Mahabharata - Story of king Usinara

Story of King Usinara and his greatness

Once king Usinara who was very pious and very virtuous, was conducting a sacrifice on the bank of Yamuna. The celestials had heard of the king's greatness and therefore they decided to test him. Indra assumed the shape of a hawk and Agni that of a pigeon and they came to the spot where the king was conducting the yajna and the pigeon, out of fear took refuge with the king. The hawk tod the king that it was his duty to give up the pigeon as the pigeon was the food of the hawk and the king being a just and virtuous ruler, should not deprive a living being of its food. The king said that the pigeon was trembling with fear and had taken refuge with him and therefore as a Kshatriya it is his duty to protect it. He could not give up the pigeon. To give up one who has taken shlter is a great crime. At this the hawk said that a life is sustained by food. If the hawk is deprived of food by the king he may perish and so will his family. Therefore the king will then commit sin of being the cause of death of so many. The king then said that forsaking one who had taken shelter is not virtue. Instead the hawk can take any other food offered by the king and thus save himself. The hawk refused any other food and said that since heaven ordained that the pigeon was his food for that day he should take the pigeon and nothing else. He further said that hawks survive on pigeon flesh and therefore it is desirable that the king gave up this pigeon rather than tmpting him with other foods. The king then told him that it was not possible for him to give up that pigeon, but instead he is willing to agree to any other condition imposed by the hawk. The hawk can demand anything else from the king apart from the pigeon.

The hawk then said that if the king Usinara so insisted he must cut from his body an equivalent amount of flesh as that would equal the pigeon flesh and offer to the hawk.  The king gladly agreed thinking that a pigeon  did not have much flesh and cut a portion of his body flesh and weighed in a balance against the pigeon. To his suprise he found that he fell short. He then cut a further portion and weighed and this time also his flesh weighed less than that of the frail pigeon. The king however did not give up and tried again. When in this manner a substantial portion of his flesh was gone and he was in the danger of losing his own life, he put his whole body in the balance, i.e. he decided to give up his life to save the pigeon. At this the hawk and the pigeon assumed their own forms of Indra and Agni resp. and told the king that they were testing his virtue and were extremely happy to see the great sacrifice of life that the king was willing to undergo to save the life of a pigeon. They blessed him saying that his noble deed would bring him much glory in the earth and he will acquire great merit and ascend to the heaven. Then and there the king ascended to heaven blazing like the sun on account of his virtues and acquired many high celestial regions after his death.

Mahabharata - Story of Sage Ani Mandavya

Ani Mandavya and Dharma

Mandavya was an ascetic who lived a very pious and religious life. He was conversant with all the Vedas and used to observe the vow of silence by upraising his arms at the entrance of the hermitage. One day a gang of thieves had stolen some booties and they were hard chased by the king's men. The thieves had come near the hermitage and dumped their spoils nearby an hid themselves. The guards came and knew for sure that the thief or thieves were nearby and they could not find anybody other than the rishi. They then asked the rishi as to the whereabouts of the robbers. The rishi did not answer as he was under a vow of silence. The guards then discovered the booty nearby and thinking that the rishi belonged to the gang of robbers, arrested him and took him to the king. The thieves were also caught. The king ordered them to be executed by impaling them (over a Shula or a sharp edged long pole). The executioners carried out the order and impaled the sage but Mandavya did not die. He suffered terribly but because of his great Yogic power he survived and also called other great sages to him. The other sages thus summoned became very sad but the great ascetic did not blame anybody than himself for the suffering. The officers finding the sage to be alive informed the king. The king hurriedly came to the spot and asked to be pardoned. Finding the rishi to be free of any anger he himself brought the rishi down and attempted to cut him from the stake. However a part of stake remained in the rishi's body and thus he came to be known as Ani-Mandavya. With that the rishi performed severest of penances and attained highest regions (of heaven).

After his death the rishi came to Dharma or Yama, the king of justice and asked him the reason for his suffering despite being blameless. Dharma replied that he had in childhood pierced an insect with a blade of grass. That is the reason why he had to suffer. The rishi became angry at this and said that it is a common knowledge that the sin committed in childhood is no sin at all. He also promulgated that any sin committed before age of fourteen would not be considered as sin as below that age senses of virtue and sin do not develop fully in a child. He then cursed king Dharma to be born on earth as a mortal and suffer from all trials and tribulations to which a mortal is subjected. And for that curse Dharma was born on earth as Vidura, the uncle of Pandavas and Kauravas and son of Vyasa, in the womb of  s Sudra woman.

