According to Vedic scriptures, in the past age, in Satya Yuga lived a king named Sagara, king of Oudh, the 13th ancestor of Lord Ramachandra. He performed a holy Yajna, the Ashwamedha yajna or horse-sacrifice 99times. This ceremony consisted of sending a horse (the symbol of his power) around the world challenging to all the earth to arrest its progress. If the horse returned unopposed, it was understood to be an acceptance of the supremacy of the king. When king Sagara made preparations for the 100th sacrifice, Indra, the king of Heaven, who had himself performed the ceremony a 100 times, jealous of being displaced by this new rival, stole the horse and concealed it in a subterranean cell, where the sage Kapila (incarnation of Lord Vishnu) or Kapil Muni, was absorbed in meditation, oblivious to all happenings of the external world.
Sagara’s 60,000 sons traveled far and wide to find the stolen horse. At last, they found it near the ashram of the great sage. Believing the sage to be the thief of the theft, assaulted him. The muni, upon being aroused, opened his eyes, understood the situation and cursed his assailants, who were immediately burnt to ashes and sentenced to hell. On hearing this, King Sagara went to the sage and begged for his mercy. The sage, at first turned a deaf ear to his plea, but later told that the princes would gain enlightenment if their ashes were washed by the holy waters of the heavenly river Ganges.
For two generations, attempts were made to bring the Ganges down to the earth from the celestial regions but all efforts proved futile. A prince of this dynasty, Bhagiratha, pleased the gods, and with the help of Lord Shiva, brought Ganga down to earth. His forefathers’ sins were washed away and the people had the opportunity to wash away their sins as well.
From then on, Gangasagar, near the ashram of the sage Kapila, has been holy pilgrimage water at the junction of the river and the sea is auspicious, especially during Maker Sankranti and makes the soul pure and free from all earthly sins.
As per Vedic scriptures, Lord Balarama the eternal brother of Lord Krishna also visited Ganga Sagar. In Gaura Lila Lord Nityananda also visited this place. As per the Srimad Bhagavatam, Lord Kapila still residing hear.
