Stories of the Brahma Purana Part-V

 In the lineage of Trishanku, his son Harishchandra became the next notable figure. After Harishchandra, King Bahu ascended the throne but became preoccupied with worldly pleasures, leading to the neglect of his kingdom's defense. Seizing this opportunity, enemy kings, led by the Haihaya and Talajangha kings, along with the Shakas, Yavanas, Paradas, Kambojas, and Pahlavas, attacked Bahu's kingdom. Bahu and his wife Yadavi were forced to flee to the forest.

While in the forest, Bahu passed away, leaving his pregnant wife Yadavi behind. Despite her desire to join her husband on his funeral pyre, the sage Ourva convinced her that such an act would be a sin due to her pregnancy. Ourva then took Yadavi under his care.

Notably, Bahu had a second wife who once tried to poison Yadavi. The poison had no effect on Yadavi but emerged when her child was born. Consequently, the child was named Sagara.

Sagara received his education and knowledge of weapons from the sage Ourva, mastering the use of a divine weapon called agneyastra. As he grew into a powerful king, Sagara waged wars against the Haihaya kings, Shakas, Yavanas, Paradas, Kambojas, and Pahlavas. In his conquest, he was about to slay all his defeated enemies, but they sought refuge with the sage Vashishtha.

Persuaded by Vashishtha, Sagara decided not to kill his enemies but imposed distinctive marks and restrictions on them. For instance, the Shakas had half-shaven heads, the Yavanas and Kambojas had completely shaven heads, and the Pahlavas were required to maintain beards. Additionally, they lost the right to follow Vedic religion.

Sagara had two wives: Keshini, the daughter of the king of Vidarbha, and Sumati. However, neither wife had sons. In their desperation, they prayed to the sage Ourva for children. Pleased by their devotion, Ourva granted their request but with a unique condition. One wife would have a single son, while the other would have sixty thousand sons. Keshini chose to have a single son, named Panchajana, and Sumati opted for sixty thousand sons.

Surprisingly, Sumati gave birth to a gourd containing a lump of meat, from which sixty thousand sons were born. Among these sons were Varhiketu, Suketu, Dharmaketu, and Panchajana, who were spared from a tragic fate that befell the rest.

Sagara's reign was marked by extensive conquests, and to commemorate his victories, he initiated an Ashvamedha Yajna, during which a sacred horse was allowed to roam freely. His sixty thousand sons guarded the horse. However, the horse was eventually stolen when they reached the south-eastern shores of the ocean.

In their frantic search for the horse, Sagara's sons disrupted the meditation of the sage Kapila. In his anger, Kapila burnt all but four of the sons to ashes. The four survivors were Varhiketu, Suketu, Dharmaketu, and Panchajana.

The Brahma Purana accounts differ slightly from those in the Mahabharata, which describes Sumati as the mother of the sixty thousand sons and Keshini as the mother of a single son named Asamanja. Nevertheless, both versions emphasize the tragic fate of most of Sagara's sons.

Panchajana's lineage continued with his son Amshumana, who had a son named Dilipa. Dilipa's most renowned descendant was Bhagiratha, who, through his unwavering efforts, brought the river Ganga down from heaven to the Earth, thus releasing his ancestors from their fiery curse. It was due to Bhagiratha's determination that the river Ganga is known as Bhagirathi.

From Bhagiratha, the lineage progressed to Raghu, Aja, Dasharatha, and finally, Rama, one of the most revered figures in Hindu mythology. Rama's epic journey is chronicled in the Ramayana, and his story continues to be a symbol of virtue, righteousness, and dharma in Hindu culture.