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‘In ancient times, the gods performed austerities in this way.294 At that time, the gods, with large numbers of rishis, went to the grandfather, desiring a general. All the gods, with Indra and Agni at the forefront, bowed down before the illustrious grandfather and spoke these auspicious words. “O illustrious one! In earlier times, you gave us a general.295 However, with Uma, he is now resorting to supreme austerities and is scorching himself. Desiring the welfare of the worlds, you must decide on what should be done now. O one who knows about what must be done! You are our supreme refuge and must decide on a course of action.” The grandfather of all the worlds heard the words of the gods. He comforted the gods and spoke these sweet words to them. “The mountain’s daughter has said that you will not have offspring through your wives. There is no doubt that her unsullied words will come true. However, through Ganga, who flows in the sky, Agni can have a son and that destroyer of enemies will be the general of the gods.296 The eldest daughter of the Indra among mountains will welcome this son. There is no doubt that this will also find great sanction with Uma.” O descendant of the Raghu lineage! On hearing his words, all the gods thought that they had obtained success. They bowed down and worshipped the grandfather. O Rama! All the gods went to Mount Kailasa, which is decorated with minerals. There, they urged Agni to produce a son. “O god! O fire god! Accomplish the task of the gods. The great energy has so far been contained in Ganga, the daughter of the mountain. Release that energy.” Pavaka297 gave his pledge to the gods and approached Ganga. “O goddess! To bring pleasure to the gods, please bear this in your womb.” Hearing these words, she assumed a divine form. On seeing her great form, he298 spread throughout her person. Pavaka spread throughout the goddess and sprinkled her.299 O descendant of the Raghu lineage! All of Ganga’s flows became full. At this, Ganga spoke to the priest of the gods.300 “O god! Your energy is extremely potent and I am incapable of bearing it. I am being scorched by the fire and my senses are distressed.” All the gods and the fire god spoke to Ganga. “Deposit the embryo on the foothills of the Himalayas.” O unblemished one! Hearing Agni’s words, Ganga released that radiant embryo in torrents of great energy. Wherever that flow, with the complexion of molten gold, was released in the Himalayas, the sacred ground became sparkling and golden. From the friction between the gods,301 copper and iron ore were also generated. The residue that was left became tin and lead. It is from this that the earth obtained many kinds of minerals. As soon as that embryo was flung down, the sparkling energy created a golden grove everywhere in that mountain. O Raghava! O tiger among men! Since then, with a complexion like that of the fire, gold has been known as Jatarupa.302
‘When the son was born, Indra, with the large number of Maruts, engaged the Krittikas to provide milk for him.303 As soon as he was born, they304 took an excellent pledge. “He is our son.” Having decided this, all of them gave him milk. Because of this, all the gods said, “This son will be known as Kartikeya and there is no doubt that he will be famous in the three worlds.” The embryo that had been dislodged from the womb was exceedingly beautiful and blazed like the fire. On hearing these words, they305 bathed it. O Kakutstha! The immensely fortunate Kartikeya was like the fire. Since he had been secreted from the womb, the gods called him Skanda.306 Excellent milk began to ooze out from the breasts of the six Krittikas and assuming six faces, he fed on this. Having fed on this milk, he grew up to be a boy in a single day. Because of the lord’s valour, the soldiers of the daityas307 found him to be invincible. With Agni at the forefront, the large number of gods assembled and consecrated the unblemished and radiant one as the general of the soldiers of the gods. O Rama! I have thus told you about Ganga in detail and about the blessed and sacred account of Kumara’s birth.’
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In a sweet voice, Koushika told Rama about that account. He again addressed the following words to Kakutstha. ‘There was a brave king who was earlier the lord of Ayodhya. His name was Sagara and he possessed dharma in his soul. However, since he did not have any offspring, he desired offspring. In her beauty, Arishtanemi’s daughter was unmatched on earth. She was known as Sumati and she was Sagara’s second wife.308 With those two wives, the king went to the Himalayas, to the mountain known as Bhriguprasravana.309 There, he tormented himself through austerities. After the sage Bhrigu, supreme among those who uphold the truth, had been worshipped with austerities for one hundred years, he gave a boon to Sagara. “O unblemished one! You will obtain extremely great offspring. O bull among men! You will obtain unsurpassed fame in this world. O son!310 One of your wives will give birth to a son who will extend the lineage. The other will give birth to sixty thousand sons.” Having shown his favours to the king’s wives, this is what he told that tiger among men. Extremely delighted, they joined their hands in salutation and said, “O brahmana! Who will have a single son and who will give birth to many? O brahmana! We wish to learn this. May your words come true.” Having heard their words, Bhrigu, extremely devoted to dharma, spoke these supreme words. “This will be decided by you, independently. Who wants a son who will extend the lineage? Who wants many sons who are extremely strong, famous and great in endeavour? Who wants which boon?” O descendant of the Raghu lineage! O Rama! Hearing the sage’s words, in the presence of the king, Keshini desired a son who would extend the lineage. Sumati, Suparna’s311 sister, wished for sixty thousand sons who would be great in endeavour and famous. O descendant of the Raghu lineage! With his wives, the king bowed his head down before the rishi, circumambulated him and returned to his own city. After some time had passed, the elder wife, Keshini, gave birth to a son. This son of Sagara came to be known by the name of Asamanja. O tiger among men! Sumati gave birth to a gourd. When this gourd was shattered, sixty thousand sons emerged. Nursemaids nurtured them in pots filled with ghee and reared them there. After a long period of time, they became youths. After another long period of time, these sixty thousand of Sagara’s sons became handsome adults. O best among men! O descendant of the Raghu lineage! The eldest of Sagara’s sons312 used to grab children and hurl them into the waters of the Sarayu. Having hurled them there, seeing them drown, he always used to laugh. Since he was engaged in injuring the citizens, his father banished him from the city. However, Asamanja had a valiant son named Amshumat. He was respected by all the worlds and spoke pleasantly to everyone. O best among men! After a long period of time, Sagara reflected and made up his mind about performing a sacrifice. Having thus made up his mind, the king, who knew about the Vedas, told his preceptors to begin the rites for undertaking a sacrifice.’
