrificial rites such as Agniṣṭoma ceased. The hosts of gods, seeing this, fell into great doubt. Mortals, abandoned by Fire, met with destruction. The gods realized the urgency: “Let Fire be sought out—where does he now abide?” They searched for Fire throughout the expanse of the earth. Exhausted from their quest, the gods encountered a parrot before them. The parrot spoke: “The great and radiant Fire, who offers oblations, has vanished—I have seen him.” The parrot, filled with anger, revealed Fire’s whereabouts and cursed him. Agni had entered the interior of the śamī tree and the noble aśvattha tree, hiding so he could not be perceived by the gods. The parrot said to him, “Your tongue will become inverted.” Fire thus concealed himself, dwelling in the waterfall and on the mountain. The parrot, having narrowly escaped death, declared to the gods, “With great difficulty I escaped from the jaws of death.” The king, having cursed a frog, said, “You shall be tongueless.” Then the hosts of gods emerged from the waters and pleaded with Agni: “If you are absent, the entire world will swiftly fall into destruction. You are the face of all the gods; the worlds are established in you. Without you, we would surely perish; therefore, you ought to protect us. You are Brahma, you are Mahadeva, you are Vishnu, you are the Sun. All the gods, beginning with Indra, depend upon you, O Lord of Sacrifice. Why, O Blessed One, do you wish to abandon us who are innocent?” Standing on the bank of that very stream, Agni spoke: “Because of this, the Lord of the gods does not bring rain upon mortals. Therefore, abandoning the earth, I have entered this stream here.” Meanwhile, there was Devapi, righteous and renowned among the Kshatriyas. His son Pratipa was virtuous and foremost in good conduct. Pratipa renounced and took up the kingdom, and his son Shantanu became the successor. For this reason, rain was withheld from his kingdom. Shantanu quickly gave orders for rain upon the surface of the earth. Then, as instructed by Shakra, the clouds bearing lightning, radiant and exceedingly fierce, filled the sky, O King. The Lord of Offerings, Agni, attained supreme satisfaction. The gods then asked Agni, “Whatever is dear to you, quickly declare it to us.