King Sagara, his heart set on upholding righteousness, resolved to utterly subdue the Śakas, Yavanas, Kāmbojas, Pāradas, and Pahlavas. As his mighty power bore down upon them, these peoples, seeking refuge from destruction, fled to the sage Vasiṣṭha and implored his protection. Compassionate and wise, Vasiṣṭha granted their request and intervened, restraining Sagara and assuring the supplicants of their safety. Honoring his revered teacher’s promise, Sagara chose the path of dharma. Instead of annihilating them, he altered the appearance of these groups: he shaved half the heads of the Śakas and sent them away; the Yavanas and Kāmbojas had their heads completely shaven. The Pāradas were commanded to wear their hair loose, while the Pahlavas were required to keep beards. Furthermore, Sagara, in accordance with Vasiṣṭha’s guidance, barred all these peoples from Vedic recitation and ritual utterances. Thus, the Śakas, Yavanas, Kāmbojas, Pāradas, Pahlavas, along with the Kelisparśas, Māhiṣikas, Dārvās, Colas, and Khasas—all these Kṣatriya groups had their traditional dharma set aside by Sagara, following Vasiṣṭha’s counsel. Having thus established order and righteousness, Sagara, victorious and steadfast in dharma, set out to perform the great Aśvamedha sacrifice. He released the sacrificial horse to roam freely across the earth as custom demanded. As the horse wandered, it reached the shores of the eastern and southern oceans and mysteriously vanished into the earth. Determined to recover the horse, Sagara and his sons began to dig through the land. Their efforts led them to the very depths of the great ocean, where they beheld the primordial Lord—Hari, Kṛṣṇa, Prajāpati, Viṣṇu, manifest as the sage Kapila, Haṃsa, Nārāyaṇa, the supreme being. As Sagara’s sons approached the radiance of the Lord, they were consumed by his brilliance and perished, leaving only four survivors. Of these, Barhiketu, Saketu, Śūra, and Pañcavana—three of whom were devoted to dharma—became the progenitors of Sagara’s lineage. Then, the blessed Lord Hari, Nārāyaṇa, bestowed boons upon Sagara: his lineage would never diminish, he would complete one hundred Aśvamedha sacrifices, gain a mighty son, and receive the ocean and eternal residence in heaven. The ocean itself, having seized the horse, paid homage to Sagara and was thereafter honored with the name ‘Sāgara.’ Retrieving the horse from the ocean, Sagara performed the Aśvamedha sacrifice one hundred times, as promised. Yet, the sixty thousand sons who had followed the horse were all burned by the Lord’s radiance, their brilliance merging into Nārāyaṇa. Thus, it is said, sixty thousand sons of Sagara perished in this way. Curious, the sages inquired: “How did King Sagara come to have so many mighty sons? By what means were sixty thousand valiant sons born to him?” In response, the Sūta recounted: Sagara had two wives who were purified by austerity. The elder was Keśinī, daughter of the king of Vidarbha; the younger, Sumati, daughter of Ariṣṭanemi, was famed for her unmatched beauty and virtue. The sage Urva, pleased by their devotion, granted them a boon: one wife would bear a single son, the founder of the lineage, while the other would give birth to sixty thousand sons. Keśinī chose to bear the one illustrious son, the pillar of the dynasty. Sumati, sister of Suparṇa, accepted the nurturing of sixty thousand sons, and King Sagara undertook their care. In due course, Keśinī gave birth to her son Asamañja, the eldest of Sagara’s children and a scion of the Kakutstha line. Sumati, too, bore her children, giving birth to a mass of embryos resembling a jar. These were placed in jars filled with ghee, each tended by a nurse. After nine months, sixty thousand noble sons emerged, bringing great joy to Sagara. When the time came, these sixty thousand sons, following the path of the sacrificial horse, entered the forest. Asamañja, the eldest, was renowned for his might and his adherence to ancient tradition, yet was ultimately expelled by his father. His own son, Aṃśumān, was valorous and righteous. Aṃśumān’s son was Dilīpa, famed for his virtue, and from Dilīpa was born the mighty and heroic Bhagīratha. It was Bhagīratha who, through his great deeds, brought the sacred river Gaṅgā, adorned with celestial vehicles, down to earth; thus, she is known as Bhāgīrathī. This is the verse sung by those who cherish the Purāṇic tradition. Bhagīratha’s son was Śruta, whose son was Nābhāga, ever devoted to righteousness. Nābhāga’s son was Ambarīṣa, from whom descended Sindhudvīpa. It is well known among those learned in ancient lore that Nābhāga and Ambarīṣa protected the earth with strong arms, freeing her from every kind of suffering. Sindhudvīpa’s son was the valorous Ayutāyu, whose son was Ṛtuparṇa, famed for his wisdom. Ṛtuparṇa, friend of King Nala and master of the divine art of dice, is celebrated in the ancient texts alongside the two steadfast Nalas—the son of Vīrasena and the foremost of the Ikṣvāku line. Ṛtuparṇa’s own son became a lord among men, fulfilling all desires. Thus, the lineage of Sagara, sanctified by sacrifice and guided by dharma, flourished on earth, their deeds and virtues sung by those who know the ancient ways.