Hearing this, Yudhistira asked Who is this Bhagiratha? What did he do?
The sage Lomesh said - There was a king called Sagara. He was a great just king, an enemy of all evil. With his wives Shiavya and Vaidharvi, he went to pray to Shiva to have a son. Pleased Shiva asked the king to ask for a boon.
The king asked for sixty thousand sons.
Shiva said So be it. You will have sixty thousand sons who will die together. One son will be left who will take care of your dynasty. That son would be born to Shaivya.
Saying this, Shiva vanished.
After sometime Shaivya gave birth to a beautiful boy. Vaidharvi gave birth to a lump of flesh. The king was wondering what to do with this and was about to give orders to discard the lump, when a voice said Why do you discard the seed of your dynasty. Get sixty thousands pots full of clarified butter and divide the lump equally and place the parts in the pots.
The king did as told and soon sixty thousand sons were born.
After a few years the king started the Ashwamedha (horse) sacrifice and asked the sixty thousand sons to guard the horse.
Indra fearing the power of the king stole the horse and hid it in the nether world where the sage Kapila was meditating.
The princes went back and reported to the king that the horse was missing. The king asked them why they had returned empty handed. He asked them to go in search of the horse. The princes went forth. Searching the whole earth, they then dug a hole into the nether world
Reaching the nether world they saw the sage Kapila meditating. Next to him to him was the horse. Thinking the sage was the horse thief, they insulted the sage.
The sage was disturbed. He opened his eyes. Fire came out and the sixty thousand sons of Sagara were burnt instantly.
Narada told Sagara about the incident. The king asked Anshuman, son of Asmanjas to go and get the horse. Asmanjas was the other son of the king. The king said I have forsaken your father as he was a misbehaved prince. You have all the qualities of a good person. Go and fetch the horse and let the sacrifice complete.
Yudhistira at this point wanted to know about Asmanjas. The sage said :
Asmanjas's behavior was bad since childhood. He used to push children and enjoy them being hurt. The king's subjects complained about the behavior of the prince. The king ordered the prince to be exiled.
Anshuman went where the sage Kapila was meditating. He prayed to the sage and asked for forgiveness. The sage was pleased and asked the prince what he wanted. The prince said he wanted the horse and also wanted to know how his uncles would be liberated.
The sage As per destiny, your grandson will the one who will liberate your uncles. He will please Shiva and get Ganga. For now, take the horse and complete the sacrifice.
Anshuman took the horse. The sacrifice was completed.
After some years, Sagara passed away, making Anshuman the king. Anshuman ruled the kingdom well. He had a son named Dilip. Dilip hearing about his ancestors, tried to please Shiva but was unable to. Dilip has a son called Bhagiratha.
When Bhagiratha heard about how his ancestors had burned, he gave the control the kingdom to his ministers and went to the forests to please Shiva.
The sage Lomesh said - There was a king called Sagara. He was a great just king, an enemy of all evil. With his wives Shiavya and Vaidharvi, he went to pray to Shiva to have a son. Pleased Shiva asked the king to ask for a boon.
The king asked for sixty thousand sons.
Shiva said So be it. You will have sixty thousand sons who will die together. One son will be left who will take care of your dynasty. That son would be born to Shaivya.
Saying this, Shiva vanished.
After sometime Shaivya gave birth to a beautiful boy. Vaidharvi gave birth to a lump of flesh. The king was wondering what to do with this and was about to give orders to discard the lump, when a voice said Why do you discard the seed of your dynasty. Get sixty thousands pots full of clarified butter and divide the lump equally and place the parts in the pots.
The king did as told and soon sixty thousand sons were born.
After a few years the king started the Ashwamedha (horse) sacrifice and asked the sixty thousand sons to guard the horse.
Indra fearing the power of the king stole the horse and hid it in the nether world where the sage Kapila was meditating.
The princes went back and reported to the king that the horse was missing. The king asked them why they had returned empty handed. He asked them to go in search of the horse. The princes went forth. Searching the whole earth, they then dug a hole into the nether world
Reaching the nether world they saw the sage Kapila meditating. Next to him to him was the horse. Thinking the sage was the horse thief, they insulted the sage.
The sage was disturbed. He opened his eyes. Fire came out and the sixty thousand sons of Sagara were burnt instantly.
Narada told Sagara about the incident. The king asked Anshuman, son of Asmanjas to go and get the horse. Asmanjas was the other son of the king. The king said I have forsaken your father as he was a misbehaved prince. You have all the qualities of a good person. Go and fetch the horse and let the sacrifice complete.
Yudhistira at this point wanted to know about Asmanjas. The sage said :
Asmanjas's behavior was bad since childhood. He used to push children and enjoy them being hurt. The king's subjects complained about the behavior of the prince. The king ordered the prince to be exiled.
Anshuman went where the sage Kapila was meditating. He prayed to the sage and asked for forgiveness. The sage was pleased and asked the prince what he wanted. The prince said he wanted the horse and also wanted to know how his uncles would be liberated.
The sage As per destiny, your grandson will the one who will liberate your uncles. He will please Shiva and get Ganga. For now, take the horse and complete the sacrifice.
Anshuman took the horse. The sacrifice was completed.
After some years, Sagara passed away, making Anshuman the king. Anshuman ruled the kingdom well. He had a son named Dilip. Dilip hearing about his ancestors, tried to please Shiva but was unable to. Dilip has a son called Bhagiratha.
When Bhagiratha heard about how his ancestors had burned, he gave the control the kingdom to his ministers and went to the forests to please Shiva.
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