Good morning.
Yesterday was Ganga Jayanti.
Ganga Jayanti
There is perhaps no other river in the world that is worshipped and honoured as much as the river Ganga. As a goddess, Ganga is known by many other names— Mandakini, Bhagirathi, Jahnvi and Vishnupadi.
The story goes that a king named Sagara had sixty thousand sons and decided to perform the ashvamedha yajna, a ritual for his kingdom. The horse meant to be used in the ritual was stolen by Indra.
The king then sent all his sons to search for the horse, which they managed to locate in the underworld next to the meditating sage, Kapila. Believing that the sage had stolen the horse, they hurled abuse at him and caused his penance (tapasya) to be disturbed. Opening his eyes for the first time in several years, the sage’s gaze instantly burned all the sons of the king to ashes.
Since their last rites had not been performed, it is said that the souls of the sons wandered on earth. In order to liberate them, one of the descendants of Sagara, Bhagiratha who belonged to the Ikshvaku clan prayed to Brahma to bring Ganga down to Earth so that her waters could cleanse the souls of his ancestors and release them to heaven.
Brahma however told Bhagiratha that the flow of Ganga while descending to earth would be so strong that the earth would be destroyed. It was then that Lord Shiva was approached to break Ganga’s descent to earth.
Ganga arrogantly thought that she would fall on Shiva head and drag them both to the underworld. But Shiva trapped her in the locks of his hair and let her out in small streams. The stream that remained on Earth helps purify souls there. This is how Bhagiratha’s ancestors were liberated and Ganga came to flow on earth and is also known by the name Bhagirathi.
Even now, Ganga is worshipped on earth and it is believed that bathing in the river causes a person’s sins to be forgiven and hastens the attainment of moksha (liberation from the cycle of life and death).
Yesterday was Ganga Jayanti.
Ganga Jayanti
There is perhaps no other river in the world that is worshipped and honoured as much as the river Ganga. As a goddess, Ganga is known by many other names— Mandakini, Bhagirathi, Jahnvi and Vishnupadi.
The story goes that a king named Sagara had sixty thousand sons and decided to perform the ashvamedha yajna, a ritual for his kingdom. The horse meant to be used in the ritual was stolen by Indra.
The king then sent all his sons to search for the horse, which they managed to locate in the underworld next to the meditating sage, Kapila. Believing that the sage had stolen the horse, they hurled abuse at him and caused his penance (tapasya) to be disturbed. Opening his eyes for the first time in several years, the sage’s gaze instantly burned all the sons of the king to ashes.
Since their last rites had not been performed, it is said that the souls of the sons wandered on earth. In order to liberate them, one of the descendants of Sagara, Bhagiratha who belonged to the Ikshvaku clan prayed to Brahma to bring Ganga down to Earth so that her waters could cleanse the souls of his ancestors and release them to heaven.
Brahma however told Bhagiratha that the flow of Ganga while descending to earth would be so strong that the earth would be destroyed. It was then that Lord Shiva was approached to break Ganga’s descent to earth.
Ganga arrogantly thought that she would fall on Shiva head and drag them both to the underworld. But Shiva trapped her in the locks of his hair and let her out in small streams. The stream that remained on Earth helps purify souls there. This is how Bhagiratha’s ancestors were liberated and Ganga came to flow on earth and is also known by the name Bhagirathi.
Even now, Ganga is worshipped on earth and it is believed that bathing in the river causes a person’s sins to be forgiven and hastens the attainment of moksha (liberation from the cycle of life and death).
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