Mahabharata - King Somaka and his Ritwika

Somaka and his Ritwika

Once upon a time there lived a king named Somaka who had one hundred wives but had no son out of wedlock. The king was extremely unhappy on that account and after a very long time a son was born to one of the queens and he was named as Jantu. This son was very dear to all the queens and also the king. All the one hundred queens dotted on him and they were concerned if slightest of pains were caused to him and tried their best to provide him with all kinds of pleasure and objects of enjoyment.

One day an ant bit the child and the boy cried in pain. All the one hundred queens came rushing to the aid of the boy and they started crying as well. This created a tumultuous uproar which reached the ears of the king who was seated with his minsters with his Ritwika or priest by the side. The king, on hearing the noise, rushed to the chamber of his queens. He heard what had happened and he soothed his son. On coming back he became very forlorn and distressed. He told his ministers and priests that it was better to have no son at all than to have only one son and bear a constant anxiety, for in a world full of uncertainties that son could be victim to any accidents or disease. It was far better that he had no son at all as that would have ensured peace of mind. The king further lamented saying that if it was possible for him to obtain one hundred sons he would do that, by any means at his disposal, good or evil. One hundred sons would dispel his constant worry and he would have a worthy successor to his throne. He had tried all means at his disposal to get worth sons but they were of no avail and now he and his wives were aging.  So he would like to know if there was any way by which he could beget one hundred sons. Then his Ritwika said that there is a way by which he could obtain one hundred sons and that the Ritwika would help him. The king would have to perform a Yajna where the flesh and fat of Jantu would have to be offered as oblation and the fume of that oblation has to be smelled by the queens who would conceive by that process. Among the new born sons, Jantu himself would be born, and on his back there will be a mark of gold.

The king agreed to this ghastly proposal, desirous as he was of sons. Then the priest prepared for the sacrifice where Jantu had to be sacrificed. But when the child was brought for sacrifice his mothers were inconsolable and they did not let him go. They pulled him by his right hand. The Ritwika applied his full might to snatch the boy away from his mothers in the cruelest and vicious manner and the mothers cried and lamented piteously. The Ritwika dragged the son, killed him and made an offering with his fats in the fire. When the smell of that fat reached the nostrils of the queens they fell down unconscious. Soon the ghastly ritual was over and the one hundred queens became pregnant. In ten months the gave birth to one hundred sons and Jantu was reborn among them, being the eldest and the foremost. All his mothers loved him more than they loved their own sons and he had a golden mark on his back. He was also very intelligent and meritorious. The king was eternally grateful to the Ritwika for fulfilling his desire.

After some time the Ritwik died and king Somaka’s end also came. The king, when he went to heaven enquired after his priest, the Ritwika and saw that he was being grilled in the most terrible hell. On being asked, Ritwika replied, “Oh King, this torture is on account of mine having officiated in your yajna where I had offered our son as a sacrifice.  For that reason I have been put into hell. The king said that since it was he who permitted Ritwika to kill his son for his selfish desire it would only be proper that Ritwika should be set free and the king himself must be put into hell, for he only had permitted the sacrifice. At this dharma, the god of virtue said that one could not suffer on account of another person’s acts or faults because everbody’s karma is his own. So Ritwika will have to suffer on account of his karma and the king is entitled to blessed regions on account of his merits. The king said that since he had been equally responsible and had sanctioned the ghastly act, it was he who was primarily accountable and hence he should be an equal part. Moreover he would like to stay with his Ritwika who was suffering on his account and would also like to share the blessed regions along with him.

The king of death and justice dharma was very happy to hear this and he therefore ordered the king to share the punishment with his Ritwika. When the sins were worked out in hell, he, shared his merits with Ritwika, being find and grateful of him and then together enjoyed the blessed regions of heaven.

