Once, a man of poor conduct was harshly cast out by his own kin. “You are blind, old, and difficult to maintain,” he was told, “and so I abandon you. Go your way according to your own actions—I consider you wicked.” After this cruel rebuke, the man was seized and placed in a chest, which was then thrown into the waters of the sacred Ganges. Carried by the river’s current, the chest floated for seven days, eventually reaching the ocean. At that time, Bali, the righteous king and son of Virocana—well-versed in the essence of dharma and artha—was present with his wife. Noticing the chest sinking near the current, Bali rescued the unfortunate man and brought him into his palace. There, he sheltered him in the inner apartments and nourished him with food and delicacies. The rescued sage, pleased by Bali’s kindness, offered him a boon. Bali, the bull among the Dānavas, requested a boon for the sake of offspring: “O most fortunate one, giver of honor, together with my wife, grant me sons endowed with righteousness and prosperity.” The sage consented, saying, “So be it,” and Bali sent his wife, Sudeṣṇā, to the sage. However, Sudeṣṇā, seeing that the sage was blind and aged, did not go herself. Instead, she adorned her maidservant—a woman of Śūdra birth—and sent her in her place. In this maidservant, the self-controlled sage, righteous in soul, begot two sons: Kakṣīvat and Cakṣuṣ, both of great energy. King Bali saw Kakṣīvat and Cakṣuṣ and ensured they were properly educated in all rites. They became masters, learned in the Vedas, manifest in righteousness, and excelled in wisdom. Bali claimed, “These are mine,” but the sage replied, “No.” Bali insisted, “These are mine,” though the sage explained that, though born of a Śūdra woman, these two excellent beings were his, but in disguise. He revealed that Sudeṣṇā, thinking him blind and old, had sent her maidservant out of disdain. Seeking to appease the eminent sage, Bali rebuked his wife Sudeṣṇā and, after adorning her, sent her to the sage. Dīrghatamas, the sage, said to her, “O auspicious one, if you will lick this mixture of curds and salt, as well as this naked thing, without disgust, from foot to head, then, O queen, you will obtain sons as you desire.” The queen did everything as instructed, but when it came to the excrement, she was disgusted and avoided it. The sage told her, “O auspicious one, since you avoided that, you will bear your eldest son without excrement.” Sudeṣṇā protested, “O blessed one, you should not give me such a son.” Dīrghatamas replied, “This is your fault, O queen, and it cannot be otherwise. Still, O virtuous lady, I will give you a son now. Without excrement, he will be unfit in some way.” Then, touching her womb, the sage said, “The curds you have eaten today from my hand, O fair-smiling one, have filled your womb, just as the ocean is filled on the full moon. You will have five sons, equal to the sons of the gods—brilliant, valiant, performers of sacrifice, and righteous.” Thus, Sudeṣṇā bore five sons: Aṅga, her eldest; from Aṅga came Vaṅga, then Kaliṅga, Puṇḍra, and Brahma as well. These five descendants were born in the lineage of Bali, and were formerly given to Dīrghatamas by Bali. Yet, for a certain reason, Brahmā deprived Dīrghatamas of offspring from his own wives, so that the great-souled sage would not have children with them. Instead, he produced offspring among human women. Surabhi, the divine cow, was pleased with Dīrghatamas and spoke to him: “Because you have acted according to the law of the cows, having considered it, I am pleased with you and, by that same justice, I release you. Therefore, today I dispel your deep darkness—see now; and whatever other sin of Bārhaspatya remains in your body, I inhale and drive away from you both old age and death.” As soon as it was inhaled, Dīrghatamas immediately saw, with the darkness destroyed. Dīrghatamas became youthful, long-lived, and sighted; and from the cows, he became known as Gautama. Kakṣīvān, together with his father, went to the mountain people and, as instructed, performed great austerity for his father’s sake. After a long time, purified from darkness and faults, Kakṣīvān attained devotion to Brahman. His father said to him, “O lord, I am one who has a son; O illustrious one, I am fulfilled by you, my true son.” Kakṣīvān, having mastered himself, attained the abode of Brahmā and begot a thousand sons, who were known as Gautamas and were dark-complexioned. Thus is the account of Dīrghatamas, son of Bali, son of Virocana. The meeting and lineage of both these lines has been described; Bali installed those five sinless sons in his realm. He too, accomplished and possessed of yoga, moves about unseen by all beings, awaiting the proper time. Among the descendants of Aṅga, the royal sage, was King Dadhivāhana. Due to the fault of Sudeṣṇā, King Anapāna was born. Anapāna’s son was the king known as Diviratha, and Diviratha’s son was the wise king Dharmaratha.