According to
regional legend,
Kardama made a pact with
Vishnu, in which he agreed to undergo the rigours of marital life, on the condition that the deity would incarnate as his son. As agreed,
Kapila was born to him as an incarnation of Vishnu, and became a great saint. Kapila's
ashram is believed to have been located in this village. One day,
King Sagara's sacrificial horse, which was necessary for the performance of his
ashvamedha yajna ceremony, disappeared; it had been stolen by
Indra. The king sent his 60,000 sons to find the horse, and they found it next to Kapila's ashram, where Indra had hidden it. Mistaking Kapila for the thief, the sons accused the sage of the theft, who in his wrath at the false accusation burned the sons to ash and sent their souls to
hell. Later, having compassion for the king's sons, Kapila acceded to the prayers of Sagara's descendants, agreeing to the restoration of the sons, if the goddess
Ganga would descend upon the earth to perform the
tarpana ritual of mixing the ashes with holy water (
niravapanjali) for the sons of Sagara. Through the performance of
penance, King
Bhagiratha induced
Shiva to order Ganga down from
heaven and the 60,000 sons were freed (
moksha) and ascended to heaven, but the river Ganges stayed on earth. The date of the descent of Ganga is regarded to be the 15th day of January of the
Gregorian Calendar, which coincides with the observance of
Makara Sankranti. On this occasion, the sun god,
Surya, is believed to enter the Makara Constellation (
Uttarayana of the
Hindu calendar). ==Geography==