सगर
[sagara] IAST: SAGARA
A king of the solar dynasty, सगर ruled अयोध्या .
Mark Title as "empty".
Descended from ब्रह्मा thus: ब्रह्मा-कश्यप-विवस्वान्-वैवस्वत मनु-इक्ष्वाकु-विकुक्षि-सशाद-पुरञ्जय-काकुत्स्थ-अनेनस्-पृथुलाश्व-प्रसेनजित्-युवनाश्व-मान्धाता-पुरुकुत्स-त्रसदस्यु-अनरण्य-अर्यश्व-वसुमनस्-सुधन्वा-त्रैयारुण-सत्यव्रत ( त्रिशङ्कु )- हरिश्चन्द्र-रोहिताश्व-हरित-चुञ्चु-सुदेव-भरुक-बाहुक-सगर .
बाहुक , father of सगर , was known as सुबाहु also. सगर was बाहुक 's son by his wife, यादवी . (Brahmāṇḍa Purāṇa, Chapter 16) . Though सगर was a prince he was born at the आश्रम of और्व , and there was a reason for it.
सुबाहु and यादवी did not have a child for long. But, as a result of many यज्ञस् conducted for the gift of a child, यादवी conceived. While she was in the seventh month of her pregnancy her co-wife administered poison to her with the result that she did not further advance in pregnancy and deliver in due time. Thus she continued as a pregnant woman for seven years. (Brahmāṇḍa Purāṇa, Chapter 16) . The King became an old man. During this period तालजङ्घ , king of हेहय , attacked अयोध्या with his army, and सुबाहु , despite his old age, fought back. But the fighting grew fiercer. सुबाहु found that he would not be able to defeat तालजङ्घ and so he escaped into the forest with his wife यादवी . They took shelter in the आश्रम of sage और्व . सुबाहु expired there due to old age and यादवी got ready to follow him in his pyre. The मुनि prevented her from doing so by pointing out to her that the child in her womb was a very fortunate one and would become emperor of the seven islands when he grew up to manhood. यादवी delivered shortly. As the poison ( गर ) given to her by the co-wife had immobilised her pregnancy for so long और्व named her child सगर . (Brahmāṇḍa Purāṇa, Chapters 16 and 17)
To अयोध्या
Sage और्व conducted the उपनयन ceremony of the boy and taught him the वेदस् ete. Once यादवी wept to hear the boy address the मुनि 'father', and when the son asked her the reason for it she told him that the मुनि was not his father, who was really greater than the मुनि . She also told him their previous history, and सगर decided to return to अयोध्या somehow.
The people of अयोध्या lived scattered here and there in fear of तालजङ्घ , and disgusted with such an existence, they came together and took refuge with वसिष्ठ , who told them that king सुबाहु had expired in औव्राश्रम , but that his son सगर was there in the आश्रम . He further advised them to bring सगर back and reconquer अयोध्या . यादवी wept at the sight of the people from अयोध्या and they insisted upon सगर 's return to the state as their king. They waited in the आश्रम for five days for सगर . Then सगर and his mother, with the blessings of the Sage, returned to अयोध्या along with the people. सगर fought तालजङ्घ , reconquered अयोध्या and crowned himself as king. (Brahmāṇḍa Purāṇa, Chapters 20 to 23) .
Family life
सगर had two wives called सुमति alias वैदर्भी and केशिनी alias शैब्या . सुमति was the daughter of गरुड .
As he had no issues for long, सगर , with his wives, went to हिमालय s and began doing तपस् at भृगुप्रस्रवण mountain. After hundred years भृगु appeared and blessed सगर that one of his wives would give birth to 60,000 sons and the other to one, who would add to the glory of the dynasty. सुमति chose 60,000 sons and केशिनी the one son.
The king and the queens returned to अयोध्या and in due course सुमति delivered the son called असमञ्जस who was to bring prosperity to the dynasty. सुमति gave birth to a lump of flesh, which developed into 60,000 children. They were put in pots of ghee and they grew up to become young persons. (Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa, Bālakānḍa, Canto 33) .
Some पुराणस् contain stories somewhat different from the above about the birth of the 60,000 children. for example in the ९थ् स्कन्ध of देवी भागवत , the story is related as follows; " केशिनी delivered the son असमञ्जस and सुमति did not deliver at all. So she did तपस् for शिव for children and because of his blessing she conceived. सुमति delivered only hundred years after continuing to be pregnant, and even that was only a piece of flesh, and she began weeping addressing शिव , who appeared before her and cut the mass of flesh into 60,000 parts. Each piece of flesh transformed itself into a very powerful and effulgent man.
Loss of children
कपिल turned into ashes the 60,000 sons of सगर . भगीरथ revived them. (For details see under Bhagīratha) .
त्रिउम्फल् tour
सगर ruled the kingdom well and while living happily thus with his sons, he set out on a triumphal tour. After conquering the northern regions he moved towards the south, his object being माहिष्मती , Kingdom of the हेहयस् . He destroyed the हेहयस् completely in battle. (Brahmāṇḍa Purāṇa, Chapters 89 and 90) .
Evening of life
सगर ruled the kingdom for 300 years. (Brahmāṇḍa Purāṇa, Chapter 91) . His son, असमञ्जस was a tormentor of his subjects. In the evening of his life, सगर transmitted the throne to his grandson अंशुमान् (son of असमञ्जस ). The rest of his life he spent in और्वाश्रम with his wife engaged in meditation.
Other information
सगर worships यम in his court, [mh-2-8-19 ] .
सगर ousted असमञ्जस from the palace, because he led an immoral life. [mh-3-107-89 ] .
सगर went to heaven after handing over the throne to अंशुमान् . [mh-3-107-64 ] .
सगर had gone, in the plane of इन्द्र to विराटनगर to witness the fight between अर्जुन and कृप . [mh-4-56-10 ] .
श्री कृष्ण once described the यज्ञ and दान of सगर . [mh-12-29-130 ] .
सगर never ate flesh in his life. [mh-13-115-66 ]
He is considered to be one of the kings to be remembered both at dawn and dusk. [mh-13-165-49 ] .
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