One relative of king Agrasena by name Kusuma Shreshti was ruling that region in accordance with dharma with Brihat Sila Nagaram as his capital. The Kusuma Shreshti couple were righteous people with good conduct. They were doing many good deeds like yajnas and yagas. Bhaskarācharya was the guru of the king and very close to Kusuma Shreshti.
According to Datta Purāna, Srī Dattatreya incarnated as Dharma Sāsta. When that Lord took birth as the son of Hari-Hara, He arrived at the capital of the kingdom riding on a tiger. Devendra took the form of that tiger and served as a vehicle for Ayyappa Swamī or Dharma Sāsta.
That aged sage began his narration, “My son, in the Godavari region of Andhra Pradesh there is an ancient village called Atreyapuram, which was famous as a land where sage Atri conducted austerities.
I was looking into those caves with the hope of seeing any great person. I was hoping to get lucky by seeing one of them. However, a tiger was standing at the entrance of one cave. At the sight of the tiger, trembling and tremor started in all my limbs. Agitated with great fear, I cried aloud at once, “Srīpāda! Srīvallabhā! Datta Prabhū!” in despair. The tiger stood still like a domestic animal. An aged sage emerged from the cave. The entire area of Marutva Malai reverberated with the name of Srīpāda Srīvallabha all at once.
