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bosom friend of Dandin asked him to accept the
request of the architect, for by so doing he would be
able to meet his friends like the great vedic scholar
Matṛdatta and Devasarman who had gone to
Mahamallapuram from Kerala with the purpose of
seeing him. Accordingly Dandin started for the place
accompanied by his friends like Jayantanārāyaṇa and
Bhajanananda. When he saw the idol he was amazed
at the wonderful skill of the architect, because he
could not even make out where the arm was broken.
 
Just then a divine fragrance emanated from the
sea and when they all looked round to know its source,
they saw a lotus flower being washed ashore by the
waves Soon the lotus reached the foot of the idol of
Visnu, and was immediately transformed into a Vidyadhara
who bowed to the Lord and disappeared in the sky.
Wonderstruck at this event, a close friend of Dandin,
by name Ramašarman of the Coladesa, asked him to
explain this occurrence. But he could only reply that in
all probability a Vidyadhara was cursed to become a
lotus by some sage, and at the expiry of the curse
on the touch of the feet of Visnu, he attained his
original form. The party then returned to Kancipara.
But in order to understand fully the secret of this
and at the insistence of Matrdatta, Ramasarman and
others, Dandin performed a special puja for Vianu on
a Dvadasi day and in the night, while he was resting
in a bed of darbha grass, the Goddess of learning
appeared before him in dream and blessed him to get
a revelation of the story of Rajavahana, the king of