Puranic Encyclopaedia: A Comprehensive Dictionary with Special Reference to the Epic and Puranic Literature c9.3438

c9.3438

7) *Ugrasena and the iron rod.* While Ugrasena was ruling the kingdom, the sages Viśvāmitra, Nārada and Kaṇva once came to Dvārakā. To insult the sages, the Yādavas brought before them, Sāmba dressed as a pregnant woman. The Yādavas told the sages that she was Babhru's wife, and wanted to be told whether the child delivered would be male or female. The sages understood their evil mentality, and prophesied that Sāmba would deliver an iron rod fierce enough to annihilate the whole Yādava race. According to the prophecy the next day Sāmba delivered an iron rod. The Yādavas imparted the news to Ugrasena, who got the iron rod reduced to powder and deposited the powder in the sea. He also enforced prohibition of liquor in the country. (To know how the powder of the rod ruined the Yādava dynasty see under Kṛṣṇa). (M.B. Mausala Parva, Chapter 1).