Sixty Thousand sons of Sagara are born
Recap: The last post was on the trials of Harishchandra. While most texts call his son Rohit or Rohitasva, the Bengali Ramayana of Krittibas refers to his son as Rohidas. In the previous post, I had mentioned why this name was used. Let us continue from the point where Harishchandra left the earth for heaven.
Harishchandra had crowned his son the king of Ayodhya before his passing. Rohidas ascended the throne as the sovereign King. He was a wonderful ruler and took care of his subjects like his own children. He became the father of a son, a prince who bore the name Sagara. When Sagara was old enough, he was crowned the king of Ayodhya. This story today is about Sagara, which is important as this will eventually lead to the descent of Ganga.
Sagara married Keshini, the daughter of the King of Vidarbha. The couple had no children. Sagara then married Sumati, the daughter of Rishi Kashyapa. Sagara was still childless. As time passed, Sagara knew that he was getting older but did not have anyone whom he could crown as his successor. People had started talking about him. They said seeing a childless king’s face first thing in the morning was not a good omen. This disheartened Sagara thoroughly. He consulted the rishis, and following their advice, Sagara went to the Himalayas to worship Shiva.
There, he meditated on Shiva. His mind was solely focused on Mahadeva. For years, he worshipped Ashutosh, the one who is easily pleased. One day, while meditating he felt something strange, as if something was happening around him. He opened his eyes. Shiva stood before him, the way he had imagined him. Sagara prostrated himself at the feet of his god. "Arise, Sagara, king of Ayodhya, grandson of Harishchandra. You have endured much. You have sought me out through years of penance. Tell me, what do you want? Why do you wish to please me?"
Sagara raised his head and said, “After my father Rohidas, I became the king of Ayodhya. I am childless. My subjects talk behind my back about me not having any heirs. I want many children, many sons who can rule the kingdom of Ayodhya after me. Bless me O Mahadeva."
Shiva spoke, "Your devotion will be rewarded. Go now, my son. Your house will soon hear the cries of children. You shall be blessed with sixty thousand sons." In front of Sagara’s eyes, Shiva vanished. "Was I dreaming? Was this a hallucination?" thought Sagara. Something in him felt this had happened. He left the mountains and went back to Ayodhya.
Soon after, Keshini and Sumati both discovered they were pregnant. After a full term of pregnancy, Keshini gave birth to a healthy and beautiful baby boy. The boy was said to resemble Kama himself in beauty and was named Asamanja. Sometime after the birth of Asamanja, Sumati realized it was time to give birth. The mid-wives came and helped in the pregnancy and Sagara was shocked. Sumati had given birth to a mound of flesh shaped like a round bottle-gourd. Frustrated, Sagara started cursing Shiva. “What did Shiva say? Sixty thousand sons? And here I am, the father of this gourd-shaped thing! Was Shiva even in his senses? What can I expect from one who is always smoking hemp!” In frustration, he struck the mound of flesh. As soon as he did it, the mound began cracking and soon Sagara saw that enclosed in that mound were sixty thousand boys, who were very small in size. These boys were all wriggling about, looking radiant. Realizing his mistake and seeing the miracle, Sagara immediately called for sixty thousand wet nurses. When they came, the young boys were provided their nourishment. As soon as they drank the milk, they assumed recognizable shapes as human babies.
The sons grew rapidly. By the time the boys were six months old, they had reached a significant stage of development. They would crawl around the palace, pleasing all. When Sagara would snap his fingers, all his sons would come running to him, crawling to his lap. As they grew up, their personalities began to emerge. While Asamanja was a gentle and obedient boy, the sixty thousand sons were a different matter altogether. They were unruly and thought they were beyond everything. Seeing this, the devas approached Brahma and asked, “Is this the lineage in which Rama will take birth?” Brahma assured them and said, “Do not worry, while Sagara has sixty thousand and one sons, the sixty thousand sons of his are destined to have a very short life.”
When they were old enough, Sagara got all his sons married. Each of his sons had a wife. Sagara was very happy. As years passed, Sagara became a grandfather. Asamanja became the father to a boy who was named Anshuman. Asamanja then began thinking about life itself. He had married, had children and Sagara had heirs. He began to think about the vanity of worldly life, realizing that only the Divine was the sole truth and everything else was transient. He wanted to leave everything and go somewhere, far away. He asked for permission to leave; that was denied. Sagara was firm; he would not allow this. Asamanja was the eldest son. Asamanja decided that he had no option other than getting banished from the kingdom. He began to act in ways that shocked the kingdom and tarnished his reputation. He would tie up young children and throw them into rivers to drown, laughing. He would trip women who came to fetch water, causing them to fall, breaking their clay pitchers, and injuring themselves. At times, he even set fire to the homes of innocent villagers.
