Utathya drinks up the waters

Varuna carries off Bhadra, wife of the sage Utathya; the sage drinks the waters dry and turns the land to desert until Varuna gives her back.

The story, beat by beat

1. Bhadra, daughter of Soma, is married to the sage Utathya.
2. Varuna, who had long wanted her, carries her off from the Yamuna to his palace of six hundred thousand lakes.
3. Narada takes Utathya's demand to Varuna, who refuses and throws him out.
4. Utathya drinks up the waters; Varuna still refuses.
5. Utathya bids the earth show dry land where the lakes were and tells the Saraswati to vanish into the desert.
6. Varuna brings Bhadra back, and Utathya releases the waters.

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