In very ancient times there was a king named Ashwasen in northern India. His capital city was Hastinapur. He had a beautiful queen named Sahadevi. When she got pregnant, she saw 14 dreams that occur to the mothers of Tirthankaras and sovereign emperors. In due course she gave birth to a very handsome lovable son who was named Sanatkumar. Every one liked the boy who turned out to be very bold, brave and intelligent. At school, he quickly mastered all the arts and sciences. He also became expert in use of all types of weapons. Ashwasen was very glad to learn about the accomplishments of his son and the people were pleased and felt happy that they had such a bold, handsome and lovable young prince to succeed the king. 

Once in spring season, the prince was happily playing with other princes along with his bosom friend Mahendrasingh. They decided to have a horse ride. Sanat chose to ride a horse that was newly presented to him. As soon as he got on the back, the horse started running. He ran so fast that all other princes and companions were left behind and in no time the horse disappeared from the scene. The king got very much worried by the mysterious disappearance of the prince. Anxious to get him back, he went in search but after going a little distance he lost all the foot prints of the horse on account of gusty wind and terrible storm and lost the track. Thereupon he entrusted the search to Sanat‟s friend Mahendra and returned to Hastinapur. 

Mahendra started the search with a band of selected followers. After going to various places they entered a dense forest that was infested by wild animals and poisonous snakes. Even pythons were moving here and there. On account of the risk involved, his companions left him one after another. Mahendra had however decided not to return without the prince. He therefore proceeded alone undaunted by the adversities. For one full year he travelled far and wide but did not get any trace of the prince. During the next spring he came across a lovely area full of water springs, fanciful localities and greeneries. There in a garden he saw some lovely maidens singing sweet music. And to his surprise he noticed that his dear friend was playing there with those heavenly girls. 

Sanat also saw Mahendra. He immediately approached and embraced his friend. Then he asked one of the girls to take him to bath. Mahendra got refreshed and after taking the meal he came to Sanat who was talking to his favorite girl Bakula. Mahendra requested him to narrate what had happened after the elopement of the horse. Sanat said, " I tried hard to stop the horse, but with every effort of mine, he was increasing his speed. At last I gave up and allowed him to take me wherever he liked. At last the horse stopped in this lovely land near that lake on your right. Since Bakula knows what happened after that, let her narrate the rest of it." Thereupon Bakula stated as under. 

"One day I was playing in our favorite lake water along with my sisters and other friends. No male is supposed to come over there. All of a sudden I saw a horse with your friend on the back. The loveliness of your friend enamored all of us. As soon as he got down, some devil appeared there, no one knows from where, and attacked him. The devil used all possible means to kill him, but Sanat was a match for him and knocked down the devil who had to run away. Highly impressed by Sanat‟s strength, we wished to play with him. So we forcibly dragged him into water. After playing with him for a long time, we took him to the city and introduced him to our father Bhanuveg, the king of this heavenly place. He was very pleased to see your friend and decided to make him son in law. Thus we eight sisters got married to him. 

Once Sanat alone had been far away. He happened to see a seven storied beautiful building. As he was marveling at the structure, he heard cries of a girl from the top floor. He went inside and saw that a beautiful girl was lying there crying for help. Sanat consoled her and inquired about her problem. The girl said that she was Sunanda, the princess of Vinita. She was engaged to the prince of Hastinapur. She was however abducted by a heavenly being named Vajraveg who wanted to marry her. Sanat gave his identification and assured that he would save her from the clutches of Vajraveg. While they were talking, Vajraveg came there and seeing Sanat he attacked him with all his might. Sanat however successfully faced him and killed Vajraveg. Then he married Sunanda. 

Vajraveg‟s father Ashaniveg got mad at Sanat for killing his son. He came here with a large army. My father and his colleagues came to help Sanat. There was fierce battle in which Ashaniveg got killed and his entire fortune was gained by Sanat. Ashaniveg‟s daughter also married Sanat. That way he married many girls and gained lot of wealth. Since then he has been happily passing the time enjoying every pleasure of life.‟" 

After staying there and enjoying heavenly hospitality, Mahendra once said to Sanat that his parents were very much worrying on account of his sudden disappearance. He should therefore better go home. Sanat too felt it worthwhile and proceeded to Hastinapur along with his wives and large band of followers. After a few days he reached Hastinapur. Ashwasen was very pleased to see his son once again. As he heard everything about Sanat‟s accomplishments, he decided that it was the time for him to retire. Accordingly he coronated Sanat as the king of Hastinapur and renouncing the worldly affairs he became a monk. 

Sanat ruled very well. All the people were pleased with his administration. He appointed Mahendra as the commander in chief and set upon an expedition. He gained victory everywhere. Very soon he conquered all the territories and became the undisputed emperor or Chakravarti of the entire land. He was particularly known every where for his unparalleled handsomeness. Even the heavenly beings were aware of his extraordinary attractiveness. Once Indra, the king of heaven praised the handsomeness of Sanatkumar in his assembly. Two members named Vijay and Vaijavant got skeptical of the praise. They therefore decided to verify it. 

Disguised as Brahmins they came to Hastinapur and asked for permission to see the king. At that time Sanat was getting ready for taking his bath. He was however courteous enough to allow them inside. Coming in, they saw that Sanat was actually more handsome than it was mentioned in the heavenly assembly. They therefore moved their heads in approval of the praise. As the king asked the purpose of that gesture, they said that they had heard about his handsomeness. They had been there to verify it and found him more attractive than they had thought. Sanatkumar was proud of his attractiveness. He got highly flattered by those words. He said that he was still not properly dressed or adorned. With an air of vanity he suggested that if they really wanted to see his magnificent attractiveness, they should better come to the court when he sits on the throne properly dressed and adorned. 

After getting ready the king came to the court with all the pomp and decoration and sat on the majestic throne. There was precious diamond studded crown on his head. Splendid canopy was hanging over his head and lovely girls were waving fans. He invited those Brahmins to come inside and to look at him. He no doubt looked immensely attractive; but his inner self was poisoned on account of his vanity about his splendor and handsomeness. Those people could make out the difference and moved their heads in disapproval. The king asked about the reason for that gesture. Then they disclosed their identity and said that his attractiveness was highly poisoned that time. The king was not inclined to believe that. 

At their suggestion he therefore spat in a corner. A fly came over it and immediately died. This was an eye opener for him. He realized that all the wealth and splendors are short lived and unreliable. He therefore decided to give up every thing. Soon after he placed his son on the throne and became a possessionless monk. As monk he observed severe austerities and did not take care of the body Due to the unhygeinic environments he got leprosy, but he did not care for that. He had gained miraculous accomplishments by his spiritual pursuit but did not use any of them for curing the disease. Even Indra praised his sense of total detachment for the body. Once again Vijay and Vaijavant got skeptical. They came to Sanat in the guise of doctors and suggested that they could cure him by their expertise. Sanat replied that diseases are of two kinds, internal and external. He did not care for the external or physical one but was concerned about the internal disease of Karma that afflicted him since time immemorial. His sole concern was to get rid of that. If they could cure that disease, he was willing to undergo their treatment. Since they showed their helplessness in the matter, Sanat applied saliva on his diseased finger by putting it in the mouth and showed it to them. To their surprise the finger was cured of the disease. Thereupon they disclosed their identity and heartily praised Sanat for his true detachment. 

Sanatkumar spent many years practicing austerity and penance. When the end was close, he adopted Anashan (Staying steadfast in the same position without taking food or drink). In the end he attained heaven.