After Viśvāmitra had finished his previous tale, he turned to Rāma and began to speak again, his words gentle and pleasing. “O Rāma, listen as I recount another story. Long ago, there was a righteous king of Ayodhyā named Sagara. Though he ruled justly, he was troubled by the sorrow of having no children. Sagara had two queens. The elder was Keśinī, daughter of the king of Vidarbha, known for her virtue and truthfulness. The younger was Sumati, the sister of Suparṇa and daughter of Ariṣṭanemi. Eager for offspring, Sagara journeyed with both his wives to the sacred peak of Bhṛguprasravaṇa on Mount Himavat, where together they undertook severe austerities. Their devotion was unwavering, and after a hundred years, the great sage Bhṛgu, renowned for his truthfulness, was moved by their penance and appeared before them. Pleased, he granted Sagara a boon: ‘O sinless one, you shall be blessed with illustrious children, and your fame will become incomparable throughout the world. One of your wives will bear you a single son who will continue your line, and the other will give birth to sixty thousand sons.’ Hearing the sage’s promise, the two queens, hands joined in reverence and hearts filled with delight, humbly asked, ‘O Brāhmaṇa, which of us shall have the single son, and which the many? Please tell us, so that your words may come true.’ The sage Bhṛgu replied kindly, ‘Let it be as each of you desires. If one wishes for a single son to continue the line, so be it; if the other desires many mighty and renowned sons, so be that too.’ At these words, Keśinī chose to bear a single son who would continue the royal lineage, while Sumati, sister of Suparṇa, wished for sixty thousand energetic and famous sons. Having received the sage’s blessings, the king and his wives respectfully circumambulated Bhṛgu, bowed their heads, and returned to Ayodhyā. In time, Keśinī gave birth to a son named Asamañja, Sagara’s firstborn. Sumati, however, brought forth a gourd-like womb, which, when split open, revealed sixty thousand sons. These infants were nurtured by nurses in jars filled with ghee, and as the years passed, they grew into handsome and vigorous young men. Thus, Sagara was blessed with sixty thousand sons, all radiant in youth and beauty. Yet his eldest, Asamañja, displayed a cruel nature. He would seize the children of the city and throw them into the Sarayu river, laughing as they struggled in the water, causing grief and fear among the people. Distressed by his son’s wickedness, Sagara banished Asamañja from the city. Asamañja’s own son, Aṃśumān, however, grew to be a man of great strength and virtue, beloved by all for his gentle speech and wisdom. At length, Sagara resolved to perform a grand Vedic sacrifice. With his teachers and priests, he made all the necessary preparations for the sacred rite. At this point, Viśvāmitra paused, and Rāma, delighted and eager, addressed the sage: “O Brāhmaṇa, I wish to hear in detail how my ancestor Sagara completed his sacrifice. Please tell me the story.” Viśvāmitra smiled warmly at Rāma and replied, “Listen closely, O Rāma, to the tale of the great-souled Sagara. His father-in-law was none other than the illustrious Himavat. The sacrifice was to take place between Mount Himavat and Mount Vindhya, a region revered for such sacred rites. There, Aṃśumān, the skilled archer and Sagara’s grandson, was entrusted with tending the sacrificial horse, as was customary. But as the sacrifice proceeded, Indra, king of the gods, assumed the form of a demoness and stole the horse, carrying it away. The priests, seeing the horse missing, hurried to Sagara and said, ‘O King, your sacrificial horse is being led away! If the horse is not recovered and the thief punished, the sacrifice will be flawed, bringing misfortune upon us all. Act quickly to preserve the sanctity of the rite.’ Sagara, hearing their urgent words, summoned his sixty thousand sons. ‘My sons,’ he said, ‘I am bound to this great sacrifice, purified by mantras and attended by noble priests. Only you can pursue the thief. Search the entire earth, encircled by the ocean. Each of you must cover a stretch of one yojana in breadth. Dig the earth wherever the horse’s tracks lead, and do not rest until you have found the thief and brought back the horse, as I command.’ So, Sagara’s sons set forth, determined to fulfill their father’s command and ensure the completion of the great sacrifice.