Story of river Ganga

And my obsession with Ramayana continues 🙂

The great river Ganga is a Man made river unlike a natural one, here’s the story , Read on…..

 Every body knows that Gangaji came from heaven by the efforts of King Bhagirath. There are several stories as to how Ganga reached heaven. During Bawan Avatar when the foot of Avatar reached heaven, the creator of Universe-Brahma, washed the big toe of the foot and collected the water in his Kamandal-a pot of water with a nozzle, that is why another name of Ganga is Vishnu padi.        The popular story known to every Indian since thousands of years is that sixty thousand sons of king Sagar were burnt to ashes due to the anger of saint Kapil muni whom they blamed wrongly  for the theft of the horse of the ritual yagya of king Sagar. King Sagar was worried about the salvation or nirvana of his sons. Nirvana means the soul of the deceased rests in peace. Various saints suggested that if the holy river Ganga is brought from heaven and ashes were dipped in its water their souls will rest in peace. King Sagar asked his grandson Anshuman to do so. He tried very hard-worshiped the God but could not succeed. His son Dilip also tried in this direction but could not succeed.

        After Dilip his son king Bhagirath worshiped Lord Brahma for many years. When Brahmaji pleased, king requested him to release the holy river from his Kamandal and let it flow on the Earth so that it could offer nirvana to his ancestors. Brahma told him that he could release Ganga but it will descend on the Earth with such a velocity that Earth can not tolerate it. So Lord Shiva should be requested to receive Ganga on his head to save the Earth from destruction. King did the same and Lord Shiva pleased after many years of worship and agreed to stand the force of Ganga coming from heaven. Brahma released Gangaji but it disappeared in the hair locks of Shiva. King  had to worship Lord Shiva again to release Ganga from his hair locks. When ultimately Ganga was released it followed the chariot of king Bhagirath. In the way it destroyed the worship place of king Janhu who drank the whole river due to anger. Bhagirath requested him and after being pleased he released Ganga who followed the king Bhagirath to meet the ocean in Bay of Bengal at Ganga Sagar. In the way it accepted the ashes of sons of king Sagar thus allowing peace to the departed souls.

 

 Now, we will try to analyze the whole story which has been so beautifully written thousands of years back that it has been remembered by billions of people in the past thousands of years.

        In India, at least, even in this 21st century there are episodes of drought, hunger and death, where people die of hunger due to lack of rains and irrigation facilities. This natural disaster is not new, it has been there since times immemorial. During the reign of king Sagar also episodes of these disasters used to happen off & on and thousands of men, women, children and cattle were victims every time. King decided that the country must have a regular source of irrigation which could provide food even in absence of natural rain. The greatest source of water in Eastern India is the great Himalaya. Hundreds of capable men were sent there to search water. Journey in forest  and hills of Himalaya was extremely difficult and dangerous those days.  Most of the men could not make their way back  home. those who returned reported that there are hundreds of streams on the mountain but to bring them to our land is impossible. King Sagar was already dead while this search was going on. His grandson Anshuman occupied the throne. He and after him his son Dilip tried in this direction but did not succeed.

        The natural episodes kept on happening with intervals of few years. When Bhagirath became the king he decided to try again for a permanent source of irrigation because it was the only solution to save the people from this disaster. Some of the workers reported that an extremely large Glacier about 50miles*50miles is hidden between the peaks of Himalayas and a small stream of water is coming out from it. The water was perfectly clear, pure and tasty. King Bhagirath himself went to the Glacier and was extremely delighted to see it. He decided this water must reach my land. This stream disappeared after moving several miles in the mountain. This stream has to be carried down the hill. But the amount of water was not sufficient to be carried to his state. The engineers decided to join several streams flowing down the mountain nearly seven of them to make one river by breaking the path in the mountain, they named this river Bhagirathi and joined it with original Ganga.

