Durvasa, according to Indian mythology, was a sage who was believed to be an incarnation of Lord Shiv and was noted for his irascible nature.
As the story goes, he once called on King Ambarish, a great devotee of Lord Vishnu. I happened to be a Dvadashi (the twelfth day of a lunar fortnight). The king naturally invited the sage to dine at his palace and the latter accepted his invitation and went to the river bank to take his bath. The king had fasted on the previous day and according to the scriptural injunctions it was necessary that he should break his fast while it was Dvadashi. The sage, however, did not return in time and the pious king would never break his fast until the sage had taken his meals. He was, therefore in a fix and consulted Brahmanas on the point. The Brahmanas advised the king to observe the formality of breaking his fast by sipping a spoonful of water in which the feet of the Lord's image had been immersed. By doing so he would not be guilty of dining before the invitee and would also be saved from the offence of not breaking his fast during the Dvadashi. No sooner had the king sipped the holy water than the sage returned from the river bank and flew into a rage when he learnt that the king had broken his fast and did not await his return. He pulled out hair from his head and produced therefrom a demoness known by the name of Kritya, which ran to devour the king. Ambarish, who had dedicated himself to the feet of the Lord, and absolutely depended on Him, remained standing where he was and neither shrank out of fear nor made any attempt to save himself.
The Lord, however, would not allow his devotee to die without any fault of his and dispatched His own discus, Sudarshan, to save his life. The discus ran after the demoness and having diposed of her pursued the sage himself, who ran for his life and wandered throughout the universe for full one year, but none afforded him shelter. Even Lord Vishnu pleaded His helplessness and asked him to approach the king himself and ask for his forgiveness. The king, who was too good to harbour any ill-will against the sage an out of sympathy for him had remained without any food ever since he left, was moved to pity at his predicament and prayed to the Lord's weapon, Sudarshan, to spare the Brahman. Sudarshan granted the king's prayer and left. The sage, who now realized the king's greatness, fell at his feet and craved to his forgiveness for what he had done. The king in his turn felt sorry for the hardships which the sage had to suffer on his account and bade him good-bye after entertaining him to a sumptuous dinner and showing him every respect.
As the story goes, he once called on King Ambarish, a great devotee of Lord Vishnu. I happened to be a Dvadashi (the twelfth day of a lunar fortnight). The king naturally invited the sage to dine at his palace and the latter accepted his invitation and went to the river bank to take his bath. The king had fasted on the previous day and according to the scriptural injunctions it was necessary that he should break his fast while it was Dvadashi. The sage, however, did not return in time and the pious king would never break his fast until the sage had taken his meals. He was, therefore in a fix and consulted Brahmanas on the point. The Brahmanas advised the king to observe the formality of breaking his fast by sipping a spoonful of water in which the feet of the Lord's image had been immersed. By doing so he would not be guilty of dining before the invitee and would also be saved from the offence of not breaking his fast during the Dvadashi. No sooner had the king sipped the holy water than the sage returned from the river bank and flew into a rage when he learnt that the king had broken his fast and did not await his return. He pulled out hair from his head and produced therefrom a demoness known by the name of Kritya, which ran to devour the king. Ambarish, who had dedicated himself to the feet of the Lord, and absolutely depended on Him, remained standing where he was and neither shrank out of fear nor made any attempt to save himself.
The Lord, however, would not allow his devotee to die without any fault of his and dispatched His own discus, Sudarshan, to save his life. The discus ran after the demoness and having diposed of her pursued the sage himself, who ran for his life and wandered throughout the universe for full one year, but none afforded him shelter. Even Lord Vishnu pleaded His helplessness and asked him to approach the king himself and ask for his forgiveness. The king, who was too good to harbour any ill-will against the sage an out of sympathy for him had remained without any food ever since he left, was moved to pity at his predicament and prayed to the Lord's weapon, Sudarshan, to spare the Brahman. Sudarshan granted the king's prayer and left. The sage, who now realized the king's greatness, fell at his feet and craved to his forgiveness for what he had done. The king in his turn felt sorry for the hardships which the sage had to suffer on his account and bade him good-bye after entertaining him to a sumptuous dinner and showing him every respect.