The Descent of the Ganga

Verse 1 (3.109.1)

भगीरथवचः श्रुत्वा प्रियार्थं च दिवौकसाम् । एवमस्त्विति राजानं भगवान्प्रत्यभाषत ॥

bhagīrathavacaḥ śrutvā priyārthaṃ ca divaukasām | evamastviti rājānaṃ bhagavānpratyabhāṣata

Hearing Bhagiratha's words, and to do what was dear to the dwellers of heaven, the Blessed Lord said to the king, "So be it."

Note on the text: Corrected शुत्वा → श्रुत्वा, प्रियार्य → प्रियार्थं, द्विचौकसाम् → दिवौकसाम् and प्रत्यभापत → प्रत्यभाषत (misprints in Wikisource; critical edition śrutvā priyārthaṃ ca divaukasām … pratyabhāṣata).

Verse 2 (3.109.2)

धारयिष्ये महाभाग गगनात्प्रच्युतां शिवाम् । दिव्यां देवनदीं पुण्यां त्वत्कृते नृपसत्तम ॥

dhārayiṣye mahābhāga gaganātpracyutāṃ śivām | divyāṃ devanadīṃ puṇyāṃ tvatkṛte nṛpasattama

For your sake, fortunate one, best of kings, I will bear the auspicious, holy, divine river of the gods as she falls from the sky.

Note on the text: Corrected गगनात्मच्युतां → गगनात्प्रच्युतां and नृपसत्तम् → नृपसत्तम (misprints in Wikisource; critical edition gaganāt pracyutāṃ … nṛpasattama). Speaker: Shiva's words fill this verse, though Wikisource prints no heading.

Verse 3 (3.109.3)

एवमुक्त्वा महाबाहो हिमवन्तमुपागमत् । संवृतः पार्षदैर्घोरैर्नानाप्रहरणोद्यतैः ॥

evamuktvā mahābāho himavantamupāgamat | saṃvṛtaḥ pārṣadairghorairnānāpraharaṇodyataiḥ

Having said this, mighty-armed one, he went to the Himalaya, surrounded by his fearsome attendants with weapons of every kind raised.

Note on the text: Corrected हिमवन्तुमुपागमत् → हिमवन्तमुपागमत् and नानाप्रहरणोधतैः → नानाप्रहरणोद्यतैः (misprints in Wikisource; critical edition himavantam upāgamat … nānāpraharaṇodyataiḥ).

Verse 4 (3.109.4)

तत्र स्थित्वा नरश्रेष्ठं भगीरथमुवाच ह । प्रयाचस्व महाबाहो शैलराजसुतां नदीम् ॥

tatra sthitvā naraśreṣṭhaṃ bhagīrathamuvāca ha | prayācasva mahābāho śailarājasutāṃ nadīm

Standing there, he said to Bhagiratha, best of men: "Call upon the river, mighty-armed one, the daughter of the king of mountains."

Note on the text: This verse is CE 3.108.4ab–cd (Wikisource divides the lines differently).

Verse 5 (3.109.5)

पितॄणां पावनार्थं ते तामहं मनुजाधिप । पतमानां सरिच्छ्रेष्ठां धारयिष्ये त्रिविष्टपात् ॥

pitṝṇāṃ pāvanārthaṃ te tāmahaṃ manujādhipa | patamānāṃ saricchreṣṭhāṃ dhārayiṣye triviṣṭapāt

To purify your forefathers, lord of men, I will bear that best of rivers as she falls from heaven.

Note on the text: Corrected पितृणां → पितॄणां and पावनार्थ → पावनार्थं (misprints in Wikisource; the genitive plural is पितॄणाम्, and the anusvara was dropped). The first line is not in the critical edition's text (its apparatus has it as 3.108.4d*0535); the second is CE 3.108.4ef. Speaker: the verse is wholly Shiva's speech.

Verse 6 (3.109.6)

एतच्छ्रुत्वा वचो राजा शर्वेण समुदाहृतम् । प्रयतः प्रणतो भूत्वा गङ्गां हि समचिन्तयत् ॥

etacchrutvā vaco rājā śarveṇa samudāhṛtam | prayataḥ praṇato bhūtvā gaṅgāṃ hi samacintayat

Hearing these words spoken by Sharva, the king, composed and bowing low, fixed his mind on the Ganga.

