King Ambrish kept a fast for three days, meditating on Lord Vishnu. On completion of the period of fast, he invited priests and gifted them alms and all kinds of gifts.
Rishi Durvasa happened to be passing by and he stopped to see why so many priests were gathered at one spot. King Ambrish saw the sage and came forward to invite him to partake in the feast and bless them all.
Sage Durvasa agreed but said that he wanted to have a wash in the river before joining them all. So saying, he left. An hour passed, two hours passed and so did many more, but Sage Durvasa was nowhere to be seen. A priest suggested to King Ambrish, ?It is going to be noon but yet there is no sign of Sage Durvasa. If you do not break your fast before noon, you will be committing a sin.?
King Ambrish replied, ?You are right, but I cannot eat before Sage Durvasa'sreturn. He has a very foul temper and he will not like it.?
So the priest advised the king to drink water at least to break the fast before noon. Deciding to eat only on Sage Durvasa'sreturn, King Ambrish took some water to drink, but before he could gulp it down, Sage Durvasa appeared on the scene, looking red in the face. He shouted, ?Ambrish, how dare you eat before serving me??
King Ambrish replied, ?I have not eaten anything. I was waiting for you. We can begin our lunch together.?
But Sage Durvasa continued to vent his anger, ?You don'teven know how to treat a guest. You will be punished for your doing.? Taking out a few stands of hair from his scalp, the sage made a chakra from it and threw it towards King Ambrish, who meanwhile, had begun to pray to Lord Vishnu for help. Lord Vishnu heard His devotee's prayer for help and sent His own chakra to counter the sage chakra. Lord Vishnu'schakra went racing behind the sage, who kept running away to escape from it.
On finding no respite from it, Sage Durvasa started to pray to Lord Brahma, who appeared soon to ask what His devotee wanted. When Sage Durvasa told him, Lord Brahma became angry at the priest for having insulted Lord Vishnu'sdevotee and told him in no uncertain terms, ?No I cannot help you in this situation.?
Sage Durvasa went to Lord Shiva, but He also refused to help saying, ?It is Lord Vishnu'schakra and only He can help you. Go to Him for help.?
Sage Durvasa approached Lord Vishnu and bowing low in front of Him, said, ?Lord, please protect me against Your chakra.?
Lord Vishnu replied, ?You were unkind to my devotee. I am angry with you and cannot help. Go to Ambrish and ask for his forgiveness.?
So Sage Durvasa went to King Ambrish and begging for his forgiveness, asked him to stop the Vishnu chakra from attacking him.
King Ambrish prayed to Lord Vishnu, asking Him to withdraw the chakra. Lord Vishnu did so and the chakra vanished.
Sage Durvasa heaved a sigh of relief and turning to King Ambrish asked, ?What powers do you possess that you could prevent Lord Vishnu'schakra from chasing me? Even Lord Brahma and Lord Shiva refused to help me.?
King Ambrish replied, ?The only power I possess is Lord Vishnu'slove for me. It was His love that prevented the chakra from destroying you.?
All the priests gathered around for the feast folded their hands to sing praise of Lord Vishnu.