The people were horrified by his actions. Unable to bear the torment any longer, they complained to their king. Sagara, heartbroken, could not ignore the cries of his people. He exiled Asamanja. This was exactly what he wanted. Happily, Asamanja took leave of all, his parents, wife and infant son and left for the forests. He was happy that the divine had shown him a way to leave the illusionary world and devote his life in finding the ultimate truth.
For some time, Sagara pined for his son but soon forgot him. He was happy in the company of the sixty thousand sons and his grandson Anshuman.
Analysis
Meanings of Names & Contextual Fit
- Sagara: Derived from Sa (with) + Gara (poison). As per Vishnu Purana, he was born "with poison".
- Asamanja: Literally means "unpredictable," "inconsistent," or "unfitting." It describes his behaviour—acting against the expected conduct.
- Anshuman: Means "the radiant one" or "endowed with rays" (like the Sun). He represents the hope and the future of the lineage that eventually brings the Ganga.
- Keshini: "One with beautiful hair." Often denotes royalty and grace.
- Sumati: "Good mind" or "Wise." Ironically, she is the one who bears the sixty thousand unruly sons, testing her patience.
The Birth of Sagara in Vishnu Purana
In the Vishnu Purana (Book IV, Chapter 3), the tale of Sagara's birth is detailed out as follows:
King Bahu (Sagara’s father) was driven from his kingdom. He fled to the forest with his pregnant queen. Another wife of Bahu, jealous of the pregnancy, gave the queen a slow-acting poison (Gara) to kill the foetus. Bahu died in the forest, and the queen prepared to commit Sati. However, Rishi Aurva stopped her, sensing a great king in her womb.
The child was born alive despite the poison. Because he was born "Sa-Gara" (with poison), Rishi Aurva named him Sagara.
Presence in Valmiki Ramayana & Other Texts
- Valmiki Ramayana: Yes, this story appears in the Bala Kanda (Sargas 38–41). Vishwamitra narrates this to Rama and Lakshmana. The boon for sons is granted by rishi Bhrigu to Sagara.
- Mahabharata: It is found in the Vana Parva, narrated by Rishi Lomasha to Yudhishthira.
- Puranas: It is detailed in the Bhagavata Purana (Canto 9 Chapter 8) and the Brahmanda Purana (Section 3 - Upodghāta-pāda, chapters 49-51).
- Brahma Vaivarta Purana: The tale here is closest to the Brahma Vaivarta Puarana. Prakriti Khanda Chapter 10. Narada asks about Ganga and Narayana tells Narada about how Shiva gave Sagara the boon and how a mass of flesh was born, from which emerged the sixty thousand sons of Sagara. How that happened is interesting. The queen was very unhappy with this, and prayed to Shiva. Shiva appeared before the queen in the form of a Brahmin. This Brahmin divided the flesh into sixty thousand different parts, from which emerged the sons.
Comparative Character Matrix of Asamanja
| Feature | Valmiki Ramayana | Krittibasi Ramayan | Brahmanda Purana |
|---|---|---|---|
| Primary Trait | Malicious / Cruel | Spiritually Weary | Similar to Krittibas’s Ramayana. The Purana says after the birth of his son, Asamanja was possessed and started behaving in a cruel manner. |
| The "Drowning" | A criminal act | A ruse for exile | It says that, while possessed, the prince killed many people and threw their bodies in river Sarayu. |
Character Analysis: Examples in Daily Life
- Sagara is like the modern "over-achiever" who equates success with legacy. In daily life, he is the parent who wants "more" of everything but later finds that managing "more" is a chaotic burden.
- Asamanja is a person who doesn't fit the societal mould. In a modern sense, he is the "black sheep" or the radical artist who breaks his social standing to protect his inner peace.
Parallels in Mahabharata
- The Gourd Motif: The "mound of flesh" or "gourd" that splits into many is a common motif in Hindu texts (similar to the birth of the Kauravas in the Mahabharata).
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