O best of kings, listen to this tale of longing and sacrifice. It is said that for a man without a son, there is no access to the higher worlds; but when a son is born, and the father bathes in joy, he attains that exalted realm. Such is the merit of having a son that it equals the fruit of performing ten Aśvamedha sacrifices. Through a son, one achieves self-fulfillment, and the son becomes the highest banner of the family. Just as the gods became immortal by drinking nectar, so too do Brahmins and others gain immortality through their sons. A son alone frees his father and grandfathers from the three ancient debts. What, indeed, is the root, what is the water, what are beards, what is austerity? Without a son, O king, even heaven and liberation are remembered as attainable only through a son. The son is the highest world, the very embodiment of dharma, desire, and wealth; he is liberation, the supreme light, and the deliverer of all embodied beings. Without a son, O king, heaven and liberation are very difficult to attain; only through a son does one truly accomplish dharma, desire, and wealth. Any charity given, any sacrifice performed, any birth occurring without a son—all these appear fruitless. Therefore, there is nothing in all the three worlds as desirable as a son. Hearing this, the king was filled with wonder and spoke again, saying, “Tell me, by what means might I obtain a son? Where, how, and in what manner? By any method—through effort, mantra, sacrifice, or charity—I must produce a son.” The two wise sages addressed the best of kings, Hariśchandra, who yearned for a son: “Meditate well for a moment, then go to the river Gautamī, O giver of honor. There, the lord of waters, Varuṇa, grants the highest wish of the mind; Varuṇa, renowned among sages as the generous giver, will be pleased and in time grant you a son.” Hearing this, the noble king Hariśchandra did as the sages instructed. He pleased Varuṇa, dwelling on the banks of the Gautamī. Satisfied, Varuṇa spoke to Hariśchandra, “I will give you a son, O king, an ornament of the three worlds; if you offer him in sacrifice, your son will surely be born.” Hariśchandra replied, “I will sacrifice with him as promised.” He then prepared a Varuṇa-offering, gave it to his wife, and in due time, a son was born to them. When the son was born, the lord of waters, best among speakers, addressed the king, “Today itself the son must be sacrificed; do you remember the promise you made?” Hariśchandra answered Varuṇa in proper order, “When the animal becomes ten days old and pure, then I will sacrifice with him.” Varuṇa accepted the king’s words and returned to his abode. When ten days had passed, Varuṇa came again and said, “Sacrifice now.” But the king replied, “The animal is toothless and unfit; when the animal’s teeth have come in, then come, O lord of waters.” Varuṇa departed once more, and when the teeth had come in at seven years, he returned and said, “Now sacrifice.” The king responded, “These teeth will fall out, O lord of waters.” Varuṇa was told, “They will grow again, and others as well; then I will sacrifice—go now.” Varuṇa departed again; when the new teeth came in, Varuṇa said to the king, “Sacrifice now.” The king replied, “When a Kshatriya becomes the sacrificial animal in a ritual, O lord of waters, and when he knows the science of archery, then he becomes the best of sacrificial victims.” Hearing this, Varuṇa returned to his abode. When Rohita, the king’s son, became skilled in weapons and missiles, learned in all the Vedas and treatises, and reached sixteen years, he was made crown prince. There was great joy as the king and his son were united. Then Varuṇa arrived and said, “Now offer your son in sacrifice.” Hariśchandra, with solemn resolve, addressed the priests before Rohita and Varuṇa, “Come, my son, great hero; I will sacrifice you to Varuṇa.” Rohita, surprised, asked his father, “What is this?” The king explained everything in detail, as Varuṇa listened. Rohita then spoke, “O great king, together with the priests and chief priest, let us quickly and purely sacrifice to Vishnu, lord of the worlds, with an animal; O Varuṇa, you should permit this.” Hearing Rohita’s words, Varuṇa was seized by great anger and afflicted the king with dropsy. Rohita, son of King Hariśchandra, took his divine bow, mounted his chariot, and, free from sorrow, went into the forest. He arrived at the very place where his father had worshipped Varuṇa and obtained a son on the Ganga. Five years passed in this way. In the sixth year, while staying there, the prince heard of his father’s illness. He thought, “What fruit or purpose is there in a son who, having been born, brings suffering to his father?” On the bank of the Ganga, Rohita saw holy sages, the best of seers dwelling there. Among them, he saw Ajigarta, famed as the son of a sage, accompanied by his three sons and wife, all with their means of living exhausted. Seeing him, the king’s son bowed and asked, “Why are you emaciated, with your livelihood diminished, and why do you appear so dejected?