        Meanwhile a large canal was being digged in the state of Bhagirath to receive the water from Ganga. An outlet for  this huge water has to be made and so the canal was connected to river Yamuna in Prayag the present Allahabad and was a huge river to accommodate the water of the canal.

        King Janhu appeared in winter when most of the small streams got frozen and water was insufficient to reach the kingdom of Bhagirath. New efforts had to be made to increase the water supplies in the canal. Several years later engineers reported that a large river Alaknanda is flowing in the east which if joined with the Ganga  will have sufficient water in the canal for the whole year-winter, summer and rains. It took several years to break the mountains-the hair locks of Lord Shiva-to join Alaknanda with Ganga. This water of “Tripathga”–Ganga, Bhagirathi and Alaknanda was allowed to flow in the canal already prepared to pass through the kingdom of Bhagirath and ultimately joined Yamuna to reach the Bay of Bengal at Ganga Sagar. The Yamuna is named Ganga after Prayag although at Sangam the amount of water in Yamuna is several hundred times more than the amount of water in Ganga, the man made canal, this is just to respect the colossal endeavor  and sacrifice of thousands of men in bringing Ganga from Gomukh, the place where it appears from the glacier, to Prayag.

The ancient mythology is very well explained when a look at the wonderful Glacier compels one to call it-Brahma Kamandal, the hilly mountain peaks gives an appearance of hair locks of Lord Shiva and the disappearance of Ganga in winter due to freezing of streams-King Janhu says it.

 

 

This article is not to deviate from holding religious point of view nor is an attempt to nullify the ‘Sakar’ roop of gods and is not with an intention to devalue religionrefer: geocities/ganga.htm

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sita’s dilemma!

Indian epics have stories which will leave an indelible impression on the minds of its readers, I’m writing and posting some of them hope you’ll like these, enjoy!

I would again like to begin with salutations to lord Shri Ganesha , bless me in my endevors.

The stories are compiled randomly.

1) ”How do they wear these”?

The first incident I’d like to mention is from Ramayana when Ram, Sita and Lakshman are leaving towards forset after Ram is being banished. Queen Kaikeyi brings the garbs of ascetics which is made of kusha grass also known as ‘darbha’; The ‘darbha’ has a lot of importance in hindu culture; sages used it as a robe to wear, made mats and mattresses also

Kaikeyi brings the attire and says to the trio ”put these on”

atha ciiraaNi kaikeyii svayam aahR^itya raaghavam |
uvaaca paridhatsva iti jana oghe nirapatrapaa || 2-37-6 valmiki Ramayan

Kaikeyi shamelessly bringing ( the garb of ascetics) said to Ram ”put these on”

Both Ram and Lakshman wear these clothes then and there itself now its the turn of Sita ; Kaikeyi gives the dress of ascetics to Sita also; her (Sita’s) situation is described by Valmiki as a deer alarmed at the sight of seeing an entrapment .

tha aatma paridhaana artham siitaa kausheya vaasinii |
samiikSya ciiram samtrastaa pR^iSatii vaaguraam iva || 2-37-9

Sita is embarrased to wear them in front of many men and women present there, she’s embarrassed not because she has to wear it but she doesn’t know how to wear them! To a princess who has never worn anything but silk this is indeed new to her; with eyes full of tears she turns to Ram and asks ”how do they wear the garbs of ascetics? saying thus she errs again and again in wearing them.

katham nu ciiram badhnanti munayo vana vaasinaH |
iti hyakushalaa siitaa saamumoha muhurmuhuH || 2-37-12

Seeing her in distress and dilemma Ram immediately comes to her rescue and shows her how to wear the ascetic clothes (on her silk dress)

In these few verses so much has been done about how much Ram loved and cared for Sita also when she wears the clothes in presence of the men and women present in assembly wail peitiously saying what calamity had befallen on their beloved princess.

