Vasu

As for King Vasu, he handed over his kingdom to his son Vivasvana. He went to the tirtha named Pushkara and performed a sacrifice dedicated to Lord Pundarikaksha (another named for Vishnu) there. As soon as Vasu performed the sacrifice, a figure emerged from the sacrificial fire and stood before Vasu.

“What are your orders”? asked the figure.

“Who are you and where did you come from?” was Vasu’s response.

The figure told him the following story.

In an earlier life, Vasu was the king of Kashmir. He once went out on a hunt. A sage was wondering around in the forest in the form of a deer. Vasu did not realise that the deer was in reality a sage and he shot and killed the deer by mistake. When he realised his folly, he gave alms and observed religious rites as penance. The king eventually died of an agonising pain in the stomach. At the time of dying, he called out the name “Narayana”.