Chapter 46 - History of Ganga (continued, 10)

King Bhagiratha, after obtaining the necessary boon from Siva, mounted a beautiful golden chariot drawn by four extraordinarily swift horses and took a white conch in his hand. When he approached the Sumeru mountain, the Rishis gave him a hearty welcome and he shone among them like a full moon. Then he asked his charioteer, Kinjalka^[1] by name, to take him to the summits of the mountain, and Kinjalka drove the four horses which were named Nisvana^[2], Pavana^[3], Manasa^[4], and Taraka^[5] respectively.

When he reached the summit, the gods came to meet him, and gazed at his sun-like splendour with admiration. There he began to blow his conch, and the melodious sound thereof reached Lord Vishnu’s foot which began to melt, and the pure nectar-like water of Ganga began to fall, after piercing the Brahmanda^[6], with a roaring noise. It travelled a distance of twenty-seven lakh Yojanas^[7] through Akasa^[8] to reach the upper part of Sumeru. On arriving there, Ganga rested for a space, while Bhagiratha ceased blowing his conch. Then all the gods and goddesses came to meet her, and worshipped her with flowers and sandal-paste, and entertained her with music of diverse sorts.

Then the Dikpala^[9] gods addressed Bhagiratha and said,

“Brave Kshatriya, since you have brought Ganga down to the earth, take her to all the four quarters of the globe, so that all men may reap the benefit of your labours. By doing; so, your fame will spread far and wide, and will be everlasting. Bhagiratha, thereupon bowed down before the goddess, and, with folded hands,, requested her to comply with the wishes of the Dikpalas.”

Ganga said,

“King, if you and Sankara divide yourselves into four parts each, I shall also, so divide myself and proceed to the four quarters.”

Bhagiratha said,

“Mother, I wish with all my heart that I could carry out your orders, but, being an ordinary mortal, it is, unfortunately, utterly beyond my power to do so, and the little penance which I have performed is quite inadequate to help me. On the other hand, your powers are unlimited, and even Sankara himself' can not claim equal powers with you, since every mortal who wishes can become a Sankara through, your grace. Deign, therefore, O merciful goddess,, to devise some other means for the purpose of granting my request.”

Pleased with Bhagiratha’s reply, Ganga divided herself into four separate forms each of which had a couch and a lotus in hand. Three of the forms blew their conches themselves and the water flowed along the directions the sounds took. The current which flowed to the East was known as Sita, that which proceeded to the North, as Bhadra, and that which went to the West as Vankshu. The fourth current, known as Mandakini on the summits of Meru, and as Alaknanda in its downward course, followed Bhagiratha to the South.

Bhagiratha, after proceeding some distance, reached a southern peak of Meru where he saw a dark and dismal cave in front of him. He stopped blowing his conch and sought instructions from Ganga who said that the cave was impassible in its present state, but that if he could go and fetch Indra’s elephant known as Airavata he could make a passage for them through it.

Bhagiratha, accordingly, went to Airavata, and bowing down before him preferred his request to him as directed by Ganga.

Airavata said,

“I agree to help you on this condition only that Ganga stays with me for one night as my bride.”

Bhagiratha answered,

“It shall be, as you say, if you prove yourself capable of resisting her force. Do not think that she cannot force a passage through the small cave herself, but she has directed me to seek your aid simly with the view of conferring honour on your master, Indra.”

“Agreed,” said Airavata, “Let us see whether her force or mine is greater. Come, take me to the place and I shall make the passage for you and her.”

On reaching the spot Airavata entered the cave, and, immediately thereafter, Bhagiratha blew a loud blast on his conch, when, lo! Ganga entered the cave with such tremendous force and uproar as created a terror in the heart of Airavata who rent a passage through the cave towards the southern and thereof, and heat a hasty retreat through it.

Coming out of the cave, Ganga followed Bhagiratha through impassible hills and valleys till the Hemakuta mountain was passed. Her force and rapidity had increased so much by this time, and her waves had become so tumultuous that she began to feel proud, and therefore, doubtful as to whether Sankara would be able to bear the shock of her fall on his head.

Sankara read her thoughts, and, with a view to give her a lesson, spread his thick long tangles of hair on all sides of the Himalayas, and waited quietly to receive her.

In due time Ganga fell on Siva’s head from height of fifty-three Yojanas^[10] with a tremendous downpour, but Siva did not feel the shock at all. On the other hand, Ganga lost her way in the tangles of his hair, and all her attempts to get out of them proved futile. Attracted by the sound of Bhagiratha’s conch she rushed from place to place, till at the end of one whole year she felt quite exhausted.

Crestfallen she came and stood before Siva, and said,

“O lord of boundless power, tell me the way out, as the blasts of Bhagiratha’s conch are piercing me like a goad, and I have become quite exhausted through wandering among the coils of your hair so long. Forgive my pride my lord, and, for the salvation of Sagara’s dead sons, show me the right way.”

Sankara said,

“Goddess, did you not intend to hurl me down to Patala by your force? Where is that force now? However, since you have come to me as a suppliant, I shall let you go now.”

Saying so, Sankara, with his left hand, plucked a tress of hair from the right side of his head, and Ganga escaped out of the opening thus made, as joyfully as a bird escapes from a cage. She reached the earth from the Himalayas on the tenth day of the bright fortnight of the month of Jyeshtha^[11], which was a Tuesday, and when the moon was in the Hasta, or the thirteenth mansion, Sin fled away from her through fear, and there was great rejoicing on the earth.

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

Literally the blossom of a lotus.

[2]:

Literally noise, (the whistling sound of an arrow).

[3]:

Literally Wind.

[4]:

Literally Mental.

[5]:

Literally Meteor.

[6]:

Literally the egg of Brahma. The primordial egg of Hindu mythology from which the universe sprang.

[7]:

Yojana=8 miles.

[8]:

The sky; the free space or vacuity.

[9]:

The regents or guardians of the cardinal points, North, South etc. Each point is in. charge of a separate god.

[10]:

[?]1 yojana=8 mile.

[11]:

May-June.