Vishnuloka was a wonderful place. But try as they might, the king and the queen did not get to see Vishnu. Moreover, they started to suffer from hunger and thirst and there was no food or water to be had. While they were looking for food to assuage their hunger and water to quench their thirst, they came upon the hermitage of a sage named Vamadeva.

“Great sage,” asked Suvahu, “What is happening to us? Why are we suffering thus?”

“You and your wife have been truly devoted to Vishnu," replied Vamadeva. “But you have never given any alms. The best form of donation is the donation of food and water. Since you never donated these, you have to face hunger and thirst in Vishnuloka.”

“Is there no way I can perform penance for my sin?” asked Suvahu.

“There certainly is,” replied the sage, “Go to the place where the dead bodies of you and your wife are lying on earth. Those dead bodies have not got decomposed. Eat the flesh from your own dead bodies. Keep doing this until someone recites for you the hymn (stotra) that is sacred to Vishnu. The day you hear that hymn will be the day of your salvation.”

This was the explanation of what Vijjvala had witnessed. It was Suvahu and Tarkshyi eating up their own dead bodies. As for the two beautiful women who laughed at them, they were the personifications of prajna (knowledge) and shraddha (faith). Prajna and Shraddha laughed at the king and the queen because, by failing to donate alms, they had missed out on true knowledge and true faith. The two fierce women who kept saying “give me some” were the personifications of hunger and thirst.

“What about heir salvation?” asked Vijjvala. “Please teach me the hymn that is sacred to Vishnu. I would like to recite it to Suvahu and Tarkshyi so that they may attain salvation.”

Kunjala taught his son the hyman. Vijjvala went and recited it before the royal couple and thus freed them from their sin.

Kapinjala’s Story

It was now time for the fourth son, Kapinjala, to recount any wonderful sight that he might have seen.

Kapinjala was in the habit of going to Mount Kailasa to look for food. Mount Kailasa was a beautiful place and the sacred river Ganga flowed right through it. Thousands and thousands of other river also flowed through the region. The valleys were full of limpid ponds.

There was one particular lake which was gigantic. Lotuses bloomed on its surface in profusion. Next to the lake was a boulder. Kapinjala saw that on the boulder was seated a beautiful woman. The woman sat on the boulder and kept on crying. Drops of her tears fell into the water of the lake and turned into fragrant lotuses.