Sage Dhoumya lived in his ashram or hermitage in the forest. He had three students- Aruni, Upmanyu, and Ved. Aruni lived in the ashram.
One day Aruni was returning to the ashram after collecting firewood from the forest. It was a cold and windy day. It was raining heavily and the fields were full of water. While he was crossing the field, Aruni saw that at the far end, a barrier of earth had been built to stop water from entering the fields and destroying the crops. But to his dismay, there was a gap in the barrier and water was leaking through it.
Aruni realised that if the leakage was not stopped immediately, the water
would enter the fields and destroy the crops. He decided to rush to the
ashram, leave the firewood there, and then come back and tried to put
some mud and straw in the gap. But the pressure of the water was very strong and washed away the mud.
Meanwhile, in the ashram, sage Dhoumya was worried that it was
getting dark and Aruni had not returned. At night, along with the other
students he set out to look for
Aruni . As sage Dhoumya called Aruni's name, he heard a faint reply.
They reached the spot and found Aruni lying on the mound of earth to
stop the water from leaking . He was shivering with cold. His teacher was very happy to see his act of devotion. Sage Dhoumya took Aruni back to the ashram and made him warm and comfortable. He declared that he would be famous for his act of devotion.
Once Sage Narada visited King Yudhisthira and said, "Your father, Pandu, who is in heaven, wants you to perform the imperial yagna after which you will become samrata (emperor)." King Yudhisthira asked Sage Vyasa to guide him. Sage Vyasa sent the rest
of the Pandavas in different direction to conquer the kingdoms that
were ruled by the Pandavas' enemies. They came back after bravely
defeating their enemies and brought a lot of wealth that could be used
for the yagna. King Yudhisthira invited many guests including sages and
kings. Lord Krishna also graced the occasion
with his presence. Sage Dhaumya was made the royal priest for the
Yagna. King Yudhisthira performed all the rituals. Offerings were made to the
gods. Brahmins were given gifts and the yagna was completed successfully. All the elders blessed King Yudhisthira and he became the samrata.
