Puranic Encyclopaedia: A Comprehensive Dictionary with Special Reference to the Epic and Puranic Literature c5.1384

c5.1384

2) How Ekata became a wolf by a curse. There is a story of how Ekata and Dvita duped Trita in the Mahābhārata. When Gautama died Trita became the chief of the three. Dvita and Ekata did not like this. Once all the three were passing by a forest with a herd of cows for a yāga. Trita was walking ahead and the other two were following him with the cows. At a strategic point on the way the brothers carried away the cows by a separate route without the knowledge of Trita. When Trita came to know of the loss he was greatly distressed. On reaching the shores of the river Sarasvatī, he was frightened by a wolf and running to escape from the animal fell into a dilapidated well. He performed a yāga from where he lay. Assuming a creeper inside the well to be Somalatā, Trita recited the Ṛks and the devas responded to his prayer. Devas like Bṛhaspati graciously appeared before him and asked him to demand a boon from them. Trita replied that his desire was to worship the gods standing on the waves of the river Sarasvatī. Accordingly the river was made to flow that way and standing on the waves Trita worshipped the gods. After that he went home and cursed his brothers and made Ekata and Dvita into wolves.