Mahabharata - Story of Mandhata

Mandhata

King Yuvanaswa was born in the dynasty of Ikshaku. He performed many sacrifices, including thousand horse sacrifices and gae away abundant wealth. However he had no sons. He gave his kingdom to his minsters to manage and became a dweller in the woods. He also indulged in ascetic practices. Once he was observing fast and did not even drink water. His inside was perched with thirst and he was suffering from pangs of hunger. Under this condition he entered the hermitage of sage Bhrgu. On that night the great sage had officiated in a sacrifice of king Saudyumni i.e. son of Sudumna, i.e. Yuvanaswa himself, that a son should be born to him. At that spot of the ashrama stood a large jar of water consecrated with the recital of sacred hymns and the water was vested with magic power that the wife of the king Saudyumni or Yuvanaswa, on drinking the sacred water, would beget a powerful son. The king Yuvanaswa was very feeble with hunger and thirst and since all the residents of that hermitage was sleeping after a night’s work of officiating in the sacrifice, they did not hear his cry for help. On seeing the water jar, Yuvanaswa, as he was very thirsty, drank from the pot. When the inmates of the Ashrama woke up, they first enquired as to where the water had gone and then Yuvanaswa truthfully admitted that it was he who drank it being very thirsty. The sages did not take offense but was concerned. Bhrgu said that the water contained special power of his austerities and one who would drink that water would conceive a child who would be as mighty and valiant as the king of gods. There was no way that the boon could be withdrawn and hence the king would have to bear a child, although it was actually meant for his queen. But the sages would make it such that the king did not have to undergo any labour pain. Then after a prolonged period a valiant son was born to Yuvanswa who came out by piercing the left side of the king. Yuvanaswa did not die. Indra, god of kings came to pay him a visit and gave his thumb to the child for sucking. The celestials then named the child as Mandhata (Me he shall suck). The boy became very powerful, learnt the vedas and acquired the skills of all weapons. He got the bow named Ajagava, a number of shafts and an impenetrable coat of mail. He was placed on the throne by Indra himself and he conquered the three worlds by his power and valour. He got much wealth and conducted many sacrifices and donated much to the Brahmins. When there was drought for twelve years, the mighty king caused rain to fall in torrents even when the rain god Indra watched his feat. He got the rare privilege of sitting beside Indra. He slew the might ruler of Gandhara who had wounded him in a fierce battle. By his virtuous life and piety the earth became very prosperous.

Mahabharata - Sage Chyavana and Sukanya

Chyavana and Sukanya

Sage Bhrgu had a son named Chyavana who performed severe austerities and penances. For a long period he remained in the same spot of ground. Such a long period elapsed and so immobile was he that an anthill was formed on his body and being engaged in severest penance with utmost concentration, he did not know of it. After a very long time, king Saryati came to that place along with his legion and beloved daughter Sukanya and camped beside a beautiful lake. Sukanya was very beautiful and she was wandering in the forest together with her companions when she came across the anthill. Chyavana had spotted her beauty and was looking at her when she, being fun loving and innocent, saw two sparkling things in an ant hill and poked at them with a thorn. Those things were actually the eyes of the sage and he cried out loudly in pain. Since he possessed tremendous power arising out of austerities his pain caused great inconvenience to the king’s forces and the king was very frightened. He knew that Chyavana was practicing austerity nearby and guessed rightly that the sage must had been harmed in some way, which has caused problem. He therefore enquired as to who might have caused pain to Chyavana. Sukanya then came to her father and said that she might have inadvertently hurt Chyavana. Hearing this, Saryati hurriedly went to the place where Chyavana was meditating in an ant hill and preyed with folded hands for forgiveness on behalf of his daughter. Chyavana sought to forgive her, on one condition that she should be given in marriage to him. At this Saryati, who loved his daughter dearly, became very sad by thinking about the age of the sage. But Sukanya, who was very virtuous, said that it was only right for her to marry the great sage after the pain caused by her to him. She said that it was the magnanimity of the sage that he did not curse the entire lot of the king owing to her action, but that he had very kindly sought to marry her. At this Saryati gladly gave Sukanya’s hand to Chyavana in marriage and went back to his kingdom with his troop.

Sukanya the erstwhile princess, now became the wife of an ascetic and began to tend him devotedly and helped him in his austerities and penances, looked after the ashrama and tended to the guests and the sacred fire as per duties of a pious wife. Once however, the twin Aswins, the celestial physicians, chanced to see Sukanya and fell in love with her. They pleaded with Sukanya to accept one of them as her husband forsaking Chyavana and enticed her with many temptations. Sukanya humbly replied that she was devoted and faithful to her husband and it would be impossible for her to leave him. At this Aswins conceived of an idea to test her and said that they would turn her husband young and beautiful and then she would have to select one of them or her husband as her partner. Having agreed to their proposal Sukanya went and told Chyavana everything. Chyavana permitted her to do the same and then Aswins asked Chyavana to enter into water and they themselves also entered into the water. When they came out of water Sukanya saw to her surprise three young and beautiful men of same appearance and they were all desirous of having her. Sukanya, as per the original conditions had to select one of them and being very intelligent she could easily find out who her husband Chyavana was and selected him.

