A Classical Dictionary of Hindu Mythology and Religion, Geography, History, and Literature c5.758

c5.758

KAITABHA. Kaitabha and Madhu were two horrible demons, who, according to the Mahā-bhārata and the Purānas, sprang from the ear of Vishnu while he was asleep at the end of a kalpa, and were about to kill Brahmā, who was lying on the lotus springing from Vishnu’s navel. Vishnu killed them, and hence he obtained the names of Kaitabha-jit and Madhu-sūdana. The Mārkandeya Purāna attributes the death of Kaitabha to Umā, and she bears the title of Kaitabhā. The Hari-vansa states that the earth received its name of Medinī from the marrow (medas) of these demons. In one passage it says that their bodies, being thrown into the sea, produced an immense quantity of marrow or fat, which Nārāyana used in forming the earth. In another place it says that the medas quite covered the earth, and so gave it the name of Medinī. This is another of the many etymological inventions.