The Great Epic of the Bhārata dynasty 13.105.7

13.105.7

hriyamāṇaṃ tu taṃ dṛṣṭvā gautamaḥ saṃśitavrataḥ |
abhyabhāṣata rājānaṃ dhṛtarāṣṭraṃ mahātapāḥ || 7 ||

"Bhishma said, 'By different deeds, O son of Pritha, men attain to different regions. They who are righteous in conduct attain to regions of felicity, while they who are sinful attain to regions that are fraught with misery. In this connection is cited the old narrative of the discourse, O son, between the ascetic Gautama and Vasava. A certain Brahmana of the name of Gautama, mild and self-restrained and with all his senses under complete control, beheld an infant elephant that had lost his mother and that was exceedingly cheerless on that account. Full of compassion and steady in the observance of his vows, the ascetic nursed that infant animal. After a long time the little beast grew up into a large and mighty elephant. One day, Indra, assuming the form of king Dhritarashtra, seized that mighty elephant which was as huge as a hill and from whose rent temples the juice was trickling down. Beholding the elephant dragged away, the great ascetic Gautama of rigid vows addressed king Dhritarashtra and said, 'O ungrateful Dhritarashtra, do not rob me of this elephant.