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Hearing Vishvamitra’s words, the descendant of the Raghu lineage was supremely delighted. When the account was over, he spoke to the sage, who blazed like the fire. ‘O fortunate one! I wish to hear about this account in detail. O brahmana! How did my ancestor complete the sacrifice?’
Vishvamitra seemed to smile at Kakutstha and said, ‘O Rama! Hear in detail about the great-souled Sagara. Shankara’s father-in-law is the supreme mountain, known as Himalayas. He approaches Mount Vindhya and the two glance at each other. O supreme among men! O best among men! The land that extends between them is a region that is praised for performing sacrifices. O Kakutstha! O son!313 Following Sagara’s words, maharatha Amshumat, the firm archer, tended to the horse.314 On the auspicious day when the sacrificer was going to undertake the sacrifice, Vasava assumed the form of a female rakshasa and stole the sacrificial horse. O Kakutstha! When the great-souled sacrificer’s horse was stolen, all the large number of preceptors spoke to the sacrificer. “This is the auspicious time. Quickly fetch the sacrificial horse. O Kakutstha! Slay the thief and bring the horse. If there is a lacuna in the sacrifice, all of us will face something inauspicious. O king! Therefore, act so that there is no weakness in the sacrifice.” Hearing the words of the preceptors in that assembly, the king spoke these words to his sixty thousand sons. “O sons! O bulls among men! I do not perceive any means
for rakshasas to make an entry. Extremely fortunate ones have sanctified this great sacrifice with mantras. O sons! Therefore, go and search. May you be safe. Go to everywhere on earth, right up to the garland of the ocean. O sons! Each of you search for the expanse of one yojana. Until you see the horse, dig up the earth. On my command, seek out the horse and the thief. I have been consecrated with my grandson.315 O fortunate ones! Until I see the horse, I will remain here with all the preceptors.” Thus addressed, the extremely strong princes were cheerful in their minds. O Rama! Urged by their father’s words, they penetrated the surface of the earth. O tiger among men! With arms that were like the touch of the vajra, they dug it up. They used extremely terrible ploughs and spears that were like the vajra. O descendant of the Raghu lineage! Thus shattered, the earth began to shriek. O Raghava! The serpents and the asuras were slaughtered and so were rakshasas and other invincible beings. There was a tumultuous roar. O descendant of the Raghu lineage! Those brave ones penetrated the earth for sixty thousand yojanas, right up to the excellent rasatala.316 O tiger among kings! Jambudvipa317 is girded by mountains and those princes dug it up everywhere. At this, all the gods, gandharvas, asuras and serpents were terrified in their minds and went to the grandfather. With distressed faces, they sought the favours of the great-souled one. Extremely scared, they spoke these words to the grandfather. “O illustrious one! Everywhere, Sagara’s sons are digging up the earth. Many great-souled aquatic creatures are being killed. ‘The one who has stolen the horse is destroying our sacrifice.’ Thinking this, Sagara’s sons are slaughtering all the creatures.”’
