Shloka 36
Bhāgīratha’s Tapas and the Petition to Gaṅgā (गङ्गावतरण-प्रसङ्गः)
पौत्रं भरतशार्दूल इदं वचनमतब्रवीत् । षष्टिस्तानि सहस््राणि पुत्रणाममितौजसाम्,उन्हें भस्म हुआ देख महातपस्वी नारदजी राजा सगरके समीप आये और उनसे सब समाचार निवेदित किया। मुनिके मुखसे निकले हुए इस घोर वचनको सुनकर राजा सगर दो घड़ीतक अनमने हो महादेवजीके कथनपर विचार करते रहे। पुत्रकी मृत्युजनित वेदनासे अत्यन्त दुखी हो स्वयं ही अपने-आपको सान्त्वना दे उन्होंने अश्वको ही दूँढ़नेका विचार किया। भरतश्रेष्ठ] तदनन्तर असमञ्जसके पुत्र अपने पौत्र अंशुमान्को बुलाकर यह बात कही--“तात! मेरे अमिततेजस्वी साठ हजार पुत्र मेरे ही लिये महर्षि कपिलकी क्रोधाग्निमें पड़कर नष्ट हो गये। अनघ! पुरवासियोंके हितकी रक्षा रखकर धर्मकी रक्षा करते हुए मैंने तुम्हारे पिताको भी त्याग दिया है”
bharataśārdūla idam vacanam abravīt—ṣaṣṭis tāni sahasrāṇi putrāṇām amitaujasām | tān bhasmībhūtān dṛṣṭvā mahātapā nāradaḥ sagarasya rājñaḥ samīpam āgatya sarvaṃ vṛttāntaṃ nyavedayat | munimukhān niṣkrāntaṃ ghoram etad vacaḥ śrutvā rājā sagaro muhūrtadvayaṃ manasā vimūḍha iva mahādevasya vacane vicārayām āsa | putramaraṇaja-vedanāyāḥ śokāt atiduḥkhitaḥ svayam ātmānam āśvāsya aśvam eva mārgaṇīyaṃ manyamānaḥ | tadanantaram asamañjasasya putram aṃśumantaṃ pautraṃ āhūya idam uvāca—tāta, mamaiva kāraṇāt me amitatejasaḥ ṣaṣṭisahasrāḥ putrāḥ maharṣeḥ kapilasya krodhāgnau patitvā vinaṣṭāḥ | anagha, puravāsihitasaṃrakṣaṇārthaṃ dharmaṃ rakṣan ahaṃ tava pitaram api tyaktavān iti |
O tiger among the Bharatas, he spoke these words: “Those sixty thousand sons of mine, of immeasurable prowess—seeing them reduced to ashes, the great ascetic Nārada came to King Sagara and reported the entire matter. Hearing that dreadful utterance that issued from the sage’s mouth, King Sagara sat for a while, stunned, turning over in his mind the import of Mahādeva’s pronouncement. Tormented by the pain of his sons’ death, he steadied himself and resolved that the sacrificial horse must be sought out. Then he summoned his grandson Aṃśumān, the son of Asamañjasa, and said: ‘My child, for my sake alone my sixty thousand radiant sons fell into the fire of the sage Kapila’s wrath and perished. Blameless one, to safeguard dharma and protect the welfare of the city’s people, I even abandoned your father.’”
लोगश उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage frames royal dharma as accountability: a ruler must uphold dharma and public welfare even at severe personal cost, while also recognizing how one’s actions can bring catastrophic consequences upon others.
After Nārada reports that Sagara’s sixty thousand sons have been burned to ashes by Kapila’s wrath, Sagara grieves, reflects on Mahādeva’s words, resolves to continue the search for the sacrificial horse, and then instructs his grandson Aṃśumān, admitting that the sons perished ‘for his sake’ and recalling that he had even abandoned Aṃśumān’s father for the sake of dharma and the people.