Chyavana was very happy to regain youth and beauty and told the Aswins that since they had done such a favour to him, he would return their favour by giving them a fair share of the Soma in sacrifices. Aswins were not eligible to Soma in sacrifices, being inferior in status to other gods and hence they were delighted by the proposal.

When Saryati heard that Chyavana had gained a celestial beauty and youth and both his daughter and son in law are doing well living like celestials, he was very happy and himself came down to the ashrama. He had very nice discussions with Chyavana who in the course of the conversation requested him to perform a sacrifice where he would officiate. Saryati willingly prepared for the Yajna. In the sacrifice, while Chyavana was offering the Soma to the Aswins as per his promise, Indra, the king of gods, intervened and said that Aswins were physicians and this vocation prohibited them from sharing Soma with other gods. At this Chyavana said that Aswins were very kind and compassionate and they had restored him to his youth and therefore were entitled to Soma. Besides, they were also gods and like other gods they should pertake of Soma. Indra however repeatedly denied the status of gods to the Aswins and said that since they served all other gods they belonged to the servant class and were not entitled to the same treatment as gods. When Chyavana did not listen to his entreaties and was about to pour a large quantity of Soma as libations to the Aswins, Indra hurled his vajra. Chyavana, by the power of his asceticism, paralyzed that hand and then out of wrath he, through his ascetic energy, created a terrible demon called Mada, which was of gigantic proportion. He had a terrible, huge mouth with which he was about to devour the entire world. He was constantly licking his lips with his tongue. He also had terrible fangs extending over miles and his jaws extended till heaven. With that terrible form he rushed to devour Indra by the order of Chyavana. At this Indra was extremely frightened and told Chyavana that he had done this deliberately to showcase the power and might of Chyavana and to spread the fame of Saryati. Chyavana should have mercy on him and save him from the terrible demon. He also promised that Aswins from now on would have equal right to Soma as all other gods. Chyavana’s wrath was quickly appeased and he distributed Mada and put it into drinks, into women, into gambling and into field sports. Then Chyavana gratified Indra with Soma drink and the sacrifice was successfully conducted and he lived happily with Sukanya. Saryati’s fame also spread far and wide through this act of sacrifice.

Mahabharata - Story of Parashurama

Parashurama

Once upon a time there was a mighty king of the Haihaya tribe called Arjuna, son of Kartavirya, who by the grace of the celestial sage Dattatreya, possessed enormous power. He had thousand arms and also had a car of gold which could travel anywhere. Mounting on that car he could travel to all the worlds and terrorize humans, Yakhshas, devas, Gandarbhas and other species alike. The celestials and saints then met with Vishnu and told Him about their woes and requested Him to be born on earth to kill Arjuna. Vishnu then went to Badari for performing severe penance with a mission to destroy Arjuna and other mighty kshatriya warriors who had been terrorizing the earth and had become a burden to her.

