Story of ganga

Today we are going to talk about the story of ganga

Who knows what is ganga?

Yes a river. Where do rivers start?
Mountains.
So this river starts from the highest mountain peaks the Himalayas.

Himavan 's daughter ganga. 

Story goes like this.

King sagara of ayodhya
Did a horse sacrifice. Ashwamedra magna. Sends his horse around to all kingdoms.
If horse comes back, unchallenged, he is ruler of the world.
Indra, king of gods, gets worried and jealous.
So goes and hides the horse deep underground
In the abode of sage kapila

Back ayodhya all are waiting. Horse never comes back.

So sagara's 60,000 sons set out to search for the horse. One son stays back to help his father rule.

The 60000 sons search high. No sign
Search low... and they find it!
Tied to a tree deep underground at sage kapila's ashram.. 
They try to ask the sage for the horse but hes in deep meditation. 
The sons think the sage stole it 
So they try to take it back, and say some nasty things about sages who steal and then pretend to meditate.
Kapila woke up. Knew what was in the sons mind.
Turned one ferocious gaze at them and burnt l 60000 brothers to ash!

Looks could kill back then. And they all burnt.

Now normally, before someone is cremated, they do prayers for the soul. These 60000 brothers were reduced to ashes too quickly so their souls could not go to heaven. Wandering around sadly.

The remaining  brother came looking for them and found out what happened. He asked sage kapila to help his brothers find moksha.
By then kapila had calmed down.

Once cursed cannot take back.
But there are ways to remedy things over time.
For this, he said. Need the holy waters of ganga to wash over him  . Need to to pray to himavan to ask him to let ganga down.

So this prince's great grandson heard about his uncles souls . Bhagiratha. He did penance for 1000 years to bramha.  He was pleased. Allowed ganga to go down .

She was a fun spirited powerful girl. Thought shed play a prank and come pouring down. They want me they will get me!
So she got ready to gush down
Shiva realised her trick and caught her in his hair to stop her from destroying earth in her excitement. There she was trapped.

The bhagiratha did penance again to Shiva to release her. And she came down in a more gentle stream. The first stream. Named baghrathi after this bhagiratha prince who did such penance for her to come down

While leading her to the place where the ashes were scattered, gangs wandered off to explore! And she flooded a great sage's home!  sage jahnu. What happens when sages get angry!
He swallowed her up! Then she was trapped inside him.

Then bhagiratha had to pray to him also, please release her. And so he did. And  ow she was even more purified. First she descended from heaven. Then blessed by Shiva in his hairm now blessed by Jahnu.  After this she was also known as jahnavi. For the sage .

Finally she reached the place of the ashes. And washed over them. And all 60000 souls that had been restless got peace and ascended to heaven

And so up till today people go to bathe in the ganges to wash off their sins. Or scatter remains of ashes on the river for the soul to find peace.

Talk about pollution

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