Elements of Hindu Iconography v2.c16.s10.2

v2.c16.s10.2

THE king Sagara had, by his first wife Kēśinī, a son named Asamañjasa and sixty thousand others by the second wife Sumatī. Asamañjasa was from his childhood a wicked man and his example affected the other children of Sagara and made them equally bad. The gods who could not bear the evil ways of the sons of Sagara asked the *rishi* Kapila, one of the aspects of Viṣṇu, as to what would be the fate of all the wicked sons of Sagara, to which the *rishi* replied that in a short time they would all perish. Sagara arranged for a horse-sacrifice, for which purpose he let loose a horse. It was stolen by Indra and hidden in the *Pātāla-lōka*. Tracing the footprints of the horse the sixty thousand sons of Sagara excavated the earth till they reached the *Pātāla-lōka* and there found the horse in the hermitage of Kapila. These wicked sons of Sagara mistaking Kapila for the thief rushed on him to kill him. But Kapila by the power of his penance reduced them to ashes. Having waited long for the return of his sons in vain, Sagara sent his grandson Aṃśumat (son of Asamañjasa) to search for the horse as also his uncles. He too traced his way into the Pātāla-loka and found the horse near Kapila. Being, unlike his uncles and father, a well-behaved boy, he implored Kapila to permit him to take away the horse; the *rishi* pleased with the boy gave over the horse to him, informed him of the fate of his uncles and conferred upon him the boon that they would all go to heaven in the life-time of his grandson. The horse-sacrifice was celebrated by Sagara and after sometime he passed away. The son of Aṃśumat was Dilīpa and his son was Bhagīratha. The *rishi* Kapila had told Aṃśumat that if the water of the Gaṅgā was sprinkled on the ashes of his uncles they would go to heaven. Bhagīratha performed severe austerities to bring down the celestial river Gaṅgā; the latter was pleased with Bhagīratha and asked him who could resist the force of her fall on earth from heaven; if none could, the fall would cause the earth to be pierced in the middle. He replied that Rudra, the powerful, would be able to bear the force of her descent and began to address his penances to Rudra for granting him the boon of receiving Gaṅgā on his (Rudra’s) head. Śiva, being satisfied with the austerities of Bhagīratha, went to the Himalayas to receive Gaṅgā. At first Gaṅgā thought Śiva would be unable to bear her descent and came down in great volume and with enormous force. Śiva, indignant at her haughty behaviour towards him, determined to humble her. Having received her on his mighty head covered with matted hair, Śiva made Gaṅgā to wind through the labyrinth of his locks of hair for a long time before she was able to reach the earth. Being once again requested by Bhagīratha, Śiva let the river Gaṅgā flow down on the earth. Bhagīratha led Gaṅgā to where his ancestors' ashes lay and made them attain heaven by the contact of the waters of the holy river Ganges. It is under the circumstances described above that Śiva came to wear on his head the Gaṅgā and thence became known as Gaṅgā-dharamūrti. The story of the descent of Gaṅgā for the sake of Bhagīratha is given in the Viṣṇu-purāṇa, the Bhāgavata-purāṇa and the Rāmāyaṇa.