A renowned ruler of
the Solar Line in Hindu mythology.
King Subahu and his wife Yadavi's son Sagar is named after
one of Yadavi's co-wives who gave her poison (gara) when she was pregnant with
him.
Sagar had a difficult childhood.
Even before he is born, his father is expelled from his
kingdom, and Sagar is reared at the ashram of the sage Aurva, where his mother
has sought refuge.
When Sagar reaches adulthood, he embarks on a series of
military campaigns in which he reclaims all of the kingdoms lost by his father
and grows into a pious and holy monarch whose main worry is his lack of kids.
To have sons, Sagar consults the sage Bhrgu, who offers
Sagar's two wives a choice: one woman will produce 60,000 boys, all of whom
will die childless, or one wife will bear one son, who will continue the line.
Each of his wives makes her own choice, and they eventually
have their children— Keshini has one son in the traditional method, while
Sumati has a lump of flesh that is separated and placed in 60,000 pots, each of
which grows into a gorgeous son.
King Sagar continues to fund religious ceremonies in his
affluence, and he is nearing the completion of his hundredth horse sacrifice
(asvamedha), which would entitle him to the throne of Indra, the deity who
rules over heaven.
Indra snatches the holy horse and hides it in the ashram of
the sage Kapila to prevent this.
Sagar sent his 60,000 sons in quest of the horse, but they
disrespect the sage, who uses his yogic talents to burn them all to ash.
To save their souls, the Ganges must be brought down from
heaven, a task that Sagar's descendants work tirelessly to fulfill.
Bhagirath, his great-great-grandson, finally succeeds after
countless generations of failure.
