Not far from where the sorrowful king wandered, weighed down by grief, he caught sight of the sacrificial horse roaming freely. This mighty ruler, desiring to perform the sacred water-rite for his royal sons who had perished, searched for water everywhere, but found no reservoir. As he cast his keen gaze around, he beheld Suparṇa, the king of birds—swift as the wind, maternal uncle to his ancestors. Vainateya, the powerful bird, spoke gently to the grieving king: “Do not mourn, tiger among men. This death is accepted by the world. Your mighty sons were burned by the immeasurable Kapila; you should not offer them ordinary water, O wise one. The eldest daughter of Himavat, Gaṅgā, is the one in whom you must perform the water-rite for your ancestors. The purifier of worlds, Gaṅgā, will wash over those who have become heaps of ashes. When the ash is moistened by beloved Gaṅgā, sixty thousand sons will attain the heavenly realm." He continued, "Go forth, O fortunate one, gather the horse, and complete the ancestral sacrifice, O hero." Hearing Suparṇa’s words, the radiant and powerful king quickly took the horse and returned, the great ascetic. He approached the consecrated king and reported all that had happened, including Suparṇa’s counsel. Upon hearing those dreadful words from Aṃśumān, the king completed the sacrifice according to prescribed rites and procedures. Having performed the desired sacrifice, the illustrious king returned to his city. Yet, regarding the descent of Gaṅgā, he found no resolution. Without achieving a solution, the great king, after ruling for thirty thousand years, departed to heaven in due course of time. Now, listen to the next chapter. When King Sagara passed away according to the law of time, the people chose Aṃśumān, supremely righteous, as their king. Aṃśumān, exceedingly great, had a renowned son, the illustrious Dilīpa. Entrusting the kingdom to Dilīpa, Aṃśumān undertook severe austerities on the beautiful peak of the Himalaya. Dwelling in the forest of ascetics for thirty-two thousand years, the king attained heaven, enriched by his austerities. Dilīpa, endowed with great energy, was overcome by grief upon hearing of his ancestors’ destruction, unable to reach a decision. He pondered: How might the descent of Gaṅgā be accomplished? How could the funeral rites with water be performed for them? How might I deliver them? Thus he was absorbed in thought. While Dilīpa constantly pondered this, being self-controlled and devoted to righteousness, a son named Bhagīratha, supremely virtuous, was born to him. Dilīpa performed many sacrifices; for thirty thousand years he ruled the kingdom. Yet, without achieving a resolution regarding their deliverance, the king was overtaken by disease and met his end according to the law of time. By his own merit, the king went to the world of Indra, having anointed his son Bhagīratha as king. Bhagīratha, the royal sage and righteous one, was a great king without offspring, yet desirous of progeny and subjects. Entrusting the kingdom to his ministers, intent on bringing down Gaṅgā, he undertook long austerities at Gokarna. With arms raised, practicing the fivefold austerity, subsisting on monthly food, and having mastered his senses, he stood in terrible penance for a thousand years. When the great-souled king's austerities had passed, the blessed Lord Brahmā, master and ruler of beings, was greatly pleased. “O King Bhagīratha, I am pleased with you. By your well-performed austerity, choose a boon, O steadfast one,” said Brahmā. Standing with joined palms, radiant Bhagīratha addressed the Grandsire of all worlds: “If the Blessed One is pleased with me, if my austerity has borne fruit, may all the sons of Sagara receive water from me. May all those great souls, whose ashes are moistened by the waters of Gaṅgā, attain the highest heaven, along with their ancestors. I ask this for the sake of my lineage, so that our race does not perish; let this supreme boon be granted to me in the line of Ikshvaku, O Lord.” The Grandsire replied with auspicious words: “Great indeed is your desire, O Bhagiratha, mighty chariot-warrior; so let it be. Welfare be upon you, enhancer of the Ikshvaku line. This eldest daughter of the Himalaya, Gaṅgā, is to be sustained, O king; let Hara (Shiva) be appointed there to bear her. The earth cannot endure the descent of Gaṅgā; I see no one but the trident-bearer Shiva fit to sustain her.” Having thus spoken to the king and addressed Gaṅgā, the creator of the worlds departed to heaven with all the gods and hosts of Maruts. Thus concludes the forty-second sarga in the Bālakāṇḍa of the glorious Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa, the first poem. Let the forty-third sarga be heard.