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देवि सुरेश्वरि भगवति गङ्गे त्रिभुवनतारिणि तरलतरङ्गे ।
शङ्करमौलिविहारिणि विमले मम मतिरास्तां तव पदकमले॥
“O Devi Bhagavati Ganga, the Goddess of the Devas, you liberate the Three Worlds with the merciful water form of yours |
O the Stainless pure one who resides in the Head of Shankara, May my devotion remain firmly established on you Lotus Feet.”
Ganga, the divine river of the subcontinent of India, known to the westerners as the Ganges, originates from the mighty Himalayan mountains and flows throughout the North of Bharat. Cutting through the massive icy mountains with enormous force, Ganga reaches Central India and flows in serenity. She is the biggest flowing river of India and is the source of water to millions of Indians and also Bangladeshis. She is worshiped as Goddess Ganga by Hindus since very long.
Taking a dip in the Holy Ganga is believed to get one rid of the sins and help attain Moksha. Also the ashes of one’s beloved is immersed in Ganga to help attain the spirits, Moksha. Although most of the Indians consider Ganga a goddess and worship her, not many know the story of Ganga’s origin. The interesting story of the birth of the Ganga is mentioned in the books of Hindu Mythology.
Lord Vishnu has 10 incarnations referred to as “Dashavathara” in the Hindu Mythology. One of the incarnations of Vishnu was Vamana, a dwarf, which he took to end the atrocities of the demon Bali who acquired enough power to defeat the gods and throw them out of heaven. Lord Vishnu as Vamana appeared before the demon Bali and tricked him into a deal. He said to the demon that he must give him the area he covers in three steps to which he agreed. In his first step, he covered the whole of Earth, in the second step he covered the heavens, where Brahma washed his feet with his water pot which led to the birth of Ganga. In the third step, Vamana pushed the Demon Bali back into the underworld. The water from Brahma’s pot gave birth to Ganga.
Years later Ganga came across Durvasa rishi. Durvasa rishi was known to be an incarnation of Shiva and was renowned for his short temper. When Ganga met Durvasa, his cloth was carried away by the wind. Ganga seeing this cracked up laughing at him, which angered him to a great extent. The furious Durvasa put a curse on Ganga immediately. He cursed Ganga to reincarnate as a river for the humans which helped them purify their body and soul.
Ganga’s Incarnation as a River
Long ago, there lived a king named Sagara who was the ancestor of Rama. King Sagara was a strong leader with immense power. He had two wives, Sumati and Keshini. The King had sixty thousand sons from his first wife Sumati and a son from his other wife Keshini. Once, King Sagara decided to perform Ashwamedha Yaga (sacrificing of horse) which would give him boundless power and supremacy. This scared Indra, the God of Gods.
Lord Indra stole the horse that was going to be sacrificed by King Sagara and hid it by tying it under a tree where the sage Kapila was meditating. Kapila was a descendent of Manu, great grandson of Brahma. King Sagara sent his sixty thousand sons to search the missing horse, who after searching the whole Earth found it in Sage Kapila’s Hermitage. The sons of Sagara thought Sage Kapila stole the horse and thus blamed him for it. Sage Kapila grew fierce by the insult made by Sagara’s sons and burned them into ashes using the fire from his third eye.
When Ansuman, the last son of King Sagara and Queen Keshini heard about the fate of his brothers, he went to Sage Kapila and begged & asked him how to liberate his brothers’ souls. The great sage advised him to meditate in the name of Brahma and please him so he shall release Ganga from his water pot. The Holy water of Ganga would purify their souls he said. Ansuman started meditating trying to please the Lord Brahma but did not succeed. Many of the future generations continued to try to please Brahma but it all went in vain. In King Sagara’s seventh generation, Bhagiratha was born. His concentration and determination were boundless. He worshiped Lord Brahma loyally for many years. Lord Brahma was pleased by the worship of Bhagiratha and agreed to help him. But Bhagiratha had to worship to Lord Shiva to hold the force of Ganga in his hairs, if not she would fill up the whole Earth.
Bhagiratha continued his worship for further more years, only this time he was worshiping Lord Shiva. After a few more years, Lord Shiva was pleased and agreed to hold Ganga in his hair. When Brahma released Ganga, she came down with tremendous force from the heavens. Lord Shiva blocked her with his hair locks not letting a single drop fall on Earth. Lord Shiva eventually captured Ganga fully in his hair till her force came down. After Ganga calmed, Lord Shiva released a small part of Ganga and commanded her to follow Bhagiratha.
When Ganga followed Bhagiratha, she flowed with enormous force creating an immense turbulence which led to a flood which destroyed the hut and the fields of Sage Jahnu. Sage Jahnu was greatly angered by this act of Ganga and drank up and swallowed Ganga completely as a revenge. The gods prayed along with Bhagiratha to the Sage Jahnu. The Sage calmed after a while and thus released Ganga and thus she continued following Bhagiratha. Due to this, Ganga is also known as Jahnavi.
As Ganga followed Bhagiratha, millions of people bathed in the Holy River to purify themselves. Finally Ganga reached the tree of Sage Kapila. The sixty thousand souls of the sons of King Sagara were thus liberated by Ganga and thus Ganga became the Holy River of Bharat.
To this day, the Hindus of India worship Ganga, take Holy dips to purify themselves off their sins. It is believed that the Holy river will dry up at the end of Kali Yuga (era).
