Shloka 131
'सृंजय! इक्ष्वाकुवंशी पुरुषसिंह महामना सगर भी मरे थे, ऐसा सुननेमें आया है। उनका पराक्रम अलौकिक था ।। षष्टि: पुत्रसहस्राणि यं यान्तमनुजम्मिरे । नक्षत्रराजं वर्षान्ति व्यभ्रे ज्योतिर्गणा इव,'जैसे वर्षकि अन्त (शरद) में बादलोंसे रहित आकाशके भीतर तारे नक्षत्रराज चन्द्रमाका अनुसरण करते हैं, उसी प्रकार राजा सगर जब युद्ध आदिके लिये कहीं यात्रा करते थे, तब उनके साठ हजार पुत्र उन नरेशके पीछे-पीछे चलते थे
Sṛñjaya! Ikṣvākuvaṁśī puruṣasiṁha mahāmanā Sagara api mare the, iti śrūyate. Tasya parākramaḥ alaukikaḥ. Ṣaṣṭiḥ putrasahasrāṇi yaṁ yāntam anujajmire; nakṣatrarājaṁ varṣānte vyabhre jyotirgaṇā iva.
Vāyu said: “O Sṛñjaya, it is heard that even the great-souled Sagara, a lion among men of the Ikṣvāku line, has passed away. His valor was extraordinary. As, at the end of the rainy season, when the sky is free of clouds, the hosts of lights—the stars—follow the lord of stars, the Moon, so too, whenever King Sagara set forth, his sixty thousand sons would follow behind him.”
वायुदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even the most extraordinary kings are subject to death; yet their fame and the disciplined loyalty they inspire endure in memory. The verse uses a cosmic simile to show how rightful leadership naturally draws orderly followership.
Vāyu addresses Sṛñjaya and cites the famed Ikṣvāku king Sagara: though he too died, he was renowned for unmatched prowess, and whenever he marched, his sixty thousand sons followed him like stars following the Moon in a clear autumn sky.