ng, was the son of Madhu
and Kaitabha, and possessed of great energy and prowess, he underwent
ascetic penances of great austerity and he stood erect on one leg and
reduced his body to a mass of only veins and arteries, and Brahma,
gratified with him, gave him a boon. And the boon he had asked of the
lord Prajapati was in these words, "Let no one among the gods, the
_Danavas_, the _Rakshas_, the Snakes, the _Gandharvas_ and the
_Rakshasas_ be capable of slaying me. Even this is the boon that I ask
of thee." And the Grandsire replied unto him saying, "Let it be as thou
wishest. Go thy way." And thus addressed by the Grandsire, the _Danava_
placed the feet of the Deity on his head and having thus touched with
reverence the Deity's feet he went away and possessed of mighty energy
and prowess. Dhundhu, having obtained the boon hastily approached Vishnu
remembering the death of his father at the hands of that Deity, and the
wrathful Dhundhu having vanquished the gods with the _Gandharvas_ began
to distress all the celestials with Vishnu at their head. And at last O
bull of the Bharata race, that wicked souled _Asura_ arriving at a sea
of sands known by the name of Ujjalaka, began to distress to the utmost
of his might the asylum of Utanka. And endued with fierce energy,
Dhundhu, the son of Madhu and Kaitabha, lay in his subterranean cave
underneath the sands in the observance of fierce ascetic and severe
austerities with the object of destroying the triple world, and while
the _Asura_ lay breathing near the asylum of Utanka that _Rishi_
possessed of the splendour of fire, king Kualaswa with his troops,
accompanied by the Brahmana Utanka, as also by all his sons set out for
that region, O bull of the Bharata race! And after that grinder of foes,
the royal Kuvalaswa, had set out, accompanied by his twenty-one thousand
sons all of whom were exceedingly powerful, the illustrious Lord Vishnu
filled him with his own energy at the command of Utanka and impelled by
the desire of benefiting the triple world and while that invincible hero
was proceeding on his way a loud voice was heard in the sky repeating
the words, "This fortunate and unslayable one will become the destroyer
of Dhundhu to-day." And the gods began to shower upon him celestial
flowers. And the celestial kettle drums began to sound their music
although none played upon them. And during the march of that wise one,
cool breezes began to blow and the chief of the celestial