There was once a sage, a great sage, by the name of Saubhari. He's mentioned in the Rig Veda where there is a Saubhari Sutra. There's also a Saubhari Sanhita, which is a separate text. So he was no ordinary sage.
So we have heard about Kaliya, the serpent who was chased out of the Yamuna by Shri Krishna Himself. So one day Garuda came to devour Kaliya and Saubhari used to submerge himself in the Yamuna and meditate underwater.
So Saubhari said to Garuda, “Kaliya is under my protection. He is under my protection, so do not dare to come near him!”
So we can imagine the power that Saubhari had. One day he saw two fish mating and a desire for a female came in his mind. So he abandoned his spiritual practice and came out of the water, came out of his meditation, and wondered how he could fulfill his desire. The king of Ayodhya at that time was Mandhata. He was a very illustrious and noble ruler. And he had 50 daughters, five zero, each one more beautiful, more talented and more virtuous than the other. Saubhari decided to go to the king and ask for the hand of one of the princesses.
Now the king wondered, “A thousand-year-old man wants to get married?!” Mandhata wondered about the sanity of the sage. And the king knew Saubhari to have great power. He knew that he had great power and that he was even feared by the heavenly gods. So the king thought that if he says no, then he will put a curse on him. And if he says yes, then one of his 50 daughter’s life will be ruined. So he was in a dilemma.
So the king said to him, “O sage! O holy one! I have no objection to your request. Please come on in and have a seat. I will have my 50 daughters come and whosoever will choose you shall become yours.”
The king was confident that none of his daughters would choose the old man because he was a thousand years old. He thought that none of his daughters would choose him and in that way he would be saved from the curse. But Saubhari knew all about his trick. So he told the king that he would return the next day. And then when he came, he had turned himself into a beautiful, young, handsome young man. So consequently all of his daughters chose Saubhari as their husband; each and every daughter chose him as her husband. And now the king was worried that the 50 girls were going to get into a fight because they're going to have to share this one husband.
So Saubhari knowing what the king was thinking, immediately put his apprehension at rest and he created 50 bodies. He assumed 50 bodies and created 50 palaces and lived with each wife separately. Each wife bore him 10 children who in turn had 10 children and then he had great-grandchildren. And in this way he lived for thousands of years.
Well one day he came to his senses and he said, “Oh humans, look at how degraded I have gotten! How degraded I have become! Those of you who are thinking of attaining material happiness through material acquisitions, well, please be careful! Look at where I was and where I am now!”
