In Hindu mythology, a
strong and obstinate sage.
The Descent of the Ganges is the narrative of Kapila's most
renowned mythological accomplishment.
King Sagar is nearing the end of his hundredth horse
sacrifice (ashvamedha).
This will be enough religious virtue for him to take the
throne of Indra, the gods' monarch.
By snatching the sacrifice horse and tying it outside
Kapila's ashram, Indra averts the danger.
Sagar sends out his sixty-thousand sons in search of the
horse.
When they eventually find it in Kapila's ashram, they
discover the sage in meditative state.
The sons believe the sage's meditation is a ruse to avoid
having to answer their inquiries, and they begin to physically beat him.
Kapila loses her cool and gets enraged.
The sixty-thousand sons are reduced to ash by the
accumulated power created by his protracted asceticism (tapas).
Later, Kapila tells Anshuman, Sagar's lone surviving
descendant, that the only way to restore peace to the departed's spirits is to
bring the Ganges down to earth and have their ashes touched by her waters.
This prerequisite is fulfilled via multiple generations of
Sagar's descendants—Anshuman, Dilip, and Bhagirath—until the last succeeds in
bringing the river to earth.
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