The Tale of Medhavi's Pride and Destruction
Valadhi, grieving for a son, performed austerities until the gods granted him one — but with a condition: the boy would be mortal, his life-span tied to the mountains. When Medhavi grew insolent and insulted the sage Dhanushaksha, the curse meant nothing — until Dhanushaksha understood where the boy's life truly lived.
In ancient times, there was a valorous sage named Valadhi. He was afflicted by grief over his son — or rather, over the son he did not have. He engaged in difficult austerities, pushing his body and mind to their limits, all so that he might obtain a son who was immortal.
The gods showed him their favour. They granted him a son. But they did not make him the equal of the immortals.
"A mortal one can never be immortal," they told Valadhi, "and life must be subject to causes."
Valadhi would not accept this entirely. He pointed to the mountains — those great, ancient formations that had stood since before memory, that seemed as permanent as anything in the created world. "These mountains have been established for an eternal time and are indestructible," he said. "They will determine my son's span of life."
The gods agreed.
A son was born to him. His name was Medhavi, and he was prone to anger. When he grew old enough to hear the story of his origins — that his life was tied to the mountains themselves, that he could not be killed by any ordinary means — he became insolent. He insulted the rishis. He roamed the earth, causing injury to the sages, secure in the knowledge that nothing could touch him.
Then he met Dhanushaksha — immensely energetic, intelligent, and not a man to be trifled with. Medhavi insulted him as he had insulted everyone else. Dhanushaksha cursed him: "Be reduced to ashes."
But Medhavi was not reduced to ashes.
Dhanushaksha saw that the curse had no effect. He understood immediately what had happened. The boy's life was not in his body — it was in the mountains. So Dhanushaksha caused the determinant of Medhavi's life to be shattered by buffaloes. The mountains broke. And when the determinant was destroyed, the child died instantly.
His father Valadhi grasped his dead son and began to lament, loudly and in great misery. All the ancient sages who were learned in the Vedas gathered around him and recited a verse:
"Under no circumstances, can one who is mortal change his destiny. Dhanushaksha shattered the mountains with buffaloes." Aranyaka Parva, Chapter 433