Food for soul-a collection of hymns 3 “Aditya Hridayam stotra “

Aditya Hridayam

Aditya hridayam is another very powerful stotra praising the Sun god and is written by Maharishi Agastya. It is first recited in yuddha Kanda of Ramayana (of Valmiki) where in Maharishi agastya teaches this powerful stotra to Shri Rama before his last battle against Ravana. It is said that Shri Rama is very much exhausted after a long battle with all the relatives of Ravana, thus causing a worry to all gods because of which Maharishi Agastya teaches Aditya hridayam to Shri Rama who on recitation is blessed by Surya Narayana and is able to destroy Ravana along with his army.

Atha dhyanam:-
Jayatu jayatu surya sapta lokaika deepam,
Kirana samita papam klesha dukhasya nasham,
Aruna nigama gamyam chadi aditya murtim,
Sakala bhuvana vandyam, bhaskaram tam namami

Recite it thus:
Victory to the Sun god,Who is a lamp to seven worlds;Who by his rays destroys sin, pain and sorrows;Who is lead to by the path of Vedas and Who is saluted by all worlds, I prostrate before Him who is responsible for dispelling darkness thus causing a day .

Stotram

Tatho yudha parishrantam samare chintaya sthitam,
Ravanam chagratho drushtwa yudhaya samupasthitam.
Daivatischa samagamya drushtu mabhya gatho ranam,
Upagamyabraveed ramam Agastyo Bhagawan rishi. 1&2

Rama rama maha baho sruNu guhyam sanathanam,
Yena sarvaanareen vatsa samare vijayishyasi. 3

Aditya hrudayam punyam, sarva satru vinasanam,
Jayavaham japen nityam akshayyam paramam shubham. 4

Sarva mangala mangalyam, sarva papa pranasanam,
Chinthasoka prasamanam, ayur vardhanamuthamam. 5

Rashmi mantam samudhyantam devasura namaskrutam,
Poojayaswa vivaswantam bhaskaram bhuvaneshwaram. 6

Sarva devatmako hyesha tejaswai rasmi bhavana,
Esha devasura ganan lokan pati gabasthibhi. 7

Esha brahma cha Vishnuscha shiva skanda prajapati,
Mahendro, dhandha kalo yama somo hyapam pati. 8

Pitro vasava sadhya hyaswinou maruto, manu,
Vayur vahni praja prana ruthu harta prabhakara. 9

Aditya savita surya khaga poosha gabastiman,
Suvarna sadrusa bhanu , hiranya reta divakara. 10

Haridaswa sahasrarchi sapta saptir mareechiman,
Timironmadhana shambhu twashtwa marthanda amsuman. 11

Hiranya garbha shisira tapano bhaskaro ravi,
Agni garbha adite putra sanka shisira nasana. 12

Vyomanadha sthamobhedi rig yajur sama paraga,
Ghana vrushtirapam mithro vindhya veedhi plavangama. 13

Aathapee mandali mrutyu pingala sarva tapana,
Kavir viswo maha tejaa rakta sarvodbhava. 14

Nakshtra gruha taranam adhipo , viswa bhaavana,
Tejasam api tejaswi dwadasathman namostute. 15

Nama poorvaya giraye, paschimayadraye nama,
Jyothirgananam pathaye dhinadhipathaye nama. 16

Jayaya jaya bhadraya haryaswaya namo nama,
Namo nama sahasramso adithyaya namo nama. 17

Nama ugraya veeraya sarangaya namo nama,
Nama padma prabhodaya , marthandaya namo nama. 18

Brahmesanachuthesaya suryaditya varchase,
Bhaswate sarva bhakshaya roudraya vapushe nama 19

Tamognaya himagnaya satrugnaya amitatmane,
Krutagnagnaya devaya jyothisham pathaye nama. 20

Tapta chamikarabhaya vahnaye viswa karmane,
Namastomabhinignaya ruchaye loka sakshine. 21

Naasa yatyesha vai bhootam tadeva srujati prabha,
Payatyesha tapatyesha varshatyesha gabastibhi. 22

