Utanka's quest for the earrings and encounter with Takshaka

When his preceptor Veda granted him permission to leave, Utanka wished to give a guru dakshina (teacher's fee). His preceptor told him to ask his wife what to bring. She commanded Utanka: go to King Poushya and get the earrings his queen wears. Bring them in four days for a holy day. Utanka set off. On the route, a large man riding an extraordinarily large bull told him, "O Utanka! Eat the dung of this bull." Utanka refused. The man said, "Your preceptor has himself eaten it before." Utanka then ate the dung and drank the bull's urine. He found King Poushya seated and stated his request. Poushya told him to ask the queen in the inner apartments. Utanka went but could not see her. Poushya realized, "You must be defiled with leftover food. The queen cannot be seen by anyone thus defiled." Utanka remembered he had performed his ablutions while walking, which broke the rules. He properly purified himself, then entered and saw the queen. She gave him her earrings willingly but warned, "Takshaka, king of the nagas, wants these earrings. Please be careful when carrying them." Utanka reassured her and took his leave. Poushya offered him a shraddha (funeral rite meal). Utanka agreed to eat quickly. The food brought was cold and had a hair in it. Utanka, considering it unclean, cursed Poushya: "You will go blind." Poushya, in turn, cursed Utanka: "You will be without offspring." Poushya then inspected the food, found it was indeed unclean due to the cook's unbraided hair, and begged for pardon. Utanka said the blindness would be temporary, but Poushya said his own curse, born of anger, could not be taken back. Utanka declared that since the food was unclean, the curse would have no effect, and he left with the earrings. On his way back, Utanka saw a naked mendicant who was sometimes visible, sometimes invisible. He placed the earrings on the ground to fetch water. The mendicant snatched them and ran. Utanka dashed after him and seized him. The mendicant suddenly gave up his disguise — it was Takshaka — assumed his real serpent form, and disappeared into a large hole in the ground, entering the world of the nagas. Utanka followed. He entered the naga world and praised the snakes with hymns, calling on them as subjects of King Airavata. When that did not work, he tried to praise Takshaka directly, but saw that the serpent king was now wearing the earrings himself, enjoying them with his women. Enraged, Utanka found he had no power there. He then remembered the man on the bull. He began to praise that being. Suddenly, he appeared — it was Indra, king of the gods. Indra, pleased, told Utanka to blow into the anus of his horse. Utanka did so. From the horse issued a tremendous fire and smoke that filled the naga world. Terrified, the snakes returned the earrings to Utanka, pleading for mercy. Utanka took the earrings and returned to his preceptor's house just in time. He gave them to his preceptor's wife. She was pleased. His preceptor then explained the meaning of his journey: the bull was Dharma, the man riding it was Indra, the dung and urine he consumed were the nectar of immortality. The food at Poushya's was a test of his perception. The naked mendicant was Takshaka, and the fire from Indra's horse was the fire of brahmacharya (celibate energy). Having completed his task and learned its meaning, Utanka left. But he was now angry at Takshaka for the theft and the trouble caused, and he sought a way to take revenge.