Demon Pralamb had escaped being killed in the battle between the gods and the demons, and ran away to Patal, the world beneath the earth’s surface. When Pralamb reached Patal, he saw that Vasuki, the king of the snakes, was away visiting Karttikey. Pralamb took that opportunity and terrorised the smaller snakes that lived in Patal. Ten crore followers of Pralamb too went with him and began to trouble the snakes. One day, a snake named Kumud went up to Vasuki and complained about Pralamb in the presence of Karttikey. Hearing this, Karttikey became angry. He left for Patal with his spear. He flung it straight down to Patal and it hit Pralamb on his chest. The spear passed through his chest and dug a hole in the grounds of Patal. It then returned to Karttikey. Water welled out of the hole it had made. For, underneath flowed the river of Patal, Patal-Ganga. “This well will be known as Siddhakup,” declared Karttikey.
Pralamb Goes to Patal
