Sagara (Vedic king)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
King Sagar is one of the greatest kings of Suryavansha in the Satya Yuga. He is ancestor to King Dasharatha and Lord Rama (Incarnation of Sree Vishnu).
King Sagar performed a horse sacrifice (Ashwamedha yajna) to prove his supremacy. Lord Indra, the leader of the demigods, became fearful over the results of the yajna, so he decided to steal the horse. He left the horse at the ashram of Kapila, who was in deep meditation. King Sagar’s 60,000 sons (born of Queen Sumati) and his son Asamanjas (born of Queen Keshini) were then sent to find the horse. When the 60,000 sons found the horse at Kapiladeva’s ashram, they thought he had stolen it. When they prepared to attack the meditating rishi (sage), Kapiladeva opened his eyes. Because the sons of King Sagara had disrespected such a great personality, consequently, fire emanated from their own bodies, and they were immediately burned to ashes.
Later King Sagar sent his grandson Anshuman to retrieve the horse. Kapiladeva returned the horse and told Amsuman that the sons of King Sagar could be delivered if the Ganges descended to earth and bathed them in her waters. King Sagar’s great-great-grandson, Bhagiratha, eventually pleased Mother Ganga, and asked her to come to earth. Mother Ganga told Bhagiratha that the force of the Ganges falling from heaven would be too great for the earth to sustain, and that she needed someone to break the fall. Bhagiratha then worshiped Lord Siva, who then agreed to accept the descending river upon his head.
King Bhagiratha then preceded the holy river with his chariot and ripped open a gorge in which the Ganga (Ganges) could flow. The river followed the King to Ganga Sagar at the Bay of Bengal, where Kapiladeva resides. The Ganga River then bathed the remains of the 60,000 sons and returned them to their eternal positions.
| Hinduism | Hindu mythology | Itihasa |  |
|---|---|
| Female Deities: Gayatri | Saraswati | Lakshmi | Dakshayani | Parvati | Durga | Shakti | Kali | Sita | Devi | Radha | Mahavidya | more... | |
| Male Deities: Brahma | Vishnu | Shiva | Rama | Krishna | Ganesha | Kartikeya | Hanuman | Lakshmana | Indra | Surya | more... | |
| Texts: Vedas | Upanishads | Puranas | Ramayana | Mahabharata | |
