O wise one, listen to the story of King Sagara, whose birth and deeds were extraordinary and whose actions shaped the destiny of many peoples. How was Sagara born together with poison, and why did he expel the mighty Śakas and other Kṣatriyas from their ancestral customs? Let me recount this tale in detail. Long ago, King Bāhu, addicted to vice, lost his kingdom to the Haihayas, Tālaṅghas, and Śakas. Alongside them, the Yavanas, Pāradas, Kāmbojas, and Pahlavas—five formidable groups—joined forces to overthrow him. Bereft of his realm, Bāhu retreated to the forest in sorrow, accompanied by his devoted wife, who was pregnant at the time. Unknown to many, a jealous co-wife had given her poison, hoping to harm the unborn child. In the forest, Bāhu’s wife prepared his funeral pyre and, overcome with grief, was about to ascend it. But the sage Aurva, moved by compassion, intervened and restrained her. In Aurva’s hermitage, her son was born—together with the poison within her—yet unharmed and radiant, a mighty prince named Sagara. Aurva performed all the sacred birth rites for Sagara, instructed him in the Vedas and scriptures, and bestowed upon him a fiery weapon, so powerful that even the immortals could not withstand it. Armed with this weapon and his own strength, Sagara set out to reclaim his heritage. In his wrath, Sagara destroyed the Haihayas utterly, earning renown as the foremost among the famous. He then resolved to annihilate the Śakas, Yavanas, Kāmbojas, Pāradas, and Pahnava people. As Sagara’s fury descended upon them, these peoples fled to the wise sage Vasiṣṭha, seeking refuge and protection. Vasiṣṭha, discerning the proper time and radiant in wisdom, granted them safety and restrained Sagara from destroying them. Obedient to his teacher, Sagara did not slay them but changed their appearances and customs. He shaved half the heads of the Śakas and released them; he shaved the entire heads of the Yavanas and Kāmbojas. The Pāradas were made to wear their hair loose, while the Pahnava people were required to keep beards. All were deprived of Vedic study and ritual by Sagara’s decree. Śakas, Yavanas, Kāmbojas, Pāradas, Koṇisarpas, Māhiṣakas, Darvas, Colas, and Sakeralas—all these were Kṣatriyas, but their dharma was taken away by Sagara at Vasiṣṭha’s command. Victorious in righteousness, Sagara conquered the earth and prepared for the Aśvamedha sacrifice, consecrating himself and setting the sacrificial horse to roam. As the horse wandered, it was seized near the southern shore of the eastern ocean and vanished into the earth. Sagara, with his sons, began to dig the land, uncovering the great ocean. There, they encountered the primeval Lord Hari, Kṛṣṇa, Viṣṇu in the form of Kapila, lying in deep sleep. When the Lord awoke, his gaze blazed forth, burning all the great sages except for four who remained: Barhiketu, Suketu, the righteous king Dharmaratha, and the valiant Pañcanada. These kings became the progenitors of Sagara’s line. The blessed Lord Hari Nārāyaṇa granted Sagara an unfailing boon: an unbroken lineage for Ikṣvāku and undiminishing fame. The Lord also gave him a son, the ocean, and everlasting residence in heaven. The ocean, taking the offering, honored Sagara, who thus earned the name Sāgara. He recovered the horse for the Aśvamedha from the ocean and, through great austerity, performed a hundred horse sacrifices. It is said that Sagara had sixty thousand sons. How were these mighty and heroic sons born? Sagara had two wives, both purified by austerity. The elder was Keśinī, daughter of the king of Vidarbha; the younger, supremely virtuous and unmatched in beauty, was the daughter of Ariṣṭanemi. The sage Aurva granted them a boon: one wife could have sixty thousand sons, while the other could choose a single son to continue the lineage. Keśinī chose to have one son, and from her was born the illustrious king Pañcajana. The other wife gave birth to a gourd filled with seeds, within which were sixty thousand embryos, each the size of a sesame seed. In due time, the embryos developed, and they were placed in jars filled with ghee. Nurses were appointed for each embryo, and after ten months, all emerged in order. These sons, born from the middle of the gourd, increased Sagara’s joy. Endowed with the energy of Nārāyaṇa, they grew into mighty heroes, sixty thousand in number, and thus the great king Sagara’s lineage flourished and became renowned throughout the earth.