At the same time there used to rule a powerful monarch in Kanyakubja called Gadhi, son of Kushika, who went to forest for leading a contemplative life. He had a beautiful daughter. The sage Richika, son of Bhrigu, was enchanted by her beauty and sought her hand in marriage from Gadhi, who imposed on him a severe condition. He told Richika that he would gave his daughter in marriage to him only if he is able to fulfill a family custom of providing suitable gift as requested by the bride’s father. When Richika agreed, Gadhi asked for a thousand brown steeds which could travel very fast, each with one black ear. Richika readily agreed and he went to Varuna, the Lord of the waters and demanded the steeds. Varuna gave him the horses which issued from Ganga and hence that place from where the horses originated was named as the “landing place of horses”. Richika returned to king Gadhi with the horses and Gadhi could no longer refuse him. So Satyavati, the daughter of Gadhi was given in marriage to Richika in the city of Kanyakubja. When the marriage was over the great sage Bhrigu himself came to visit his son and daughter in law and they reverentially served him. Bhrigu was satisfied and he asked his daughter in law for boons. Satyavati asked for a son for herself and also for her mother. Bhrigu then told Satyavati that she and her mother would partake two bowls of milk and rice preparation with special herbs that were collected by him painstakingly from various parts of the world, one meant for Satyavati and the other meant for her mother and would embrace a fig and a peepal tree resp. Saying thus, he went away. When Satyavati told his mother about the boon, she thought that probably Bhrigu would bestow some special grace upon her daughter in law and therefore she ought to exchange her gift with her daughter to get the best. She therefore told her daughter to take her share of the rice and milk and in exchange give her own share and also she embraced the tree meant for her daughter. Bhrigu came to know of all these through his Yogic powers and he came and told Satyavati that she had committed an error by not listening to him and by exchanging the gifts. Her mother had tricked her in doing so. He had so ordained that a powerful Kshatriya would born of her mother while a wise Brahmin would be born of her. But now her son would be a mighty warrior while her mother’s son, though a Kshatriya, would ultimately take after the Brahmins and become a wise and learned sage. At this Satyavati was very sorry and humbly begged that her son be born as a Brahmin but her grandson should become a warrior. Bhrigu said, “So be it” and left.

In due course of time a son was born to Satyavati who was named as Jamadgni. The sage became well versed in Vedas and learnt also the art of warfare from Sun himself and in knowledge and wisdom he was unrivalled. When he grew up he sought marriage with Renuka, the daughter of king Prasenjit. Together they lived in a hermitage and the sage devoted much of his time in penance and contemplation. The couple had four sons and the fifth one born to them was the mighty Rama, who later came to be known as Parashu Rama or the axe wielding Rama.

The Rama was also well versed in scriptures and very devoted to his esteemed father Jamadgani. Once Renuka had by mistake looked at a king called Chitraratha and Jamadagni became very indignant at this act and asked his sons to kill her for the offense as she, by casting a glance at another person, had forsaken chastity, the highest virtue demanded of women. The four elder brothers of Parashurama declined to do such a heinous crime, whereupon they were cursed by the sage to become devoid of intelligence. He then asked his youngest son to do the same, who at once, on his father’s bidding, took his axe and severed the head of his mother. Jamadagni was very pleased by this act and he asked Rama for any boon. Rama, taking up this opportunity, begged for the life of his mother and also asked that she should not remember this crime of her son and he should not incur any sin from this. Also his brothers should get back their intelligence and that Parashurama should get a very long life and become invincible in battle. Jamadagni gladly granted all the boons by the power of his enormous ascetic practices. Rama thus became very mighty and powerful and gladly served his parents.

One day Kartviryarjuna accompanied by his sons came to the hermitage. Jamadagni and his sons were not there but Renuka was theme backre. She treated the guests with utmost respect and gave them delicious fruits and other edibles. However Kartaviryarjuna was not happy. In his anger he saw the cow that was the source of all ashrama food and dragged it along with him, disregarding the pleas of the ashramites. When Rama came back and heard about the incident from Jamadagni, he was extremely angry and set out with his weapons. He met Kartaviryarjuna and challenged him on a battle. His arrows first cut down all the hands of the King and later he killed Kartaviryarjuna. At this, the king’s sons were extremely angry and sought revenge. They came to the ashrama to find Jamadagni meditating and killed him. At the time of death Jamadagni had piteously cried for Rama who was away. When Rama came back and saw his father’s dead body and performed his last rites with a heavy heart. Then he set out with his axe to extract revenge. He vowed to exterminate the Kshatriyas beginning with the sons of Kartaviryarjuna. He killed them mercilessly, as well as all their followers. He then set to eliminate all the Kshatriya tribes of the world and he did it twenty one times. Nobody was spared, not even the child. With the blood of the massacre five lakes were formed and the region came to be known as Samanta Panchaka. He then offered libations in that lake of blood to the Pitrs or the departed souls of his forefathers of the Bhrgu clan and Richika appeared to him in a vision and gave him some wise counsel. They told him that it is not fit for a Brahmin to display anger and destroy world in the fit of anger. Whatever he had done was good for the world. By destroying the evil Kshatriyas he had reduced the burden of the world. But innocents should not be killed for the sin of others. Now he should give up the wrath and concentrate on tapasya. Parashurama then conducted a sacrifice and gratified the gods and gave away the earth to sage Kasyapa. He then distributed all the riches to the Brahmins and retired to Mahendra Hill for doing penance in solitude.

