27 verses
Śukadeva Gosvāmī said: The son of Rohita was Harita, and Harita's son was Campa, who constructed the town of Campāpurī. The son of Campa was Sudeva, and his son was Vijaya.
The son of Vijaya was Bharuka, Bharuka's son was Vṛka, and Vṛka's son was Bāhuka. When the enemies of King Bāhuka took away all his land, he entered the forest with his wife.
Bāhuka died when he was old, and one of his wives wanted to die with him. At that time, however, the sage Aurva, knowing her to be pregnant, forbade her to die.
She was forbidden by the sage who knew her to be pregnant (prajāvantam).
Knowing that she was pregnant, the co-wives of the wife of Bāhuka gave her poison with her food. The famous son was born along with the poison. Therefore he became famous as Sagara, "one who is born with poison". Sagara later became the emperor. His sons dug up the ocean.
They gave her poison with her food (andhasā).
muṇòāñ chmaśru-dharān kāṁścin mukta-keśārdha-muṇòitān anantar-vāsasaḥ kāṁścid abahir-vāsaso 'parān
Sagara Mahārāja did not kill uncivilized men like the Tālajaḍghas, Yavanas, Śakas, Haihayas and Barbaras. Instead, following the order of his guru Aurva, some of them he made dress awkwardly, some of them he shaved clean but allowed to wear mustaches, some of them he left wearing loose hair, some he half-shaved, some he left without underwear, and some he left without external garments.
A series of tribes are listed. By the words of his guru Aurva, they were made to dress in novel ways.
Following the instructions of the sage Aurva, by horse sacrifices Sagara Mahārāja worshipped the Lord who is the supreme controller, the soul of the Vedas and the devatās, and the soul of all beings. But Indra stole the sacrificial horse.
The sons of Sumati, who were very proud of their prowess, following the order of their father Sagara, searched for the lost horse. While doing so, they dug up the earth everywhere.
King Sagara had two wives, Sumati and Keśinī. Six verses describe the prowess and death of Sumatis sons.
hanyatāṁ hanyatāṁ pāpa iti ṣaṣṭi-sahasriṇaḥ udāyudhā abhiyayur unmimeṣa tadā muniḥ
Thereafter, in the northeastern direction, they saw the horse near the hermitage of Kapila. "Here is the man who has stolen the horse," they said. "He is staying there with closed eyes. This sinful man should be killed!" The sixty thousand sons of Sagara, raising their weapons, attacked the sage. The sage opened his eyes.
The sons of Sagara had lost their intelligence because of Indra, and disrespected a great person. Consequently, by fire emanating from their own bodies, they were immediately burned to ashes.
The third material element fire increased in their bodies because of their offense and burned them. Because they thought that Kapila was Indra, they became bewildered.
That the sons were burned by Kapilas anger is not accepted by the wise. How can tamas filled with anger exist in the body of Kapila which is śuddha-sattva and which purifies the universe? It is like saying that earthly dust contaminates the sky.
Those who say that Kapila became angry are ignorant. To say that the sons were burned by the anger of Kapila is not accepted by the wise. It is said by the ignorant, since his body is śuddha-sattva, and thus by seeing, it the world becomes purified. Tamas cannot exist in him. An example is given to show the impossibility. How is it possible for dust to exist in sky? The ignorant say the sky is dirty. Similarly they say Kapila got angry.
In this material world Kapila enunciated the Sāḍkhya philosophy, which is a boat by which persons eager for liberation cross the path of death, ocean of the material world, which is difficult to cross. In such an omniscient person, who is Paramātmā, how can there be any distinction between enemy and friend?
Sāḍkhya philosophy is propagated by him. How can material conceptions exist in Kapila who is omniscient (vipaścitaḥ), a form of Paramātmā.
Another son of Sagara Mahārāja was named Asamañjasa, who was born from the King's second wife, Keśinī. The son of Asamañjasa was known as Aṁśumān, and he worked for the benefit of Sagara Mahārāja, his grandfather.
Another son of King Sagara who was called Asamañjasa was the son of Keśinī.
