Question

ganga's atobiography in 2000 word

Answer 1

It is said that King Sagar performed a great horse sacrifice (Ashwamedha Yagna) to make him very powerful. Indra, the king of Gods, was afraid his position would get shaken. He stole the horse and tied it to a tree at Sage Kapila’s ashram. When the horse could not be found, Sagara’s 60,000 sons went looking for it and found it at Kapila’s ashram. Assuming that the sage had stolen it, they set about freeing it. All this commotion disturbed the sage’s meditation and when he realized that they thought he had stolen it, he was furious. With one fiery glance, he burnt them all to ashes!

They had turned to ashes before the rituals of death could be completed. Hence, they wandered as ghosts. The one remaining brother, Anshuman, begged the sage for a solution whereby the rituals for these ghosts could be completed, so they could ascend to heaven. The sage said the flow of the purifying Ganga on the ashes would complete the rituals. She could be brought down by praying to Brahma.

After several generations, Bhageeratha a descendent of Sagara, did great penance for thousands of years. Brahma was pleased and granted him his wish of wanting Ganga to descend to Earth. Ganga was a willful and powerful river. Deciding that she would come down in a torrent and sweep off everything in her path, she left the heavens. But Shiva foresaw her intention and imprisoned her in his matted locks!

Bhagiratha then had to pacify Shiva, who slowly released her from his locks. And, down she came as the Bhagirathi. On her way to the ashes, she flooded sage Jahnu’s ashram. He gobbled her up in great anger. Again, Bhageeratha had to beseech the great sage to release her. Out she came, but now she was also called Jahnavi. As Ganga flowed on, people flooded her to take a holy dip in her to wash off their sins.