Original Oil on Canvas
Details:
Medium: Oil on Canvas
Size: 16" x 20"
Bhageeratha was the king of Kosala, a kingdom in ancient India. He was a descendent of the great king Sagara of the Suryavamsa or Sun Dynasty. He was one of the forefathers of Lord Rama, of the Ramayana, the epic in which Bhageeratha’s tale is primarily recounted. He lost his father when he was just a child and was raised by his mother. Bhageeratha was very intelligent, virtuous, and kind-hearted. When he came of age, Bhageeratha ascended to the throne of the kingdom of Kosala, today located in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.
When king Sagara chose to perform the Ashwamedha yagna, his royal agents lost track of the sacrificial horse. Sagara ordered his sixty thousand sons by Sumati to track down the horse. The proud and mercurial princes raged across Bharat, burning down forests and uprooting life and property to find the horse. They finally arrived at a quiet spot where the Sage Kapila was sitting in meditation. Besides him was tied the white horse. The enraged princes condemned Kapila as a thief and attacked him. Using his terrible mystic power, Kapila instantly turned the princes into ashes.
The king went to Lord Kapila deva and asked him how he could deliver his ancestor's souls. The sage told him he needed to bring the river Ganges to the earth. Bringing Ganga back to Earth was a near-impossible task and required many years to be spent in tapasya and prayer. In the end, he succeeded.