For twelve long years, the resolute prince upheld a difficult vow, though during that time, the great sage Vasiṣṭha found no meat available for his sustenance. One day, driven by exhaustion, hunger, anger, and delusion, the prince saw a wondrous cow, one that could grant every desire. In his desperate state, he seized the cow. Following the customs of the land, the king killed her, and together with the sons of Viśvāmitra, he ate her flesh. He also caused the others to partake of the same food. When Vasiṣṭha heard of this, anger flared within him. He declared to the prince, “Cruel one, I would surely strike you down with this stake, unless these two stakes of yours are not made again.” Vasiṣṭha enumerated the prince’s threefold transgression: incurring his father’s displeasure, killing the sacred cow, and eating food that had not been properly purified. Upon seeing these three faults, the great ascetic named him “Triśaṅku”—the one with three stakes. Thus, the prince became known as Triśaṅku. Yet, Triśaṅku had also helped the wives of Viśvāmitra, and for this, the pleased sage offered him a boon. When asked to choose, Triśaṅku requested, “May I go to heaven in this very body.” After the twelve-year drought ended and the fear of famine had passed, Triśaṅku was consecrated as king in his father’s kingdom and performed the royal sacrifice. In the presence of the gods and Vasiṣṭha, the great ascetic Kauśika (Viśvāmitra) raised Triśaṅku bodily to heaven. Triśaṅku’s wife was Satyarathā, of the Kaikeyi lineage. She bore him a son, Hariścandra, who was free from sin. Hariścandra became renowned as the son of Triśaṅku, performed the Rājasūya sacrifice, and was famed as a universal sovereign. Hariścandra’s son was Rohita, and from Rohita came Harita. Harita’s son was Cañcu, also called Hārita. Cañcu’s son was Vijaya, a mighty sage who conquered the whole earth and was thus known as Vijaya. Vijaya’s son was Ruruka, a king skilled in righteousness and wealth. Ruruka’s son was Vṛka, and from Vṛka was born Bāhu. In time, the Haihayas and Tālaṅghas expelled King Bāhu from his kingdom. Bāhu’s wife, carrying his child, took refuge in the hermitage of the sage Aurva. King Bāhu was righteous and virtuous, living in an age of righteousness. His son, Sagara, was conceived together with poison. After reaching Aurva’s hermitage, and under the sage’s protection, King Sagara received a fiery weapon from the Bhārgava sage. With this weapon, and his own strength, Sagara conquered the earth, slaying the Tālaṅghas and Haihayas. The righteous Sagara then expelled the Śakas, Pahlavas, Kṣatriyas, and Pāradas from the ways of dharma. How was Sagara born together with poison, and for what reason did he expel the mighty Śakas and other Kṣatriyas? In former times, King Bāhu—addicted to vice—lost his kingdom to the Haihayas, Tālaṅghas, and Śakas. The Yavanas, Pāradas, Kāmbojas, and Pahlavas also fought alongside the Haihayas. Deprived of his kingdom, King Bāhu went to the forest, accompanied by his sorrowful wife, and there he gave up his life. His wife, a Yādava woman, was pregnant and had previously been poisoned by a co-wife. She prepared her husband’s funeral pyre and was about to ascend it when the sage Aurva, moved by compassion, restrained her. In Aurva’s hermitage, she gave birth to a mighty-armed son, Sagara, who was born together with the poison. Aurva performed all the birth rites and ceremonies for Sagara, taught him the Vedas and scriptures, and bestowed upon him the fiery weapon, which was feared even by the gods. With the power of that weapon and his own might, Sagara went forth to battle. In his wrath, Rudra destroyed the Haihayas like wild beasts, and Sagara’s fame spread among the people. Sagara then resolved to utterly destroy the Śakas, Yavanas, Kāmbojas, Pāradas, and Pahnava peoples. As he was slaying them, these peoples sought refuge with the wise Vasiṣṭha and bowed before him. Vasiṣṭha, discerning the right moment, granted them safety and restrained Sagara from killing them. Obedient to his teacher but mindful of his vow, Sagara did not kill them but changed their appearances: he shaved half the heads of the Śakas and released them, shaved the entire heads of the Yavanas and Kāmbojas, made the Pāradas wear their hair loose, and the Pahnava people keep beards. All were deprived of the right to Vedic study and ritual. Thus, Śakas, Yavanas, Kāmbojas, Pāradas, Koṇisarpas, Māhiṣakas, Darvas, Colas, and Sakeralas—all once Kṣatriyas—were stripped of their dharma by the great king Sagara at Vasiṣṭha’s command. Victorious in righteousness, Sagara, having conquered the earth, released the horse for the Aśvamedha sacrifice, having been duly consecrated.