Bhageerathi (The Celestial Mother) Part 3 : A Spark in the Darkness


The Solar Dynasty — since it originated from Lord Surya, it came to be known as the Surya Vamsa. It is also called the Ikshvaku lineage, named after Ikshvaku, the grandson of Lord Surya and the son of Vaivasvata Manu, the eldest son of Surya. Later, it came to be known as the Raghu dynasty, after the renowned King Raghu who was born in this lineage. The greatest glory of this dynasty was the incarnation of Lord Sri Rama in it.

It was in this illustrious lineage that Bhagiratha was born — one of the most distinguished kings of the Solar dynasty. He was the great-grandson of King Sagara, who was an ancestor of Lord Rama. To put it more simply, he was Sagara’s great-great-grandson.

King Sagara had two wives — Kesini and Sumati. Kesini gave birth to a son named Asamanja, while Sumati, through the power of her penance, gave birth to 60,000 sons. King Sagara decided to perform the Ashwamedha Yajna.

When an Ashwamedha Yajna is conducted, a healthy, auspicious, and qualified white horse is selected. A royal inscription bearing the king’s name and the glory of the kingdom is tied to the horse’s forehead. The horse is then allowed to roam freely in any direction for one year. The king’s army and heirs follow the horse. Any kingdom the horse enters must accept the supremacy of the king performing the yajna. If they refuse or capture the horse, they must defeat the king in battle. Only if the king wins the battle can he bring back the horse and complete the yajna.

If the horse returns after a year without being stopped, the king is hailed as the emperor of emperors — the Chakravarthi. The yajna is then completed with rituals and donations.

After successfully completing 99 yajnas, King Sagara prepared to conduct the 100th Ashwamedha Yajna. Completing 100 Ashwamedha yajnas would grant the position of Indra. Wanting to protect his throne, Indra stole the horse meant for the 100th yajna and tied it near the hermitage of Sage Kapila, who was performing penance in the netherworld.

Taking advantage of a momentary distraction among Sagara’s 60,000 sons, Indra stole the horse in the blink of an eye. The 60,000 sons searched everywhere for the horse, even going down to the netherworld. Finally, they found the horse tied at Sage Kapila’s hermitage.

Assuming that Sage Kapila had stolen the horse, they insulted him harshly. Until then, the surroundings had been perfectly silent, suitable for the sage’s deep meditation. Their loud accusations disturbed the peaceful atmosphere. Though the sage was deep in meditation and unaware of the events, this disturbance caused a slight movement in his inner consciousness.

Realizing that his penance had been disturbed, a small breath escaped from the sage’s nostrils. That was enough. In the next moment, all 60,000 sons of Sagara were reduced to ashes.

They were left without liberation, and their souls suffered in thirst. King Sagara, who was searching for both the missing horse and his sons, eventually learned what had happened. He and his grandson Anshuman (born through his first wife’s lineage) begged Sage Kapila for forgiveness. However, they could only retrieve the horse and complete the yajna, but the curse remained unresolved.

Even after completing 100 Ashwamedha yajnas, Sagara had no peace or happiness. Since his son Asamanja had strayed into evil ways, Sagara exiled him and handed over the kingdom to his grandson Anshuman. Anshuman’s son was Dilipa, and his son was Bhagiratha.

For generations, hope had faded that their ancestors would be freed from the curse. After becoming king, Bhagiratha began searching for a way to liberate his ancestors. He was determined to find a solution at any cost. He could almost hear the cries of his ancestors’ souls, tormented by thirst.

Though his kingdom prospered and his people lived happily under his rule, Bhagiratha’s mind remained restless and troubled.

Did Bhagiratha find a way to break the curse?
We shall see in the next part.

With thanks

Shanmugapriya K Sambathkumar

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