Yesha supteshu jagarti bhuteshu parinishthita,
Yesha evagnihotram cha phalam chaivagnihotrinam. 23

Vedascha kradavaschaiva krathoonam phalameva cha,
Yani krutyani lokeshu sarva yesha ravi prabhu. 24

Yena mapatsu kruchreshu kantareshu bhayeshu cha,
Keertayan Purusha kaschin aavaseedhati raghava. 25

Poojaswaikegro deva devam jagat patim,
Ethat trigunitam japtwa yudeshu vijayishyasi. 26

Asmin kshane maha baaho ravanam twam vadhishyasi,
Evamuktwaa agastyo jagam yada gatam. 27

Edat srutwa maha theja nashta shoka abhavat tada,
Dharayamasa supreeto raghava prayathatmavaan. 28

Aditya prekshya japtwa tu param harsha mavaptavan,
Trirachamya suchir bhootwa dhanuradhaaya veeryavaan. 29

Ravanam preshya hrushtatma yudhaya samupagamat,
Sarva yatnena mahata vadhe tasya druto bhavat. 30

Adharavira vadha nireekshya ramam,
Mudhithamana paramam prahrushyamana,
Nisicharapati samkshyam vidhitwa,
Sura gana Madhya gatho vachasthwareti. 31

Suyam sundara loka natham amrutam vedanta saram shivam,
Gnanam brahma mayam suresha mamalam lokaika chitam swayam.

Bhano bhaskara marthanda, chanda rasmai, divakara,
Ayur arogyam aishwaryam vidhyam dehi namostute.

Anyatha sharanam nasti twameva sharanam mama,
Tasmat karunya bhavena raksha raksha maha prabho.

Iti srimad Valmiki Ramayane Yuddha Kande,
Saptottara shathatama sargatmakam,
Aditya hrudaya stotram samaptam.

Translated as:

The great God like sage Agastya,Who has come along with other Gods to see the war,Seeing the tired and thought filled Rama Approached him, who is ready for the war and said: 1& 2

O dear Rama, be pleased to hear,That which is secret and perennial,By reciting which ,o son,
You would be victorious in war.3

This is the prayer called “the heart of the sun”.Which is holy , destroys all enemies thereby leading to victory by reciting which daily,Leads you to perennial state of good. 4

This prayer great ,gives all that is good,Destroys all sins ,Acts as an antidote for sorrow and thought,And also leads to very long life. 5

Offer prayers to the Great Sun God,Who is the owner of rays,Who rises up from below,Who is worshipped by devas and asuras,And who is worshipped by every one of the universe. 6

He has within him all the devas,He is the brightest among the bright,He runs the whole world by his rays,And protects all the worlds of Devas and Asuras,By his great Rays. 7

He is Brhama, Vishnu, Shiva, Skanda,He is the progenitor of human race,He is the king of devas,He is Kubera, the lord of all riches.He is Kala, the God of death,And He is the moon also He is Varuna. 8

He is the manes, He is the Gods called Vasus,He is the godcalled sandhya,He is the Aswini devathas, the doctors of Gods,He is the maruths who are responsible for breeze,He is the wind God, He is the fire God,He is the soul of all beings,He is the creator of seasons,And he is the giver of light. 9

He is the son of Aditi,He is the creator of the world,He makes us do things,He travels on the sky,
He feeds the world by rain 10
He is the one with rays,He is the colour of Gold,He is always shining,He is responsible for creation,And he is the maker of the day.11

He has green horses,He has thousands of rays,He rides on seven horses,He dispels darkness,
He gives a pleasant life,He kills all life,He gives rebirth to those killed,He removes darkness,
And is resplendent in glory.12

He who keeps the golden source,He who cools down minds of devotees,He who bestows heat,
He who is the source of light,He who is praised by every one,He who has fire within himself,
He who is the son of aditi He who travels in the sky with pleasure, And he who melts all that is icy/cold.13