There are later stories of Parashurama in Mahabharata and Ramayana. He encountered Rama when the latter was returning from Mithila to Ayodhya along with Dasaradha and Sita. Parashurama challenged Rama and was severely chastised and humiliated by him. 

Parashurama also challenged Bhisma to a battle when the daughter of Kashiraja, Amba approached him for punishing Bhishma for forcefully abducting her. However he could not defeat Bhishma and hence gave up the battle. He distributed all his weapons and other riches to Brahmins and Drona got the weapons and also their secrets from him. When Karna went to learn deceitfully the science of weapons from him, in the guise of a Brahmin, he taught him. However when he came to know that Karna was actually a Kshatriya, he cursed Karna saying that when in the battle Karna would need most the help of these weapons, he would forget them, because of learning them through deceit. In some Puranas Parashurama is depicted to be an incarnation of Lord Vishnu.

Mahabharata - Story of sage Rishyasringa

Story of Rishyasringa

Rishyasranga's story is very interesting as the great sage was born of a hind but was a human being. He was the son of a great sage Vibhandaka, son of great sage Kashyapa. The hind was actually a godess who was freed after her son was born. There was a horn on his head and thereby he came to be known as Rishyasringa (sage with a horn). He passed his days with his father in severe penances and knew nothing beyond the forest and the ascetic life. During the same period there was a king in Anga called Lomapada who was a friend of Dasaratha, the father of Rama. Lomapada had antagonized a Brahmin and hence no Brahmin wanted to become his priest. Therefore he could not perform sacrifices and hence Indra, the god of the heaven stopped showering rain in his kingdom. All the people thereby suffered. He consulted some sages who advised him to bring forth Rishyasringa, the pure sage in his kingdom. By his mere presence the gods and the Brahmins will be happy and there will be rain.

The king therefore ordered a number of women to go and fetch Rishyasringa. However all of them declined being afraid of Rishyasringa's father, the great sage. Only one consented to go and the king equipped her with all she needed for her venture. The woman had a plan. She built an artificial hermitage in a vessel with trees and flowers and fruits and kept the vessel not far from the hermitage of the father of the sage whom she intended to capture. She then sent her duaghter in the guise of a Rishi's son to rishyasringa who was alone in his cottage as his father had gone for tapasya. The young girl in the guise of a youn man came with many delicious food and drink and made friendship with rishyasringa. Rishyasringa, who had never seen a woman, did not doubt for a moment that he was dealing with a lady and not a rishi. He was delighted in talking and eating and drinking together and had a lot of enjoyable moments in the company of his new friend. The girl then returned and Rishyasringa waited impatiently for her arrival the next day. The next day however she hatched her plan and in the name of taking Rishyasringa to her hermitage she took her to the vessel and immediately the vessel set sail.  When the boat arrived in Anga the king and the people were much delighted and the state had a fair share of rain. The king, in order to keep rishyasringa permanently with him, decided to give his only daughter Shanta in marriage to Rishyasringa. He had also decided to invited the great ascetic, father of Rishyasringa to the wedding but was very afraid of his wrath. He therefore ensured that all the villages in his kingdom through which the great ascetic should pass, pile up lots of food and staff for enjoyment and the villagers, when asked, should most humbly reply that everything belonged to the great ascetic and to Rishyasringa.

When Rishyasringa's father came to know of his son's kidnapping, he was enraged and immediately, through his meditation came to know about everything. He decided to curse Anga and therefore set forth for bringing his son back. However on the way villagers treated him like God and he was mighty pleased. Then on reaching the capital when he came to know that his son was being married to the princess and when the king and all his subjects came forward humbly to invite him and treated him in the most courteous manner, his anger was dissolved and he blessed his son and daughter in law. However he said that as soon as a son was born to Rishyasringa, he must get back to the forest to continue with his penances. To this proposition everybody agreed and the marriage was over.

After his son was born, Rishyasringa once again went back to forest and acquired great powers through his ascetism. Subsequently it was he who was responsible for conducting the sacrifice which led to the birth of Lord Rama, the son of king Dasaratha.