ācaran garhitaṁ loke jñātīnāṁ karma vipriyam sarayvāṁ krīòato bālān prāsyad udvejayañ janam
Formerly, in his previous birth, Asamañjasa had been a yogī, but by bad association he had fallen from his position. He was able to remember his past birth. Nonetheless, he wanted to display himself as a miscreant, and therefore he would do things that were abominable in the eyes of the public and unfavorable to his relatives. He would afflict the people, and would throw playing boys into the River Sarayū.
In a previous birth he had fallen from yoga. He performed condemned acts in this life to avoid bad association.
Because Asamañjasa engaged in such abominable activities, his father gave up affection for him and had him exiled. Then Asamañjasa exhibited his mystic power by reviving the boys and showing them to the King and their parents. After this, Asamañjasa left Ayodhyā.
O King Parīkṣit! When all the inhabitants of Ayodhyā saw that their boys had come back to life, they were astounded, and King Sagara lamented the absence of his son.
Thereafter, Aṁśumān, ordered by the King to search for the horse, followed the same path dug up by his uncles. He saw the horse near pile of ashes.
Aṁśumān was the son of Asamañjasa. He went on the path dug up by his ancestors. He saw the horse near (anti) the ashes.
The great Aṁśumān, seeing the sage Kapila, Viṣṇu himself, offered respects with folded hands and recited prayers with attention.
Aṁśumān said: Even Lord Brahmā is to this very day unable to see you , who are superior to the jīva, and cannot know you by meditation or by logic. So what to speak of others like us, who have been created by Brahmās mind, body and intelligence, and who are ignorant.
It is not surprising that the offending sons of Sagara were burned, because they did not know who you were. Even Brahmā (ajanaḥ) does not see you, who are superior to the jīva (ātmanaḥ) cannot see you or know you. How can we, who are more inexperienced, who are created as devatās and others, by Brahmās mind, body and intelligence, and are ignorant (aprakāśāḥ), know you?
Persons with material bodies, dominated by the three guṇas, see only objects of the gunās in waking and dream states, and see only tamas in deep sleep. Their minds bewildered by your māyā, with knowledge only of external objects, they do not know you, situated in yourself.
Those with material bodies, dominated by the three guṇas, see only objects of waking and dream states, or in deep sleep the see only tamas. They see nothing beyond the guṇas. Knowing only the external world they do not know you who are situated in yourself (sva-saṁstham).
How can I, so bewildered, think of you, who are concentrated knowledge, who are realized naturally by sages like Sananda who have destroyed illusion and the conception of difference caused by the guṇas of māyā?
Naturally not by sādhana the sages have destroyed illusion and difference arising from the guṇas of māyā.
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I offer respects to you, the ancient person, who have forms which teach knowledge, who are free of cause and effect, who are devoid of material form, qualities and actions, and who are devoid of material names.
You are free of forms actions and qualities related to māyā (praśānta-māyā-guṇa-karma-liḍgam). You are thus devoid of names related to māyā (anāma-rūpam).
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Those whose hearts are bewildered by the influence of lust, greed, envy and illusion wander about in their houses in this world made by your māyā, thinking that it is the only reality.
O soul of all living entities! O Lord! Simply by seeing you, the strong ropes of illusion, which are the shelter of lust, actions and the senses, have been cut.
Āśayaḥ means shelter.
Śukadeva Gosvāmī said: O King! The great sage Kapila, the powerful incarnation of Viṣṇu, whose was thus glorified, being very merciful to Aṁśumān, spoke to him with intelligence.
The Lord said: O son! Take this sacrificial horse belonging to your grandfather! Your ancestors, who have been burnt to ashes, can be delivered only by Ganges water, and not by any other means.
There is no other means of deliverance for them.
Aṁśumān circumambulated Kapila and pleased him by bowing his head. Aṁśumān brought back the horse, and with this horse Mahārāja Sagara performed the rest of the sacrifice.
After delivering charge of his kingdom to Aṁśumān, Sagara Maharaja, freed from all material desires and bondage, following the means instructed by Aurva, achieved the supreme destination.
Thus ends the commentary on the Eighth Chapter of the Ninth Canto of the Bhāgavatam for the pleasure of the devotees, in accordance with the previous ācāryas.
The Eighth Chapter tells the story of King Sagara, how his sons were destroyed by committing offense to Kapila and how Amśumān pleased him and brought the sacrifice horse back to the city. The city of Campā-purī was built by Harita. From him Sudeva was born.