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‘The gods were extremely terrified and confounded by the strength of those destroyers. The illustrious grandfather replied to them. “The entire earth is owned by the intelligent Vasudeva and he eternally holds up the earth. He has assumed the form of Kapila. A long time ago, the shattering of the earth was foreseen and so was the destruction of the sons of Sagara, who will not live for a long time.” Hearing the grandfather’s words, the thirty-three gods, the scorchers of enemies, were extremely happy and returned to wherever they had come from.318
‘When Sagara’s great-souled sons shattered the earth, a great sound was heard, like that of thunder. Having penetrated the earth, they circled it everywhere. All of Sagara’s sons then went to their father and spoke these words. “We have travelled through the entire earth and destroyed all the creatures—gods, danavas, rakshasas, pishachas, serpents and kinnaras. However, we have not been able to see the horse, or the thief who stole the horse. O fortunate one! What will we do now? It is necessary to reflect on this.” O descendant of the Raghu lineage! Hearing the words of his sons, Sagara, supreme among kings, was overcome by rage and spoke these words. “O fortunate ones! Dig the earth again and penetrate the surface of the earth. Search out the horse and the thief. Return only when you are successful.” Hearing the words of their father, the great-souled Sagara, the sixty thousand sons rushed to rasatala. They dug there and saw the dishagaja Virupaksha.319 He was like a mountain and held up the earth. O descendant of the Raghu lineage! The great elephant, Virupaksha, held up the entire earth, with its mountains, on his head. O Kakutstha! When the great elephant is tired and wishes to rest, it moves its head and earthquakes result. O Rama! They circumambulated the great elephant, the guardian of the direction. Having showed it honours, they penetrated the earth and went to rasatala. They penetrated the eastern direction and again penetrated the southern direction. They saw a great elephant in the southern direction too. This was the great-souled Mahapadma and he was like an extremely gigantic mountain, holding up the earth on his head. They were extremely astonished. Having circumambulated him, Sagara’s great-souled sixty thousand sons penetrated the western direction. In the western direction too, those extremely strong ones saw the dishagaja Soumanasa, who was like a gigantic mountain. They circumambulated him and asked him about his welfare. They continued to dig and reached the northern direction.320 O best among the Raghu lineage! In the northern direction, they saw Bhadra, holding up the earth. He was as white as snow and his form was auspicious. All of them touched him and circumambulated him. Those sixty thousand sons then penetrated the surface of the earth. Sagara’s sons then went to the famous north-east direction. In great rage, Sagara’s sons dug up the entire earth. They saw Kapila, the eternal Vasudeva, there. The horse was also wandering around there, not very far from the god.321 Taking him to be the one who had destroyed the sacrifice, their eyes dilated with rage. Asking him to wait, they angrily dashed towards him. “You are the one who has stolen our horse and destroyed the sacrifice. O evil-minded one! You should know that we, the sons of Sagara, have arrived.” O descendant of the Raghu lineage! Hearing their words, Kapila was overcome by great anger and uttered the sound of humkara. O Kakutstha! The immeasurable and great-souled Kapila reduced all of Sagara’s sons to ashes.’
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‘O descendant of the Raghu lineage! When King Sagara saw that his sons had been gone for a long time, he spoke to his grandson,322 who was radiant in his own energy. “You are brave and accomplished in learning. In energy, you are an equal of your ancestors.323 Go and search for your fathers324 and for the person who has stolen the horse. There are great and valiant beings in the bowels of the earth. To repulse their attacks, take your sword and your bow. Honour the ones that deserve honour and slay the ones who cause obstructions. Return when you have ensured the success of the sacrifice, or cross over to the other side.”325 Amshumat was thus properly addressed by the great-souled Sagara. He grasped his bow and sword and departed, dexterous in his valour. He proceeded along the path that had been dug up in the earth by his great-souled fathers. O best among men! He proceeded, urged on by the king’s words. He saw the immensely energetic dishagaja, worshipped by the daityas, danavas, pishachas, birds and serpents. He circumambulated him and asked him about their welfare. He asked him about his fathers and about the person who had stolen the horse. On hearing this, the dishagaja was pleased and replied in these words. “O Amshumat! O son of Asamanja! You will be successful and will swiftly return, with the horse.” As is proper, in due order, he then asked all the other dishagajas. Hearing his words, all the guardians of the directions,326 who were accomplished in speech, honoured and urged him with words and said, “You will return with the horse.” Hearing their words, he proceeded, dexterous in his valour. He reached the spot where his fathers, Sagara’s sons, had been reduced to ashes. At this, Asamanja’s son was overcome by grief. Extremely miserable and severely afflicted that they had been killed, he wept. He saw the sacrificial horse wandering around, not very far away. Full of sorrow and misery, the tiger among men saw it. To perform the water rites for the princes, the immensely energetic one searched for water, but could not find a store of water. Casting his trained eye around, he saw the lord of the birds.327 O Rama! Suparna was like the wind and was the maternal uncle of his fathers.328 Vinata’s extremely strong son spoke these words to him. “O tiger among men! Do not sorrow. This slaughter has been sanctioned by the worlds. The immeasurable Kapila has burnt down these extremely strong ones. O wise one! Therefore, you should not offer them water through the normal water rites. O bull among men! Ganga is the eldest daughter of the Himalayas. That purifier of the worlds will purify these mounds of ashes. When the ashes of these sixty thousand sons are sprinkled by the waters of the Ganga, beloved by the worlds, they will be conveyed to the world of heaven. O immensely fortunate one! O bull among men! Seizing the horse, leave this spot. O brave one! Return, so that your grandfather’s sacrifice can be carried out.” Hearing Suparna’s words, the valiant and immensely illustrious Amshumat quickly seized the horse and returned. O descendant of the Raghu lineage! He went to the king who had been consecrated and reported what had happened. He also recounted Suparna’s words. Hearing Amshumat’s terrible words, the king performed the sacrifice, following the rites and observing the rituals. Having completed the desired sacrifice, the king returned to his
own city. However, the king could not make up his mind about how Ganga was to be brought. Even after a long period of time, the king could not arrive at a decision. Having ruled the kingdom for thirty thousand years, he went to heaven.’
The Valmiki Ramayana Page 10