Yet
even on such occasions, the cooks, decked in ear-rings, used to proclaim
(amongst those that sat down to supper): 'There is abundant soup, take as
much as ye wish; but of flesh we have not as much today as on former
occasions.' When he, O Srinjaya, who far surpassed thee in the four
principal attributes and who was purer than thy son, fell a prey to
death, do not grieve for thy son that is dead. We hear, O Srinjaya, that
the high-souled Sagara also fell a prey to death. He was of Ikshvaku's
race, a tiger among men, and of superhuman prowess. Sixty thousand sons
used to walk behind him, like myriads upon myriads of stars waiting upon
the Moon in the cloudless firmament of autumn. His sway extended over the
whole of this earth.[101] He gratified the gods by performing a thousand
Horse-sacrifices. He gave away unto deserving Brahmanas palatial mansions
with columns of gold and (other parts) made entirely of that precious
metal, containing costly beds and bevies of beautiful ladies with eyes
resembling petals of the lotus, and diverse other kinds of valuable
objects. At his command, the Brahmanas divided those gifts among
themselves. Through anger that king caused the earth to be excavated
whereupon she came to have the ocean on her bosom, and for this, the
ocean has come to be called Sagara after his name. When he, O Srinjaya,
who far surpassed thee in the four principal attributes and who was purer
than thy son, fell a prey to death, do not grieve for thy son that is
dead.
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