Ganga: The Eternal Saga
The land was barren, filled with the ashes of the Yore
For their souls’ salvation, the goddess was to be lured
Bhagirath atoned for many years for his ancestors
To save the land where their unsated souls wandered
Bearing scars on his chest, Bhagirath penanced for ages
Sagar’s arrogant sons’ *sins were beyond repair by*Sages
The holy river, Swarg Ganga, was needed for*their Moksha
To call her to fall on the earth, Bhagirath started Tapasya
Vishnupadi mellowed down and flowed towards the earth
But, the land was unable to buttress her vigour and mirth
Bearing her divine wrath was not easy for the mortals
Bhagirathi’s candescent *current needed to be curtailed
Jahnavi‘s enormous flow was *catastrophic for the soil
Mahakal, the death god, could handle that turmoil
Shiva adorned her on his head amidst his unkempt tresses
An egalitarian was Shiva,* so Ganga* was respected
Devlok had patriarchs, where women weren’t well*treated
Lakshmi kept on sitting beneath her husband, Lotus feet-ed
Lord Shiva enthroned his wife, Parwati, on his lap
He honoured Feminine Ardour, bestowed Ganga on top
Flowing from Shiva’s hair, Ganga became Alaknanda
Her journey then began from the Himalayas to Vindhya
Sagar’s sixty thousand sons got Moksha, long-awaited
Bhoo Ganga purged all their sins, remained pure, untainted
Gomukhi then sprang up and moved towards the plains
Mandakini‘s incessant flow made mountaintops shed *rains
She swelled, enriched the land but sometimes turned gigantic
Dhauliganga debouched then onto the tables, Gangetic
Mahanadi had many sisters who quenched the mortals’ thirst
Tamsa, Gomati, Ghaghra, though Yamuna was the first
From Bhagirath to Bharat, the Ikshwaku clan emerged
In Bharatvarsh, sins atone in Ganga and submerge
Drifting slowly towards the basins Ganga became *tired
Purging of sins and malice didn’t let her stay empowered
Blue sapphire water turned greyish and then green
Washing off humans’ sins * made Ganga lose her sheen
Padma to Meghna, she transposed to Patal Ganga
Spurting from the *heavens, she held God’s body,*Devanga
Denounced towards*her mouth, the estuaries of the Sea
Bhagvati, the divine female, shed burdens and turned free.
Epilogue and Glossary:
1. Swarg Ganga, Bhoo Ganga, and Patal Ganga:…are the mythical stages of the holy river Ganga coming from the heavens to the earth and going to the underworld after atoning the sins of the mortals.
2. Mandakini, Bhagirathi, Alaknanda, Gomukhi, Jahnavi, Dhauliganga, Vishnupadi, Mahanadi, Devanga, Bhagwati.…All are the various names of the holy river, Ganga during her journey from the Himalayas to the Arabian Sea.
3. Tamasa, Gomati, Ghaghara, Gandak, Ramganga, Garra, Burhi Gandak, Koshi, Mahananda, Yamuna, Karamnasa, Sone, Punpun, Falgu, Kiul, Padma and Meghna..etc.. are the tributaries of Ganga.
4. King Sagar: The Sooryavanshi king of Ayodhya from the Ikshwaku clan and the ancestor of lord Rama. He was believed to have 60,000 sons and a daughter. His sons misbehaved with Sage Kapila and were incinerated to ashes by his wrath.
5. King Bhagirath was Sagar’s great-grandson and Lord Rama‘s ancestor. He worshipped Lord Shiva and meditated for the atonement of his forefathers, the 60 thousand sons of King Sagar. Bhagirath evoked goddess Ganga to descend on the Earth and drench the ashes of his ancestors for the salvation of their souls. Thereby, Ganga is considered his daughter and called Bhagirathi.
6. King Bharat: The Chandravanshi King, the son of Dushyant and Shakutala, the great grandfather of Pandavas and Kauravas, our country was named Bharat (Bharatvarsh) after whom.
7. Jahnavi: Swarg Ganga was born from Lord Brahma‘s thighs (Jahnu) so, called Jahnvi. She was also believed to be born from Lord Vishnu’s Charankamal (Lotus-feet), thereby called Vishnupadi. When Lord Shiva tied her to his tresses (Alak, hair), she became Alaknanda. She is also considered the daughter of Parvatraj Himalaya (Himachal), sister of goddess Parwati, and consort of Lord Shiva. Later, during the Mahabharata era, she married King Shantanu and birthed Devvrat Bheeshm, the grandfather of Pandavas and Kauravas.
The Holy Ganga Originating from the Valleys of Kedarnath…
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Thank you for breaking this down, it’s been incredibly helpful.
I appreciate the effort you put into your content.