Namami Gange

Writer’s Note – Even if you don’t like the post or the story , please do listen to the musical track Ganga Sangam from the amazing trinity of  late  Santoor Maestro Pandit Shiva Kumar Sharma , Flute maestro Hariprasad Chaurasia and  Mohan Veena inventorVishwamohan  Bhatt. It will leave you spell bound – that is a promise I can make with absolute confidence .

Today is the Ganga Dussehera or Ganga Avataran Diwas . Its celebrated on the Dashami tithi of Shukla Paksha of Jyeshtha month  . Swami ji has written that the four foundations of the Indian culture are  the 4 G – not the  telecom network  but the spiritual network of – Ganga , Gayatri , Gau and Geeta . Ganga is the holiest river in India . Such is the stature of Ganga that a mere dip in her is supposed to wash away  seven lifetimes of sins . Ganga isn’t just a river –  its called Ganga Ma and indeed it’s the mother of the Vedic culture and the Hindu dharma and Civilization as we know it .

How did Ganga come to  India ?

The story goes back to the great King Sagar of Ikshvaku dynasty ( Bhagawan Sri Ram also belongs to the same dynasty ) . Sagar had organized an ashavamedha yagya . As he was making sacrificial offerings – as per the rules of the yajna he left a strong stallion free . The horse was free to roam through any kingdom- either the ruler of the kingdom  had to accept the suzerainty of King Sagar and pay tribute or they could capture the horse and invite King Sagar’s armies to battle . In this case however ,the wily Deva king Indra stole the yajna horse and took it and tied it up in the ashrama of Kapil Rishi who was engrossed in his penance and didn’t notice a thing .

Seeing their prized stallion gone – the 60,000 sons of Sagar started looking for it everywhere desperately for the yajna can’t be completed without it . They  dug up the earth and reach pataal loka too. Then they saw the horse in Kapil Muni’s ashram . Tired at the end of their long and frantic search , they assumed that the rishi had stolen it and started abusing him and hitting him. Disturbed by the blows of the princes , Kapil muni’s penance was broken and as he settled his angry gaze on the princes ,all of them turned into ashes instantly – such was the power of his penance .

When King  Sagar heard the news , he sent his grandson Anshuman to placate Kapil muni . Anshuman fell at the feet of the Rishi and begged forgiveness for the actions of his uncles .Kapil Muni was pleased . He blessed the prince and offered a boon to him. Anshuman prayed that   the cursed  and suffering souls of his 60000 uncles  should go to Brahmaloka . This made Kapil Muni take a pause . Finally , he said – Ma Ganga needs to come from the Swarga Loka and she alone can wash away the ashes and give Nirvana to the souls .

This was near nigh impossible . But Kapil muni promised Anshuman that it will be done by Anshuman’s successors . Anshuman went back with the yagya horse. The Yajna was completed but now the King Sagar retired and Anshuman took over . He kept worrying about the fate of his uncles . Finally , he handed over his throne to his son Dilip and from there it went to his grandson Bhagirath. When Bhagiratha heard the ignominy and the story of the suffering souls of his uncles – he instantly left the kingdom and set out to do a tough penance to Brahma ji to get Ganga on earth . Finally after a long penance Brahma ji was pleased and he granted Bhagiratha his wish that Ganga will come to earth to set free his ancestors .

However , he had a challenge – he asked Bhgiratha – who will control the velocity and power of the falling Ganga, which by itself is enough to destroy the entire  bhu -loka . As he saw Bhagiratha getting dejected – Brahma himself suggested that they take Pashupati Shiva’s help in controlling the flow . Bhagiratha now stood on one leg and did a tough penance to please Mahadeva .Lord Shiva eventually agreed to let Ganga flow though his curled up locks to control its flow . Now, the gates were opened and Ganga ma came from swarga, as Bhagiratha excitedly led the way .

Suddenly after a while Bhagiratha noticed – Ganga is nowhere to be seen .As he traced his steps back he realized Ganga had in its flow taken away the staff and kamandal of Jahnu rishi ,so the powerful rishi simply drank up the river . Bhagiratha now went the extra mile to please Rishi Jahnu  who then released Ganga from his right ear – That’s why its known as Janhvi as well .

Bringing life and color to millions of acres of arid and dry land Ganga enlivened the entire landscape and brought joy to millions before it reached Kapil Muni’s ashrama where it set free the souls of the sons of King Sagar . The smile finally returned on Bhagirath’s face .

The day is marked by millions taking the holy dip to cleanse themselves spiritually . Maha aarti is held at several places which is a feat to watch . The Institute of Microbial Technology -Imtech (one of the laboratories of the CSIR) revealed that more than 20 types of bacteriophages are found in water of Ganga  which can fight microorganisms that cause diseases like tuberculosis, pneumonia, cholera and urinary tract infection, among others. So even after millenia and all the pollution by which the human race has killed the ecology – Ganga is still Ganga -being the universal mother cleansing  away the sins of all her children .  

I will leave you with a spell binding and mesmerizing track called Ganga Sangam by  Pandit Shivakumar Sharma where through the notes of Santoor and tunes of the flute  you are carried on the waves of Ganga which descend with great force from the Himalayas – then flow playfully from Har Ki Pauri  ( Literally the gate of Sri Hari) onwards  laying the bedrock of civilization and finally peacefully merges into the Bay of Bengal . Namami Gange – May it grant mukti to us all ! 

Ode to Ganga – Link