Page:Tales from the Indian Epics.djvu/130

124  round of sacrifices until all of them had received due honour and until their spirits had found rest for ever.

And ever since that time the Ganges has flowed sea-wards without any wish to return to her heavenly home. But men to-day in India still call the sea the "Sagar" in memory of the sixty thousand princes who, unable to cross it, dug their way through and through the earth. And because the Ganges was adopted by the Rishi Jahnu as his daughter, she is still sometimes called the Jahnavi River. But she is also known as the Bhagirathi, because it was King Bhagirath who by his prayers brought her down from heaven and led her safely in his chariot until she lost herself in the ocean.

 

Once upon a time there lived a great king in India whose name was Uttanpad. He had two wives, one named Suniti and the other Suruchi. The former had a beautiful nature and the latter a beautiful face. And just like other kings in other parts of the world, King Uttanpad neglected the queen with the beautiful nature to grow every day more in love with the queen with the beautiful face.

Now by Suruchi King Uttanpad had a little boy called Uttam and by Suniti he had a little boy called Dhruv. Uttam was six and Dhruv was five and each of them inherited the qualities of his mother. King Uttanpad loved them both but because of Suruchi's jealousy he dared not fondle Dhruv in her presence. One day the king was telling the two little boys a story and had Dhruv