Raja Sagar’s tale appears only in the Balmiki Ramayan (Balkand, Cantos 38-44), and not in the Ramcharitmanas. Brahmrishi Vishvamitra was on the way to Mithila along with the Ayodhya princes, Ram and Lakshman. It was a long and arduous journey on foot. On the way, the trio had an overnight halt on the banks of the Shonbhadra River (nowadays called the ‘Sone’ – a perennial river that flows in the Central India). During the night, the sage edified the youngsters with the history of their forebears.]
In the remote past, Raja Sagar (the name rhymes with the Hindustani word ‘magar’) ruled Ayodhya. He had two queens – Keshini and Sumati – but no issue. The Raja and his spouses climbed to a Himalayan peak named after Maharishi Bhrigu; there to undergo penance to be blessed with sons. A hundred years passed before the maharishi appeared before them. He said to Raja Sagar, “Sinless king! You will have numerous sons. Your fame will have no parallel in the world. One of your wives shall give birth to only one son, that son will be the cause of expansion of your line of succession. The other wife of yours shall be the mother of sixty thousand sons.”
Maharishi Bhrigu’s boons
The two queens keenly listened to Bhrigu’s prophecy. They asked him which one of them was going to have just one son and which one would be giving birth to sixty thousand sons. Maharishi Bhrigu replied that it depended on their own choice. Either of them had the option to choose the boon of one son or of sixty thousand sons. Keshini, the senior queen, chose the first boon, while Sumati asked for the second one. And Maharishi Bhrigu’s boons came about in time.
Keshini’s son was named Asmanj. He grew up to be a wanton prince, drowning young boys in the Saryu River just for fun, though he himself was father to a son, named Anshuman. Sick of Asmanj’s cruelties, Raja Sagar banished him from his kingdom.
Asmanj’s banishment was not such a big loss to Sagar. He had sixty thousand strapping sons by Queen Sumati and a grandson, Anshuman, too. The Raja decided to perform the Ashwamedha Yagya to proclaim himself an emperor. In accordance with the tradition, a white stallion with black marks was to be let loose on the land falling between the Himalayas and the Vindhyachal Mountains. Any Raja opposing its progress would be forced to submit. If the sacrificial horse returned to the capital unchallenged after a year, Raja Sagar would be accepted as an undisputed overlord of the region. Prince Anshuman – a redoubtable marksman – was given the responsibility of escorting the sacrificial horse.
Indra’s thievery and its consequences
But Indra, the lord of the devas, had other plans in his mind. On the very day that the rites were to commence, he came to the venue in the garb of a rakshasa and stole away the horse. The priests were greatly agitated. How could the horse-sacrifice yagya be completed when the consecrated horse itself was missing? They pressed the king to find the horse without delay. Raja Sagar had already taken ‘diksha’ – the initiation ritual – for the yagya and could not personally move from the venue. So, he commanded all the sixty thousand sons of his to spread out in every nook and corner of the Earth to trace out the horse. Each one of them was to undertake a thorough search of 1 yojan (2.5 to 9 miles in today’s measure), covering some 5 lakh square miles in their colossal effort.
In search of their quarry, Raja Sagar’s sons began to dig into the Earth to see whether the horse-thief had hidden the prize beast in the netherworld. The digging caused all-round disturbance and unease, yet none of the sixty thousand youths slacked in their effort. The devas in the swarga were in panic. They approached Lord Brahma to do something to put a stop to the wholesale excavation of the planet. The Lord Creator told them that the digging of Earth was an eternal phenomenon and it happened during every cycle of the creation. That was the reason the Earth had its seas and oceans. Still, he assured them in his grandfatherly manner that the things would be brought to order and it was only a matter of time before the diggers met their end.
And so indeed it happened. Having failed in their first attempt, Raja Sagar’s sons made a more strenuous effort the second time. They were not deterred by the giant Virupaksh at the bottom of the Earth, nor even by other hulks like Mahapadm, Saumanas and Shwetbhadra, who supported the world on their massive heads. Digging the Earth, they ended up in the North-east direction. Here, at last, they found their father’s horse. It was grazing on a lush green pasture and beside it stood Kapil Muni. Berating him wrongly for stealing the beast, they moved forward to kill him. But Kapil Muni was no ordinary mortal, he was an avatar of Lord Vishnu. The divinity got furious. With eyes red as burning embers, he bellowed at them in his heavenly rage. Instantly, the sixty thousand princes were burnt to ashes.
Bringing the Ganga down to Earth
Not aware of the happenings, Raja Sagar got perturbed at the unwarranted delay of his army of sons. He directed his grandson, Anshuman, to find out what had happened. Armed with his mighty sword, bow and a quiver full of deadly arrows, Anshuman took the path his uncles had dug. The four giants who had earlier met his uncles greeted him on the way and wished him success in his mission. Eventually, the prince arrived at the spot which was riddled with mounds of ashes of his kin. The sacrificial horse was also there. Anshuman wanted to offer oblations to the departed ones. But there was no water to be had. Then, Garud, his mother’s brother, appeared before him. The men had been burnt to death by Kapil Muni himself and they would not find salvation till their ashes were immersed in the Ganga, said Garud to his nephew.
But in that remote past, the Ganga was a still celestial river. How could its water be had to Earth! It took three kings of Raja Sagar’s line of succession – Anshuman, his son Dilip and then Dilip’s son, Bhagirathi – to gratify Lord Brahma so the sacred Ganga could descend to the mortal world. Yet, poor Earth was too frail to bear the brunt of Ganga’s descent. Then Lord Shiva came forward to take the surge on His head and allow the holy river to flow gently upon Earth through His matted hair. Eventually, Raja Bhagirathi was able to offer Ganga’s water in oblation to each one of his departed ancestors for their absolution.
Verily, it is the successive generations who bear the burden of the deeds of their elders.
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