English
The Descent of the Ganga: Bhagiratha's Tapas
Source: Valmiki Ramayana, Bala Kanda, sargas 38–44
In Ayodhya ruled Sagara, a mighty king of the Ikshvaku line. He had two queens. From Keshini was born a son named Asamanja, and from Sumati sixty thousand sons.
Once King Sagara performed the Ashvamedha sacrifice. But the sacrificial horse suddenly vanished. The Ramayana tells that Indra, disguised as a rakshasa, had stolen it.
Sagara sent his sixty thousand sons to find the horse. They searched the whole earth, and then, digging through the ground, they reached the underworld.
There they saw the horse grazing, and nearby the sage Kapila sitting in meditation. Without a thought, Sagara's sons took Kapila for the thief and rushed at him with raised weapons.
In anger the sage Kapila uttered the sound “Hum”, and in an instant the sixty thousand sons of Sagara became heaps of ash.
Later Sagara's grandson Anshuman reached the place. He found the horse, and the ashes of his uncles. Garuda told him, “Ordinary water will not free them. Only the water of the heavenly Ganga can grant them liberation.”
Anshuman did tapas all his life, and so did his son Dilipa, but the Ganga did not come. Then Dilipa's son Bhagiratha became king, and he left his kingdom to perform hard austerities at Gokarna. At last Brahma was pleased and said, “The Ganga will come to earth. But who will bear her force? The earth cannot withstand it…”
Brahma said, “Only Lord Shiva can hold the force of the Ganga.” So Bhagiratha worshipped Shiva for a year, standing on the tip of one toe. Shiva was pleased and promised to receive the Ganga on his head.
The Ganga came down from heaven. But there was pride in her heart. She thought, “With my force I will sweep even Shiva away to the underworld.” Shiva knew her pride.
As soon as the Ganga fell upon Shiva's matted hair, she was so entangled in it that for many years she could find no way out. She wandered within the maze of his locks.
Bhagiratha pleased Shiva again with austerity. Then Shiva released the Ganga towards Bindu Sarovar. From there the Ganga flowed in seven streams: three to the east, three to the west, and the seventh followed behind Bhagiratha's chariot.
On the way the Ganga flooded the sacrificial ground of the royal sage Jahnu. Angered, Jahnu drank up all her waters. Then the gods and sages prayed to him, and Jahnu released the Ganga through his ears. That is why the Ganga is called Jahnavi.
Following Bhagiratha, the Ganga reached the ocean, and then descended to the underworld where the ashes of Sagara's sons lay. As soon as her holy water touched the ashes, the sixty thousand sons of Sagara were freed and rose to heaven.
Brahma appeared and said to Bhagiratha, “By your effort the Ganga has come to earth, so she will be called Bhagirathi, your daughter.” Bhagiratha had completed the unfinished work of three generations.
To this day, tireless effort for a difficult task is called a Bhagiratha prayatna, a Bhagiratha effort.
What this story teaches
Even work left unfinished for generations is completed through unshakeable resolve. And pride, even the Ganga's, cannot stand before Shiva.
Ganga Dussehra is celebrated on Jyeshtha Shukla Dashami. It is believed the Ganga descended to earth on this day. Bathing in the Ganga, giving charity and worshipping the Ganga are especially meritorious on this day.
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