Adhyaya 13

Sūta continues to proclaim the greatness of Svāmitīrtha by recounting the life of King Dharmagupta, son of Nanda of the Soma lineage. Nanda entrusts the kingdom to his son and retires to the forest; Dharmagupta rules with sound policy, sacrifices, and generous gifts to brāhmaṇas, preserving social order and keeping the realm free from predation. On a hunting expedition he is overtaken by night in a dreadful forest. After worshiping the evening sandhyā and reciting the Gāyatrī, he takes refuge in a tree, where a bear fleeing a lion also climbs. The bear proposes a pact to keep watch through the night; the lion tries to provoke betrayal, but the bear warns that violating trust (viśvāsa-ghāta) is a sin graver than many others. When the king later drops the sleeping bear, the bear reveals himself as the shape-shifting sage Dhyānakāṣṭha and curses the king with madness. The sage also discloses that the lion is the yakṣa Bhadranāma, once Kubera’s minister, cursed by Gautama into lion-form; through dialogue with Dhyānakāṣṭha the yakṣa is released and returns to Alakā. Ministers report Dharmagupta’s madness to Nanda, who consults the sage Jaimini. Jaimini prescribes bathing the prince in Svāmipuṣkariṇī on Veṅkaṭa near the Suvarṇamukharī; the bath instantly removes the madness. Father and son worship Veṅkaṭeśa/Śrīnivāsa, Dharmagupta gives gifts, and he returns to righteous rule. The chapter ends with a phalaśruti: immersion in Svāmipuṣkariṇī frees those afflicted by madness, seizure-like ailments, and malignant grahas; and reciting “Svāmitīrtham” three times before bathing in any water leads to Brahman’s abode. Mere hearing of this narrative is said to destroy even grave sin.