[paragraph continues] Then Sumati, the younger, gave
Birth to a gourd, O hero brave,
Whose rind, when burst and cleft in two,
Gave sixty thousand babes to view.
All these with care the nurses laid
In jars of oil; and there they stayed,
Till, youthful age and strength complete,
Forth speeding from each dark retreat,
All peers in valour, years, and might,
The sixty thousand came to light." [**]

After a time King Sagara determined to make an Asvamedha, or horse sacrifice, with the object of becoming the reigning Indra, or king of the gods. Preparations for this are accordingly made, and Prince Ansuman, the son of the elder wife, is appointed by the king to follow the horse set apart for the sacrifice; for, according to the ritual, it was to be set free, and allowed to wander for a whole year wherever it would. Indra, knowing the great merit that Sagar would obtain by this sacrifice, and fearing that he might even lose his crown,

"Veiling his form in demon guise,
Came down upon the appointed day,
And drove the victim horse away." [*+]

The officiating priest, being aware of this, cries out--

"Haste, king! now let the thief be slain;
Bring thou the charger back again;
The sacred rite prevented thus
Brings scathe and woe to all of us."

King Sagara, incited by the Brahman, urges his sons to search until they find the stolen horse:

"Brave sons of mine, I know not how
These demons are so mighty now;

[paragraph continues] The priests began the rites so well,
All sanctified with prayer and spell.
If in the depths of earth he hide,
Or lurk beneath the ocean's tide,
Pursue, dear sons, the robber's track;
Slay him and bring the charger back.
The whole of this broad earth explore,
Sea-garlanded from shore to shore;
Yea, dig her up with might and main,
Until you see the horse again." [**]

The sons commence their search. Each digs a league in depth, and by this means they reach the centre of the earth; but cannot see the horse. Alarmed at their destructive work, the gods repair to Brahma, and tell him what is happening. He cheers them with the information that Vishnu, in the form of Kapila, will protect the Earth, his bride, and that these sons of Sagara will be consumed to ashes. The gods, encouraged by these words, repair to their home and patiently wait for deliverance.

After digging sixty thousand leagues into the earth without obtaining any tidings of the horse, the princes return to their father, asking what can be done. Sagara commands them to dig on, and continue their search until the horse is found. At length they