The Ganges River is one of the largest and longest rivers that flows in India today. Running for more than 2500 km, the majestic river begins its journey at the Gangotri Glacier in the Himalayas. Emptying into the Bay of Bengal, the Ganges River is considered to be the mother of all rivers in India, as many major (albeit smaller) rivers join its flow; Yamuna, Ramanga, Komathi and Brahmaputra, to name a few. Many Hindus believe that the river has healing powers and that a dip in it will purify one's soul. This has made the surrounding cities like Allahabad, Varanasi and Haridwar of religious importance to the Hindus.
Hindu Mythologies
More than one story exists regarding the birth of this massive river. They can be split between the major Saivite and Vaishnavite schools of thought in Hinduism, as they claim their main deities to be responsible for the birth of the Ganges River on Earth.
Lord Shiva and the Ganges
Considered to be the more common tale detailing the birth of the Ganges, this story has been told and retold in several puranas (epics). The tale begins with King Sagara, of the Sun Kingdom. Despite having all the riches in the world, the King was an unhappy man, as he did not have an heir to succeed him. He had even married two wives in a bid to improve his chances of begetting a child.
However, neither of his wives bore him any children, even after several years of marriage. Becoming distraught with despair, the King decided to turn to the gods for help. This, however, was not an easy task. It took him several years of deep meditation to get Lord Shiva's undivided attention. The Lord appeared before him in praise of his discipline and devotion. He knew of the King's sorrows and granted him his wish. He told the king to head back to his kingdom and that both his wives would eventually conceive. The Lord told King Sagara that one wife will bear him 60 000 children while the other will simply bear him one child, who will become the proper heir.
As foretold by Lord Shiva, both of Sagara's wives became pregnant soon after his arrival. Ten months later, one of his wives gave birth to a baby boy, while the other gave birth to something that looked like a bottle gourd. Disappointed, the King went to dispose of the 'bottle gourd'. However, a mysterious voice stopped him. The voice told him to take the seeds of the gourd and place them in separate containers with lids. It said that these 60 000 seeds will eventually grow to become his kids, if he kept them warm; and so he did.
As expected, one by one, the seeds grew to become little baby boys. These 60,000 boys eventually grew to become rowdy and violent men, who wreaked havoc in the kingdom. The King Sagara tried everything to calm his children. However, nothing worked. Finally, as his last attempt, Sagara decided to create a yagna, praying for the emotional health of his children and the good of his kingdom.
This yagna required a horse to be sacrificed and all necessary preparations began soon enough. However, on the day of the yagna, the royal agents lost the sacrificial horse. Furious, the King sent for his 60,000 sons to track down the horse and bring it back. His violent sons carried forth their father's fury by burning down forests and disrupting villages in a bid to find the horse. They eventually came across a quiet spot where the sage Kapila was mediating with the horse standing nearby. Assuming that the sage stole their horse, the 60 000 sons of King Sagara charged forth to kill the sage. This ruckus disrupted the sage's long and deep meditation, causing him to open his eyes in fury. Using his mystic powers, the sage threw an angry glance at the princes, turning them into ash immediately.
King Sagara heard of this news a few days later. While his heart wept, he consoled himself with his other son. However, his second heir also proved to be a violent and notorious being, getting himself exiled from the kingdom. Following these events, the Sun Kingdom began declining slowly and none of Sagara's kins' souls reached the heavens. The puranas state that the condition of the kingdom remained so for two whole generations; until the reign of King Bhagiratha.
Bhagiratha discovered the reason behind his family's curse and decided to make amends. It is believed that he journeyed to find the sage, Kapila and seek his forgiveness. Upon finding him, Bhagiratha paid his respects. The sage forgave the young king and returned his horse; however, he said that he was unable to help his ancestors' souls reach the heavens, as only the heavenly river of Ganges could do so. He advised the king to pray to the Goddess Ganga for help.
After years of intense meditation, the Goddess Ganga appeared before him. She agreed to flow onto Earth and wash his ancestors ashes to heavens. However, she stated that her powerful flow can destroy the Earth and that the only way to stop this, is if Lord Shiva caught her with his locks of hair when she fell from the heavens. It is said that Bhagiratha then went in search of Lord Shiva to Mount Kailash (in the Himalayas) asking for the Lord's help. Taken by the king's humility and devotion, Lord Shiva agreed. And so it is said that on that day (around 30 000 BC), the heavenly waters of Ganga fell onto Earth. The powerful river was caught by Lord Shiva's mane and was guided to the bay by King Bhagiratha.
Lord Vishnu and the Ganges
The second tale of the birth of the Ganges River appears in the Bhagavata Purana. It is detailed in the story of the Vaamana avatar (the 5th avatar of Vishnu) that appeared in the Treta Yuga (one of the four epochs of time in Hinduism). This story states that Lord Vishnu took on the form of Vaamana -- a dwarf-sized brahmin, to restore Lord Indhra's powers in the heavens. Lord Indhra is said to be a demi-god or Deva who rules the heavens, bringing war, rain and storms.
The Purana states that an Asura/demon King also rose to power at this time. The Asura, known as Bali, became a great conqueror in a short period of time and was quickly drunk with power. He thought that he ruled everything on the planet and that no one could take his kingdom away from him. Such pride led him to challenge Indhra for the heavens themselves. In a bid to humble the arrogant King Bali, Lord Vishnu appeared at one of his yagnas, seemiing like a poor, little brahmin child -- Vaamana. The King noticed the child and inquired as to his whereabouts. Bali soon felt pity for Vaamana, as the child answered that he was an orphan and a pauper. Hence, King Bali decided to help the poor boy by offering him anything he wanted.
The boy Vaamana then looked at the king politely and said, "I want nothing more than three measures of land with my feet". The King laughingly agreed, without heeding the advice of his guru Sukracharya, who knew what was going on. This was when Vaamana assumed his original form as Lord Vishnu. He rose to his godly stature and took one step, covering the entire planet. His next step extended into the heavens. The Ganges River is said to have been born at this moment -- when Lord Vishnu's second step caused his first foot to dig into the land, causing the birth of the river which washed his foot. The story states that there was no place left in the universe for Lord Vishnu's third step. Fearing that he would be unable to keep his promise, King Bali then offered his own head for the last step of land. The Lord then praised Bali for his benevolence and taught him an important lesson on humility.
Sources
- J. Naagaraaja Sharma.(2006) Nathimoolam. Chennai: Vanathi Publications.
- Kuzhaandalgal Kalai Kazhangiyam (Volume 3). Chennai: Tamil Vazhazhi Kazhaga Publications.,1998 .
- The New Book of Knowledge (Volume G). United States of America: Grolier Inc., 1984.
Buvaneyswari Uthaman - I fell into writing accidentally. Having been an avid reader and an amateur poet I never considered writing as a career path until I ...
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