symbolise a thousand attendants acting as his hands, executing his commands) and great beauty, he is described as becoming lord of all the world. He had his capital in the city of Mahishmati. Keeping before him the duties of the Kshatriya order, as also humility and Vedic knowledge, the king made large gifts of wealth unto the Lord Dattatreya (MBh 13,152). Other Haihaya Kings King Vitahavya is mentioned as the son of Vatsa (MBh 13,30) King Udvarta became the exterminator of his own race (MBh 5,74) The conversation between a Haihaya king and a sage named Tarkshya is mentioned at MBh 3,183 As a royal sage of the Haihaya, Sumitra is mentioned by name at MBh 12,124. Sumitra is mentioned as the son of Mitra at MBh 12,125. Enmity with the Bhargavas The Haihaya tribe's dispute with the Bhargava Brahmins is mentioned at various points in the Mahabharata. The leader of the Bhargavas, Parasurama, son of Jamadagni, is said to have killed the Haihaya king Kartavirya Arjuna. The dispute did not end there. The Bhargavas went all over India and slew numerous Kshatriya kings, most of them kinsmen of Kartavirya Arjuna. (MBh 1,104) In acquiring the unrivaled "battleaxe of fiery splendour and irresistible sharpness" from Mahadeva of the Gandhamadana mountains, in the Himalayas (MBh 12,49), Bhargava Rama became an unparalleled force on earth. Meanwhile, the mighty son of Kritavirya, Arjuna of the Kshatriya order and ruler of the Haihayas, imbued with great energy, highly virtuous in behaviour, and possessing a thousand arms through the grace of the great sage Dattatreya, and said to have subjugated in battle the whole earth, became a very powerful emperor. (12,49). This King Arjuna would be killed by Rama (MBh 3,115). Signs of a tribal war One tale relates how once the Brahmins, raising a standard of Kusa grass, encountered in battle the Kshatriyas of the Haihaya clan seemingly imbued with immeasurable energy. The best of Brahmins inquired of the Kshatriyas themselves as to the cause of this. The Kshatriyas told them, "In battle we obey the orders of one person imbued with great intelligence, while you are disunited from one another and act according to your individual understanding." The Brahmins then appointed one amongst themselves as their commander, who was brave and conversant with the ways of policy. And they then succeeded in vanquishing Haihaya the Kshatriyas (MBh 5,157). Summary of the dispute Bhargava