Devibhagavatapurana 7.10.12

7.10.12

brāhmaṇā ūcuḥ -
rājaṃstava sutenādya vivāhe prahṛtā kila |
vivāhitā viprakanyā balena balināṃvara ||

Vyasa said:-- O King! The highly religious King hearing the words of the Brâhmins, took them to be true and said to his son:-- “O One of evil understanding! You have rendered to-day your name useless by perpetrating this evil act. O Vicious One! Get away from my house! O Sinner! You will never be able to live in my territory!” Seeing his father angry, Satyavrata repeatedly said:-- Father! Where shall I go? He said:-- “Live with the Chandalas. You have stolen a Brâhmin's wife and so has acted like a Chândala. Go and live with them happily. O Disgrace to your family! I don't like to get issues through you: you have obliterated this family's name. So, O Sinner! go wherever you like.” Hearing the the words from his angry father, Satyavrata instantly quitted the house and went to the Chândâlas. The prince, wearing his coat of armour and holding bows and arrows, began to spend away his time with the Chândâlas; but he could not get out of his breast his feeling of sympathy and mercy. When he was banished by his liberal minded angry father the Guru Vas'istha instigated the King to the above purpose. Satyavrata was therefore angry with Vas'istha, inasmuch as he, versed the Dharma S'âstras, did not dissuade the father from banishing his son. His father, then, owing to some inexplicable cause, quitted the city and, for the sake of his son, went to the forest to practise austerities. O King! Owing to that sinful act, Indra did not rain at all in his kingdom for twelve years. O King! Just then Vis'vâmitra, too, keeping his wife and children in that kingdom, began to practise severe austerities on the banks of the river Kaus'ikî. The beautiful wife of Kus'ika then fell into great trouble how she could maintain the family. All the children, pained with hunger, began to cry, begging for Nibâr rice food. The chaste wife of Kaus'ika became very much troubled seeing all this. She thought, seeing the children hungry, “Where am I to go now and from whom to beg, and what to do, inasmuch as the King was not then staying in the Kingdom. The husband is not also near; so who would protect my children? The boys are incessantly crying. Fie therefore to my life!” She thought also thus:-- “My husband left me in this penniless state; we are suffering for want of money. He does not know these, though he is quite able. Save my husband, who else will support my sons? They will all die now of starvation. I might sell one of my sons, whatever I get out of that, I can support the others; this is now my highest duty. I ought not to do otherwise and kill all my children; so I will now sell one of my sons to support the others.” Thus hardening her mind, she went out, tying the child by a rope round his neck. The Muni's wife, for the sake of the other children, fastened the middle son by a cord and got out of her house. The prince Satyavrata saw her distressed with pain and sorrow and asked:-- “O Beautiful One! What are you now going to do? Who are you? This boy is crying; Why have you tied him by a rope round his neck? O Fair One! Speak out truly to me the cause of all this.”