Mahabharata - Bhagiratha brings Ganga to earth

Bhagiratha brings Ganga to the earth

After king Dilip went to forest for penance Bhagiratha ascended the throne. The mighty king learnt of what happened to his ancestors and was very sorry. He went to the Himalayas for practising severe austerities for propitiating godess Ganga. He thus did penances for one thousand years at the end of which Ganga, the daughter of Himalayas, appeared before him and said. "Oh King, I am very pleased by your penances. Please ask for a boon." At this Bhagiratha told her with folded  palms, "Devi, my forefathers had perished  being burnt by the wrath of sage Kapila and in so dying they did not go to heaven. If you are satisfied with me, kindly come down to earth and sprinkle the bodies of those sixty thousand sons of Sagara with your water. Otehrwise there is no salvation for them. Ganga was very pleased by the humility and sincerity and told Bhagiratha that she would come down to earth for his sake. However when she would fall from heaven to earth nobody would be able to withstand the tremendous force with which she would come down and that flow would cause everything to wash away unless her force is contained by somebody. Only Shiva, the Lord of the gods could hold her mighty force. So Bhagiratha should first undertake penances for propitiating Shiva who could fulfill his desires.

Bhagiratha started his penances all over again, this time to propitiate Mahadeva in the Kailasa hill. After a course of severe penance Shiva appeared and asked him what favour he sought. At this Bhagiratha told the God who is ever pleased that he wanted him to contain the force of Ganga's descent for the benefit of mankind. The God who was always ever kind to devotees and was always concerned about their welfare, readily agreed and asked Bhagiratha to pray for Ganga. When Bhagiratha concentrated his thoughts on godess Ganga, she leaped from heaven to earth and her tremndous force was contained in Shiva's mattlocks (hair). Ganga then emerged from Shiva's head with a lot less force and fury and flowed across the mountains, dancing with "kulu kulu" sound. She divided herself into three different flows. Wherever she went the place became pure and beautiful. Thus sanctifying all the earthly spots she told Bhagiratha to show the way where his forefathers were burnt so that she could flow over that place and merge in the sea. Bhagiratha led her to the spot where sage Kapila's ashrama was and immediately she purified the remains of the forefathers. After Bhagiratha offered his customary oblations to the Pitrs, the forefathers ascended to the heavens and had many a blessings for their grandson who brought their salvation. Ganga finally met the sea and the sea, who was dried by sage Agastya, got replenished with water again. Sharks, crocodiles, fishes and other water creatures could roam around freely again. Thus Bhagiratha the great king brought Ganga on the earth and became kind of father of Ganga on earth. Hence Ganga was renamed as Bhagirathi after him.

Mahabharata - Story of King Sagara

King Sagara and his Sons

King Sagara was born in the Ikshaku dynasty (the same dynasty as Lord Rama). Though Sagara was mighty and powerful, he did not have any sons of his own. He destroyed the tribes of Haihayas and Talajanghas, brought under his subjugation the whole of the Kshatriyas, and thus ruled happily over his vast kingdom. He had two wives, one from the line of king Sivi, while the other from Vidarbha. He therefore went to kailash with his two wives and engaged in severe penances through Yoga to get a son. He could ultimately get the vision of siva, the great Lord of Lords with three eyes, who blessed him thus, "Since the moment of the prayer was so ordained, one of your two wives shall bear sixty thousand powerful sons and the other shall bear one valiant son who will perpetuate your race." Then Mahadeva vanished and in due time to the princess of Sivi was born one beautiful and mighty son named Asamanjas, while to princess of Vidarbha was born a big foetus in the shape of a gourd. The king was so disappointed with the gourd like substance that he decided to throw it away when he heard a voice from the sky - "Do not be hasty, Oh King. Take out the seeds from the gourd and preserve them in steaming vessels partly filled with clarified butter. From there will be born sixty thousand sons of yours." The king preserved the seeds of the gourd as directed and appointed a nurse for each receptacle. Then in due time there came into being sixty thousand mighty sons, who had terrible powers. They were ruthless and vengeful and used to torment the gods, gandharvas and people alike. Atlast, fed up by their acts the gods approached Brahma, the grandfather and begged him to protect them from the demonic sons of Sagara. Brahma assured them saying that in due course of time the sons would be destroyed owing to their own stupidity and wrath.  Even the other son, Asamanjas, was very bad in nature. He used to catch hold of the necks of the feeble children of the townsfolks and threw them to the river. Atlast the people, being greatly afflicted, came to the king and begged him to protect them. The king was saddened by this but in the end decided to banish Asamanjas from the kingdom. Asamanjas had a son named Anshuman, who however, unlike his uncles, was very gentle and brave and was greatly loved by the king.

