According to tradition, the king had to eat before the auspicious time. By the time Durvasa came to his palace half the timewas over. There was no possibility of Durvasa returning after finishing bath and his other rituals before the auspicioustime was over. King Ambarisha was in a fix. He consulted brahmins who were well-versed in shastras. It was a sin to eatbefore feeding a guest, a person who was a brahmin. On the advice of experts in shastras, the king just had a glass ofwater and began to wait for Durvasa, and all the while meditating on God.
When Durvasa returned after completing all the rituals, the king made obeisance to him. By then the sage came to know thatthe king had broken fast by drinking water. He was furious and his body began to tremble with rage. His eyebrows becameraised. He was very hungry. He spoke harshly to the king who was standing before him with folded hands.
"What a great injustice he has done!Now look at this man who has become very proud as a result of his wealth. He thinkshe is god himself. He has flouted all the rules of dharma. After inviting a guest to have food in his palace, he has eatenbefore serving the guest. Wait and see what is going to happen now." Shouted the sage. So saying, trembling with anger,he pulled out a hair and created a terrible demon out of it. The demon had a sword in its hand and even when it rushed at him,he stood firm and cool. The Sudarshan Chakra granted by Lord Vishnu reduced the demon to ashes. When he failed in his attempt, Durvasa became nervous and when actually he saw the Sudarshan Chakra rushing towards him, he got frightened and began to run to save his life.
The power of Sudarshan-refuge under brahmins
The Sudarshan disc began to chase Durvasa as a forest fire would chase a terrible snake. He ran for his life seeking refugein Mt meru, the sky, in all secret places on the earth, the nether world, oceans and even heaven. It did not allow himto rest anywhere. Finally he ran to Lord Brahma ans implored,"O great creator, please save me from this chakra."
The power of Sudarshan-refuge under Brahma
The Sudarshan disc began to chase Durvasa as a forest fire would chase a terrible snake. He ran for his life seeking refugein Mt Meru, the sky, in all secret places on the earth, the nether world, oceans and even heaven. It did not allow him torest anywhere. Finally he ran to Lord Brahma and implored, "O great creator, please save me from this Chakra."
Brahmadeva said,'Lord Narayana can reduce the whole world to ashes just by raising his eyebrows. Every activity in theworld takes place according to his dictates. Every god follows his orders. No one can protect you against him.
Refuge under Lord Shankara
Unable to bear the pain, Durvasa went to Kailas seeking the help of Lord Shankara. He begged the Lord to save him.Bhagwan Shankara said,"O sage Durvasa neither I nor anyone including Sanatkumara Narada, Brahmadeva or all of us areunder the power of the Lord. The disc that is following you is Lord Mahavishnu's Sudarshan. We cannot face it. You haveto take refuge under Lord Mahavishnu."
Lord Vishnu - the Saviour of devotees
When Durvasa heard Shankara's words, he lost all hopes of help anywhere except in Vaikunta. He rushed to the place andfell at the feet of Sri Hari. He was trembling with fear and implored,"Achyutha, Anantha, the saviour of the world, save me.I have sinned against you. I have done great wrong to your devotee. Please save me from this chakra. All sinner get cleansedjust by uttering your name. Please save me.
When Sri Hari heard Durvasa, he said,"Sage Durvasa, I am helpless. I never go against the wishes of my devotees. Thosewho have surrendered to me have to be protected. My devotees are dearer to me than Sri lakshmi who resides in my heart.How can I ditch those who have renounced every worldy thing and have taken refuge in me? The all-knowing sages win overme by their unmatched devotion, My devotees and Sadhus do not know anyone except me. When such is the case how can I saveyou? But I can suggest to you a way of this danger. Listen to me patiently. Go to the person you have tried to wrong. Ifanyone tries to harm righteous ones the weapon used would harm the user and not the target. Therefore you go to emperorAmbarisha and beg pardon of him. May God bless you."
As directed by the Lord, Durvasa came back to Ambarisha. His body was almost half baked by the heat emitted by Sudarshana, whichhad been pursuing him all the while. He was highly repentant and begged the king to save him from Sudarshana Chakra.