Amidst the tumultuous churning of the waters, great poisonous creatures and fish were caught in the mighty waves, crushed and tossed about by powerful whirlpools and masses of foam. At the heart of this chaos stood the king, Kārtavīrya Arjuna, wielding his thousand arms with unparalleled strength. He churned the ocean as if it were the legendary Milk Ocean, surrounded by gods and demons themselves. Witnessing this awe-inspiring sight, the denizens of the deep—frightened and thinking the nectar-ocean was being churned by Mount Mandara—rose up suddenly, their attention drawn to the mighty king. Even the great serpents, usually so formidable, became bowed and motionless, like banana groves at dusk, still and windless. Mounted on his chariot and stringing his bow with five hundred arrows, Arjuna bewildered Rāvaṇa and his army in Laṅkā. He defeated and bound Rāvaṇa, bringing him captive to Māhiṣmatī. But soon, the sage Pulastya arrived and appeased Arjuna, persuading him to release Rāvaṇa at his request. The sound of Arjuna’s thousand arms echoed across the land, resounding like the cracking of a mighty cloud-tree struck by lightning at the end of an age. Such was his immense might in battle, yet it was these very thousand arms that the great Bhārgava Rāma would later sever in combat, as if cutting down a grove of golden palm trees. Once, when Arjuna was thirsty, Citrabhānu approached him in supplication. The lord of men, generous and noble, granted Citrabhānu alms—the seven islands themselves. Arjuna gave away ancient settlements, villages, and cities in their entirety. By his power, the illustrious king burned the mountains and forests of Kārtavīrya. Citrabhānu, together with the Haihayas, drained all the deserted hermitages and the islands belonging to Varuṇa’s son. Long ago, Varuṇa had a distinguished son, a sage named Vasiṣṭha, renowned for his devotion to the waters. Angered and distressed at the destruction of his forest, Vasiṣṭha cursed Arjuna, saying, “Because you did not spare this forest of mine, O Haihaya, for this difficult deed you have done, another will slay you. Arjuna, son of Kunti, will not be king.” He foretold that Arjuna, Rama of great might and foremost among warriors, would cut off his thousand arms, subduing him with force. A powerful ascetic brāhmaṇa would be his slayer; for him, Rama would become the agent of death, by the curse of that wise sage. This king had once chosen a boon for himself: he had a hundred sons, among whom five were great chariot-warriors—Śūra, Śūrasena, Vṛṣṭi, Vṛṣa, and Jayadhvaja, all skilled in arms, strong, valiant, righteous, and renowned. Jayadhvaja, son of the lord of Avanti, had a son named Tālavaṅgha, famed for his prowess. Tālavaṅgha too had a hundred sons, known as the Tālavaṅghas, and among the great Haihayas, five clans became renowned: the countless Vīrahotras, the Bhojas, Avartas, the valiant Tuṇḍikeras, and the Tālavaṅghas. Vīrahotra’s son was a king named Ananta; his son was Durjaya, formidable and a terror to his foes. That king possessed inexhaustible wealth and protected his subjects with great power. It is said that whoever recounts the birth of the wise Kārtavīrya here will not suffer loss of wealth; whatever is lost shall be regained. In this very world, such a person becomes wealthy and their righteousness increases, honored in heaven like Tvaṣṭṛ and Dātā. The sages then asked, “For what reason was the world, the abode of great souls, burned by Kārtavīrya’s might? Tell us, for we wish to know. We have heard that this royal sage was the protector of the people; how did he, being a protector, destroy that sacred grove?” Sūta replied: The Sun, taking the form of a Brāhmaṇa, approached Kārtavīrya, desiring satisfaction, and asked for food, declaring, “I am the Sun, without doubt.” The king replied, “O blessed one, tell me, O Sun, by what offering will you be satisfied? What kind of food shall I give? Tell me, and I shall provide it.” The Sun responded, “Give me all immovable things as food, O best of givers; by that I would be satisfied—by nothing else, O king.” The king answered, “It is not possible for a human’s power to burn all that is immovable; O foremost of the burning ones, I bow to you alone.” The Sun, pleased with him, said, “Shoot arrows—unfailing and delightful in every way. When released, they will blaze, endowed with my energy. By my command, your energy will dry up the ocean of clouds; I shall make it dry and turn it to ashes—thus am I pleased with you, O king.” Then the Sun gave arrows to Arjuna, and upon receiving them, Arjuna destroyed all that was immovable. Hermitages, villages, cowherd settlements, cities, sacred groves, forests, and gardens—all were burned. Beginning in the east and circling the Sun, the earth was scorched by the Sun’s energy, left barren without trees or grass. At that very time, a great sage, who had dwelt in water for ten thousand years, had taken refuge in the waters. When his vow was complete, the ascetic, radiant with austerity, emerged and saw his hermitage burned by Arjuna. In anger, he cursed the royal sage, as I have recounted to you. Sūta then said, “Hear of the noble lineage of the royal sage, descended from Kroṣṭṛ, from whose line Vṛṣṇi, the foremost of the Vṛṣṇi clan, was born.