Bhagiratha: Who Brought Down Ganga

King Sagara was conducting an Ashwamedha yagna, but his horse was stolen by Lord Indra. Sagara sent his 60,000 sons to go retrieve the horse. They followed its footsteps and soon found the horse wandering in Patala near Kapila Muni’s hermitage. They assumed that Kapila Muni had stolen the horse and they started insulting him. Kapila angrily glared at them, and in an instant, they were reduced to a pile of ashes. Meanwhile, Sagara sent his grandson Anshuman to recover the horse. Anshuman followed the path of his uncles and soon reached Kapila Muni’s hermitage. When he saw the ashes of his uncles, he started weeping. He asked Kapila Muni to raise his uncles to heaven. Kapila Muni responded, “The river Ganga is currently in the heavens. You must bring down the river Ganga to Earth. When this holy river touches the ashes of your uncles, they will be liberated.”

Anshuman took the horse and went back to king Sagara, who completed his yagna. Later, at the palace, Anshuman told Sagara about what Kapila Muni had said. Sagara assigned this task to Anshuman. After Sagara, Anshuman became king and he tried to bring down the river Ganga, but he died unsuccessful. Thus, the task was passed onto Dilipa, Anshuman’s son.

Bringing River Ganga down to Earth

Soon, even Dilipa was lying on his deathbed without having finished the task. Before dying, he told his son Bhagiratha, “My son, you must complete the task that I failed to complete.” Bhagiratha vowed, “Father, I will not ascend the throne until I have brought the river Ganga to Earth.”

Accordingly, when Dilipa passed away, Bhagiratha did not ascend the throne. Instead, he entrusted the kingdom to his ministers and then went to the forest to perform penance. Bhagiratha performed for decades. Finally, Lord Brahma appeared before him and said, “Ask for a boon, oh king. Whatever you desire shall be granted.”

“Let the river Ganga flow down to Earth from the heaven and liberate my ancestors. This is the boon I desire,” Bhagiratha requested.

“The force of the river Ganga is too powerful for Earth. Lord Shiva can withstand the force of Ganga. You must please him,” Brahma said.

Thus, Bhagiratha prayed to Lord Shiva. Shiva appeared before him and instructed him to ask for a boon. Bhagiratha replied, “Oh Lord Shiva, please receive the force of the river Ganga as it flows down to Earth."

Shiva acceded to Bhagiratha’s request and then vanished. Meanwhile, Ganga jumped down from the heavens. Halfway down, she thought, “Oh, Lord Shiva isn’t paying attention. I shall sweep him away with me to the nether world.” But Shiva knew what she was planning, so as she was falling to the Earth, Shiva imprisoned her in his matted hair. He kept her imprisoned for many years.

Once again, Bhagiratha prayed to Shiva and requested that he free the goddess Ganga. Shiva agreed to his request and let out a small portion of the river Ganga. Thus, the river reached Earth.

Meanwhile, sage Jahnu was conducting a yagna (sacrifice). Everyone had gathered to participate in his sacrifice. When Ganga reached Earth, he waters disrupted the sacrifice. Sage Jahnu was furious and she swallowed up the entire river. Bhagiratha and everyone else requested Jahnu to release her. Jahnu finally relented and freed Ganga. Because of this incident, Ganga also became known as Jahnavi.

Finally, Bhagiratha led Ganga to the ashes of his 60,000 ancestors. The waters of the river flowed over the ashes and Bhagiratha’s ancestors were liberated. Bhagiratha had finally achieved his goal.

Afterwards, Brahma appeared Bhagiratha and said, “The sons of king Sagara are now in heaven. They have been liberated by the holy waters of Ganga. Since you accomplished this task, Ganga will also be known as Bhagirathi.”