Another great king of the Ikshvaku clan is Sagara chakrvarthi who paved the way for the arrival of the the river Ganga from Heaven to the earth. It is also believed that the sea is called “Sagara” because of this renowned king! Sagara was the son of Bahuka of the Ikshvaku clan. His father at a later stage retired to the forest and after many years passed away. His wife, pregnant at that time decided to commit sati as was the custom during those days! But the sages persuaded her not to kill herself. Other wives of Bahuka grew jealous of her as the son born to her would be the heir to the kingdom. They decided to kill her along with the child and poisoned her. But by divine dispensation she did not die and the child survived!The child was named Sagara which means the one born with a layer of poison! (Sanskrit: ‘gara’ means poison)
Sagara grew up and came to the throne as expected. He ruled the country righteously and treated the subjects as his own children. His fame spread far and wide. As it was the custom for the kings of the day, Sagara wanted to perform the Aswamedha Yagna to assert his supremacy. He made all arrangements and sent out the Horse to see if anyone would challenge his authority by capturing it and preventing its onward progress. Indra, the Lord of Heaven was in jitters on knowing this and decided to thwart the yagna in someway or other! He finally stole the horse of King Sagara and left it at the ashram of sage Kapila in Patala Loka- nether world! Sagara waited for long but the horse didn't come back as expected! Very much worried at the non arrival of the horse, Sagara deputed his sixty thousand sons to go in search of it and bring it back! They went to all the four corners of the world in search of the horse but in vain.
Not relenting, the sons of Sagara dug up the earth to see if the horse by any chance could be found in Patala Loka!! They discerned a cave in the northwest and a sage sitting in deep samadhi totally oblivious of his surroundings. To their pleasant shock and surprise, they saw the horse in pursuit of which they had travelled tirelessly and in despair! The horse was safe and secure. Though valiant and indefatigable they were puffed up with ego, pride, and arrogance! They mistook the sage for a thief who had stolen the horse! In their ignorance and momentary emotion they approached the sage to attack him.The sage was Kapila, an incarnation of Lord Vishnu himself! The moment he opened his eyes, all the sixty thousand sons of Sagara were reduced to a heap of ashes on account of the tremendous power of his tapas! King Sagara at length came to know of this catastrophic news and grieved very much.The Aswamedha Yagna had to be continued and completed!
King Sagara was In a dilemma. He had no other alternative but to depute once again his grandson Amsumantha whom he loved very dearly. He was very well behaved and obedient. He followed the footsteps and the path taken by his predecessors and came to the same cave where the sage was in penance! But unlike his predecessors he was able to recognize the greatness of the sage and his avatar. He praised sage Kapila as the incarnation of Lord Vishnu, the protector of the universe. He is manifest in all creatures! He transcends all Maya or illusion! He has no beginning, middle and end! He narrated how wrong his predecessors were in trying to attack him! He told about the mahayagna being performed by king Sagara and requested sage Kapila for permission to take back the horse. to Impressed by the humility and good manners of Amsumantha, sage Kapila blessed him and asked him to take back the horse for the successful completion of the yaga. Accordingly Amsumantha brought back the horse after which the yagna was completed without hindrance!
Sage Kapila informed Amsumantha that his predecessors who were reduced to ashes would reach pitruloka if river Ganges ran over them! King Sagara tried to get the river to earth but failed. Meanwhile Amsumantha was crowned and he too performed penance to bring Ganga to earth. He too failed! It was the indomitable will and performance of Bhagiratha that brought the Ganga to earth! He performed severe tapas and through the grace of Lord Siva and Vishnu could bring Mandakini- river Ganga to earth and send his predecessors to 'pitru Loka!’! It is believed that the waters of river Ganga filled the great pits dug by the sixty thousand sons of King Sagara and formed the seas! Hence the sea is called ‘Sagara’!
S
No comments:
Post a Comment