Indradyumna Falls from Heaven and Seeks Recognition
King Indradyumna, his merits exhausted, plummets from heaven crying that his deeds have been lost. He approaches the ancient sage Markandeya, who cannot remember him — and so begins a strange pilgrimage through the oldest living beings on earth, each one pointing to another even older, until Indradyumna finds the one creature who still holds his name.
King Indradyumna had performed great sacrifices — one thousand of them, each marked by a sacrificial stake. He had given away cattle in such numbers that their hooves carved a lake into the earth. He had lived a life of such righteousness that after death he ascended to heaven.
Then his merits ran out.
He fell from heaven, tumbling through the sky, and when he landed he cried out: "My deeds have been lost."
He went to Markandeya, the ancient sage who had lived through the dissolution of the universe itself. He asked: do you know me?
Markandeya thought about it. "We are not chemists," he said. "We pursue our goals by tormenting our bodies and minds. We do not perform acts for the sake of wealth. There is an owl in the Himalayas by the name of Prakarakarna. He may know you."
The Himalayas were far away. Indradyumna became a horse and carried Markandeya across the distance.
They found the owl. Indradyumna asked: do you know me?
The owl reflected for some time. Then it said: no. I do not know you.
Indradyumna asked: is there anyone who has lived longer than you?
The owl replied: there is a lake by the name of Indradyumna. A crane named Nadijangha lives there, and he is older than we are. Ask him.
Indradyumna took Markandeya and the owl to the lake. They found the crane. They asked: do you know King Indradyumna?
The crane thought for a while. No, it said. I do not know King Indradyumna.
They asked: is there anyone who has lived longer than you?
The crane replied: there is a tortoise named Akupura who lives in this lake. He is older than I am.
The crane called out to the tortoise. Akupura emerged from the water and came to the bank where they stood.
They asked: do you know of this king named Indradyumna?
The tortoise thought for some time. Then its eyes filled with tears. Its heart was agitated. It trembled. It almost lost its senses. It joined its limbs in salutation and said: "How can I not know that king? In earlier times, when kindling the sacrificial fire, he erected sacrificial stakes one thousand times. This lake was created from the hooves of cattle he gave away as gifts. I have lived here ever since then."
As soon as the tortoise spoke, a celestial chariot descended from the world of the gods. A voice spoke: "Heaven is ready for you. That is your appropriate place. Your deeds are great. Go there in a cheerful frame of mind. The words about sacred deeds touch the heaven and the earth. As long as there is sound, so long does man live. Whenever a being's evil deeds are recounted on earth, he descends to the inferior worlds as long as those words are recounted. Therefore, right till the end, any man on earth should be engaged in good deeds. He should avoid evil conduct and seek refuge in dharma."
Indradyumna said: wait until I have returned these seniors to the places I brought them from.
He brought Markandeya and the owl Prakarakarna to their usual places. Then he returned in that chariot to the place that was appropriate for him. Aranyaka Parva, Chapter 488