After many days king Sagara decided to perform a great sacrifice called Asvamedha, or the horse sacrifice. A horse was supposed to roam around the world protected by the dim witted sixty thousand sons of Sagara. If any other king dared to stop that horse he was supposed to fight and if he lost he had to provide tribute. Those who did not stop the horse would have to provide tribute. When the horse would be brought back to the kingdom it would be sacrificed to the gods and this act would produce merits. The sons of Sagara set out for the conquest. After travelling over the length of the country, when the horse reached the sea shore, it suddenly vanished. The princes frantically searched for it but could find it nowhere. They returned to their faather disgraced and dismayed. The king was exceedingly angry and ordered them to go and find the horse. The sons again began their frantic search but could find the horse nowhere. They once again came back to the king and with great humility told their father that they could not find the horse anywhere despite the best search effort. The king was mad with anger and ordered them either to find the horse or never to return at all. Thus the sons set out once again and they began to excavate the ground near the sea shore. Thus driven by desperation they dug and dug and made a mess of the kingdom of Varuna. All the creatures of netherland, the serpents and the demons began to die in distress and there was absolute chaos. Atlast they saw that horse roaming the surface of the world. Near the horse was Kapila the great sage, the philosopher of Samkhya, who was known was Kapila Vasudeva, an incarnation of Vishnu. He was meditating and was blazing by the power of his austerities and the all knowing sage knew everything about the sons and the fate that had brought them there. Delighted to see the horse and wrathful by their efforts in recovering it, the pig headed sons treated Kapila as a thief and showed disrespect to the shining one. At this, Kapila looked at them and his fiery look destroyed them completely. All it remained was a heap of ashes.

Then sage Narada brought the news of the destruction of the sons to Sagara who became very sad. He then called for his grandson Anshuman and told him that driven by wrath he himself had brought about the destruction of his sons. However now he needed to complete his sacrifice to escape from hell and therefore Anshuman must go and bring the horse himself. Thus entreated by the king, the brave lad went to the sea and through the excavation entered it and saw the ashrama of sage Kapila and the illustrious sage himself. The virtuous lad reverentially bowed down to the sage and the latter was very pleased with him and asked him for boons. Anshuman then begged the sage for the horse so that his grandfather could complete the sacrifice and also requested him for the purification of the sixty thousand princes who died an unglorious death. Kapila blessed him saying that he would fulfill his wishes, his grandfathers sacrifice would complete and his grandson would bring the ganga to the earth, by which everything would be purified. Also his uncles would all ascend to heaven on account of this virtuous act.

Then anshuman came back to king Sagara and narrated him everything. The king was very pleased with his grandson. He completed the sacrifice and went to heaven. Anshuman then ruled the earth and in due course of time was born to him a virtuous and noble son named Dilip. Dilip was saddened by the fate of his forefathers and wanted to bring Ganga to the earth and did severe penances. But he could not succeed. To him was born a son named Bhagiratha, who was likewise devoted to a noble life and was truthful and to him, Dilip entrusted his kingdom and went to the forest for penances.  

Mahabharata - Agastya Chastising Vindhya

Agastya Chastises Vindhya

Once upon a time the mountain Vindhya had become very arrogant. The Sun used to revolve around mount Meru, between rising and setting. Vindhya, in his arrogance told the sun to revolve round it. The Sun obviously did not comply to this haughty request. The Sun God told Vindhya that he was doing his duty as ordained by the Universal Lord and he cannot change his path on his own. By hearing this Vindhya flew into a rage and began to increase in height so as to obstruct the path of the Sun, Moon and the Stars. At this the gods became anxious and finding no way of preventing Vindhya they decided to approach Agastya. The good sage, on hearing the plight of the devas decided to help them. He went to Vindhya together with his virtuous wife Lopamudra and told the king of mountains that he would be crossing the mountain to go to the South. The mountain should wait for the Muni's return before it could further expand. The great mountain, out of fear, desisted from increasing in size and waited for Agastya to return. The great sage however never returned from south and stayed back there by opening a new hermitage. Till this day thus we refer to such one way travel as Agastya yatra or the travel of Agastya and certain days of the year are inauspicious for travellers because they cannot return from travel if they travel on such dates, just like Agastya.