He who is the lord of the sky,He who dispels darkness,He who is a master of Rig, Yajur and Sama veda,He who is the cause of heavy rains,He who is the friend of water,And he who travels over the Vindhyas swiftly.14

He who gives heat,He who is of the global shape,He who is of the form of death,He who is of the colour of gold,He who heats everything,He who is in expert in knowledge,He who manages the universe,He who is of great brilliance,He who is dear to every one,And he who manages every event.15

Salutations to him who is the Lord of stars, planets and zodiac,To him who looks after the universe,To him who gives light to all that shines, And To him who has twelve forms.16

Salutations to him who rises from the mounts of east,Salutations to him who sets on mounts of west,Salutations to the lord of objects that shine,And the Lord of the day.17

Salutations to him who is the cause of victories,Salutations to him who has green horses,
Salutations and salutations to him who has thousand rays,
Salutations and salutations to the son of Aditi. 17

Salutations and salutations,To him who is fearful to the sinners,To him who is the hero,
And to him who travels swiftly.Salutations to him who opens the lotus,And salutations and salutations,To him who gives life.18

Salutations to Him,Who is God to Brahma, Achyuta and Shiva,Who is the giver of light,
Who is the son of Aditi Who is ever shining,Who eats everything,And to him who has a fearsome body,19

Salutations to him,Who destroys darkness,,destroys, snow,Who destroys his enemies,
Who has an immeasurable body,Who destroys those who are not grateful,And to him who is the Lord of those who shine. 20

Salutations to Him,Who is of the colour of molten gold,Who is of the form of fire,Who has created the world,Who destroys ignorance,Who is the subject of all that is loved,And to him who is the witness of the world.21

This our lord help beings to grow,And also destroys them.He with his awesome rays,Looks after every being,Gives intense heat to them,And also causes rains to shower 22

This our Lord is awake,When all the world is asleep,Without anyone being aware,And he is the fire sacrifice,And also the one who performs fire sacrifice.23

All the Vedas,All the yagas,Result of all yagas.And all the actions,That happen in this world,
Are this Lord Surya himself. 24

O Raghava,Any one who sings the praise of the Sun,In time of danger,In time of suffering,In wild forests.And in times of fear,Is able to cross the problem for sure. 25

Please worship Him.Who is God of Gods,And who is the lord of the universe,With single minded devotion.If you chant this thrice,You would win in the war. 26

“Oh hero of heroes,You would kill Ravana within a second,”Saying this the sage Agasthya,
Went back his way.27

Hearing this, the resplendent one,Became devoid of sorrow,And with utmost devotion,
Wore this prayer within himself.

Cleansing himself,By doing Aachamana thrice,And facing the Sun God,Lifting his bow The great hero Rama became very happy

Came he facing Ravana,For starting the war again, With all preparations great,With an intention of killing him.

Immediately then Lord Sun,Who is the king of the skies,Arose from the middle of the bevy of Gods,With mind full of happiness,And asked Rama to kill Ravana forthwith.

____________________

I bow and salute always before the great Sun God,Who is ever shining,Who is the Lord of the universe,Who is forever living,Who is the essence of Veda,Who is forever peaceful,Who is store house of knowledge,Who is God personified,Who is the king of gods,Who is purity personified,
And who has the mind of all the world under his control.

Oh God of gods,Who is source of light,Who makes the day,Who removes darkness,
Who has fearful rays,And who is the creator of the morn,Please give me long life,Health, wealth, knowledge. I salute you.

I don’t have anybody to seek refuge,Except thee , Oh great God,So please have mercy upon me,
And protect me again and again.

Thus ends the great prayer called Aditya Hridayam,Which occurs in the 107th chapter of the yuddha kanda,In Ramayana composed by Sage Valmiki.

RamayaNa- one epic may versions,many interpretations

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