Chapter 106

“Lomasa said, ‘Then gathered together, Brahma, the grandfather of men(thus) addressed, ‘Go ye, O gods! whither your pleasure may lead you, oryour desire conduct you. It will take a long course of time for the oceanto resume its wonted state; the occasion will be furnished by the agnatesof the great king Bhagiratha.’ Hearing the words of the (universal)grandfather (Brahma), all the foremost gods went their way biding the day(when the ocean was to be filled again).’

“Yudhishthira said, ‘What was that occasion, O Saint? And how did theagnates of (Bhagiratha furnish the same)? And how was the ocean refilledby the interference of Bhagiratha? O Saint, who deemest thy religiouspractices as thy only treasure. O thou of the priestly class! I wish tohear the account of the achievements of the king, narrated in detail bythyself.'”

“Vaisampayana said, “Thus addressed by the magnanimous and virtuous king,he, the chief of men of the priestly class, narrated the achievements ofthe high-souled (king) Sagara.”

“Lomasa said, ‘There was born in the family of the Ikshaku tribe, a rulerof the earth named Sagara, endued with beauty, and strength. And thatsame (king) of a dreaded name was sonless, O descendant of Bharata! Andhe carried havoc through the tribes of the Haihayas and the Talajanghas;brought under subjection the whole of the military caste; (and so) ruledover his own kingdom. And, O most praiseworthy of the descendants ofBharata! O chief of the Bharata race! he had two wives proud of theirbeauty and of their youth,–one a princess of the Vidarbha race, and theother of the royal line of Sivi. And, O chief of kings, that same rulerof men, betook himself to the mountain Kailasa, accompanied by both hiswives, and with the desire of having a son became engaged in the practiceof exceeding austere penances. And being engaged in the practice of rigidausterities, and (also) employed in the contemplation known by the nameof Yoga, he obtained the sight of the magnanimous god with threeeyes–the slayer of the demon called Tripura; the worker of blessings(for all beings); the (eternally) existent one; the ruling Being, theholder of the Pinaka bow; carrying in his hand his (well-knownweapon)–the trident; the god of three eyes; the repository of (eternal)peace; the ruler of all those that are fierce; capable of assuming verymany forms; and the lord of the goddess Uma. And that same ruler of men,of mighty arms, as soon as he beheld the god–that giver of boons–felldown at his feet, with both his queens, and proffered a prayer to have ason. And the god Siva, well pleased with him, spake (thus) to that mostrighteous of the rulers of men, attended by his two wives, saying, ‘Olord of men! considering the (astrological) moment at which thou hastproffered thy prayer to me, sixty thousand sons, O foremost of choice menvalorous and characterised by exceeding pride, will be born in one offthy two wives (here). But they all, O ruler of the earth, shall perishtogether. In the other wife, (however), will be born a single valiantson, who will perpetuate thy race.’ Having said this to him, the godRudra (Siva) vanished from sight at that very spot, and that same kingSagara now came (back) to his own abode accompanied by his two wives,exceedingly delighted at heart (for what had happened) then. And, O mostpraiseworthy of the sons of Manu! (i.e., men), there the two lotus-eyedwives of him–the princess of Vidarbha and the princess of Sivi–came(erelong) to be with child. And afterwards, on the due day, the princessof Vidarbha brought forth (something) of the shape of a gourd and theprincess of Sivi gave birth to a boy as beautiful as a god. Then theruler of the earth made up his mind to throw away the gourd,–when heheard (proceeding) from the sky a speech (uttered) in a grave and solemnvoice, ‘O king! do thou not be guilty of this hasty act; thou shouldstnot abandon thy sons. Take out the seeds from the gourd and let them bepreserved with care in steaming vessels partly filled with clarifiedbutter. Then thou wilt get, O scion of Bharata’s race! sixty thousandsons. O ruler of men! the great god (Siva) hath spoken that thy sons areto be born in this manner. Let not therefore thy mind be turned awaytherefrom.'”