May 10 - Sargas 39 and 40 of Balakanda.
We read now how Sagara's yajna horse was abducted by Indra just when it was about to be worshipped and released for Ashvamedha. Sagara's children mount a huge search mission and dig up the entire earth big time. Finally they suspect Kapila Maharshi to have been the thief and accost him during his meditation. He is not amused and just by a "Hoomkara" reduces them all to ashes.
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O Rama, Sagara undertook the yajna at an auspicious spot between Himalayas and Vindhya mountain. He entrusted the care of the Yajna horse to his grandson, the able Anshuman.
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तस्य पर्वणि तं यज्ञं यजमानस्य वासवः।
राक्षसींं तनुमास्थाय यज्ञियाश्वमपाहरत् ॥
उपाध्यायगणाः सर्वे यजमानमथाब्रुवन् ।
हर्तारं जहि काकुत्स्थ हयश्चैवोपनीयताम् ॥
At the auspicious moment of commencement, Indra assumed the form of a demon and abducted the king's horse.
The king's priests then told the king who had taken the oath and was ready to perform the yajna that the thief should be destroyed and the yajna horse retrieved without delay.
Sagara calls his sixty thousand sons and asks them to do everything needed to get the horse back. By the way it is stated in the earlier sarga how this extraordinary number of children were born to Sumati. She delivered a large foetus that was then divided and stored in sixty thousand pots for incubation. Thus were born 60,000 sons who all turned out to be able bodied princes.
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यावत्तुरगसंदर्शस्तावत्खनत मेदिनीम् ।
तमैव हयहर्तारं मार्गमाणा ममाज्ञया ॥
दीक्षितः पौत्रसहितः सोपाध्यायगणो ह्यहम्।
इह स्थास्यामि भद्रं वो यावत्तुरगदर्शनम् ॥
Oh sons, may all be well with you. Please pursue the horse thief and dig up the earth as long as necessary until you find the horse. I am on oath here for the yajna and shall, along with my grandson Anshuman and the priests, await your successful return with the horse.
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The able princes divide among themselves one yojana square each and with sharp weapons dig up the earth. They soon become frantic and destroy every creature in their way - serpents of the netherworld, demons, and everyone else. Thus they dig up the entire Jambudvipa.
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But all was without avail as they could not find either the thief or the horse.
Meanwhile the devas went to Brahma quite disturbed by the effort mounted by the princes. They reported how the horse had been spirited away by Indra. Gods don't like successful yajnas to be conducted on earth as the yajna success will confer powers on humans and bring competition for the gods.
Brahma said that destiny willed that these princes would be short-lived. The horse should be taken and placed in the vicinity of sage Kapila, who was none other than an incarnation of Vasudeva=Vishnu. The princes in their frenzy would incur his wrath And meet their end.
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The princes return and report their failure to find the horse. King Sagara is livid. He orders, "go back and dig up the earth again. Don't return till you find the horse."
The princes are all faithful to their father and extremely powerful. So they go digging the earth in every direction. The earth and creatures suffer a great deal and scream in pain. But there is no let up. The princes meet the diggajas, mythical elephants who hold up the earth like pillars. They pay their respects to the elephants and proceed with renewed vigour. The elephants are named too - Virupaksha, Mahapadma, Saumanasa, Bhadra.
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ततः प्रागुत्तरां गत्वा सागराः प्रथितां दिशाम्।
रोषाद्भ्यखनन् सर्वे पृथिवीं सगरात्मजाः ॥
Then the sons of Sagara proceeded to the auspicious north eastern direction, digging up the earth in great frenzy and anger at their lack of success so far.
ते तु सर्वे महात्मानो भीमवेगाः महाबलाः ।
ददृशुः कपिलं तत्र वासुदेवं सनातनम् ॥
Those princes, all with great spirit, endowed with fierce speed and strength, then came upon the sage Kapila, a timeless incarnation of Vishnu/Vasudeva. He was in meditation.
हयं च तस्य देवस्य चरन्तमविदूरतः ।
प्रहर्षमतुलं प्राप्ताः सर्वे ते रघुनन्दन ॥
They also saw their yajna horse a little distance away from him. This gave them boundless joy, O Rama!
दुर्मेधस्त्वं हि संप्राप्तान् विद्धि नः सगरात्मजान्।
श्रुत्वा तु वचनं तेषां कपिलो रघुनन्दन ॥
They accosted the sage, disturbed his meditation and said, "you are one of evil intentions! You have stolen our yajna horse! Know us here to be the sons of king Sagara. We shall deal with you as needed."
Sage Kapila had not been a party to the whole enterprise of the gods. On thus being insulted by the princes, he was naturally provoked.
रोषेण महताविष्टो हुङ्कारमकरोत्तदा।
भस्मराशीकृताः सर्वे काकुत्स्थ सगरात्मजाः ॥
In extremely anger, he uttered the sound, "Hoom". That was sufficient to reduce all the sons of Sagara in an instant to ashes. This is the story, O Rama!
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॥ श्रीरामजयम् ॥