Note on the text: Corrected बचो → वचो and गङ्गं → गङ्गां (misprints in Wikisource; critical edition vaco … gaṅgāṃ).

Verse 7 (3.109.7)

ततः पुण्यजला रम्या राज्ञा समनुचिन्तिता । ईशानं च स्थितं दृष्ट्वा गगनात्सहसा च्युता ॥

tataḥ puṇyajalā ramyā rājñā samanucintitā | īśānaṃ ca sthitaṃ dṛṣṭvā gaganātsahasā cyutā

Then the lovely river of holy waters, called to mind by the king, saw Ishana standing ready and suddenly fell from the sky.

Verse 8 (3.109.8)

तां प्रच्युतामथो दृष्ट्वा देवाः सार्धं महर्षिभिः । गन्धर्वोरगयक्षाश्च समाजग्मुर्दिदृक्षवः ॥

tāṃ pracyutāmatho dṛṣṭvā devāḥ sārdhaṃ maharṣibhiḥ | gandharvoragayakṣāśca samājagmurdidṛkṣavaḥ

Seeing her falling, the gods together with the great seers, and the Gandharvas, serpents and Yakshas, gathered there, eager to watch.

Note on the text: Corrected सार्घ् → सार्धं and गन्धर्वोरगयक्षाश्व → गन्धर्वोरगयक्षाश्च (misprints in Wikisource; critical edition sārdhaṃ … ca).

Verse 9 (3.109.9)

ततः पपात गगनाद्गङ्गा हिमवतः सुता । समुद्वान्तमहावर्ता मीनग्राहसमाकुला ॥

tataḥ papāta gaganādgaṅgā himavataḥ sutā | samudvāntamahāvartā mīnagrāhasamākulā

Then the Ganga, daughter of the Himalaya, fell from the sky, throwing up great whirlpools and teeming with fish and crocodiles.

Note on the text: Corrected गगनाद्ग्ङ्गा → गगनाद्गङ्गा (misprint in Wikisource; critical edition gaganād gaṅgā). The critical edition reads samudbhrānta- "whirling" for समुद्वान्त- "thrown up", a variant kept here.

Verse 10 (3.109.10)

तां दधार हरो राजन्गङ्गां गगनमेखलाम् । ललाटदेशे पतितां मालां मुक्तामयीमिव ॥

tāṃ dadhāra haro rājangaṅgāṃ gaganamekhalām | lalāṭadeśe patitāṃ mālāṃ muktāmayīmiva

Hara caught the Ganga, the girdle of the sky, O king, as she fell upon his brow like a string of pearls.

Verse 11 (3.109.11)

सा बभूव विसर्पन्ती त्रिधा राजन्समुद्रगा । फेनपुञ्जाकुलजला हंसानामिव पङ्क्तयः ॥

sā babhūva visarpantī tridhā rājansamudragā | phenapuñjākulajalā haṃsānāmiva paṅktayaḥ

Spreading out, O king, the ocean-bound river divided into three, her waters crowded with masses of foam like rows of swans.

Note on the text: Corrected पङ्कयः → पङ्क्तयः (misprint in Wikisource; critical edition paṅktayaḥ).

Verse 12 (3.109.12)

क्वचिदाभोगकुटिला प्रस्खलन्ती क्वचित्क्वचित् । सा फेनपटसंवीता मत्तेव प्रमदाऽव्रजत् ॥

kvacidābhogakuṭilā praskhalantī kvacitkvacit | sā phenapaṭasaṃvītā matteva pramadā'vrajat

Here winding in wide curves, there stumbling again and again, wrapped in a garment of foam, she went on like a woman drunk with wine.

Note on the text: Corrected क्कचित् → क्वचित् (three times; misprint in Wikisource, क्क for क्व; critical edition kva cit). This verse is CE 3.108.11ab–cd.

Verse 13 (3.109.13)

क्वचित्सा तोयनिनदैर्नदन्ती नादमुत्तमम् । क्वचिदाकाशमावर्तैः संक्षिपन्तीव सर्वशः ॥

kvacitsā toyaninadairnadantī nādamuttamam | kvacidākāśamāvartaiḥ saṃkṣipantīva sarvaśaḥ

Here she raised a mighty roar with the thunder of her waters; there, with her eddies, she seemed to draw in the sky on every side.

Note on the text: Corrected क्कचित् → क्वचित् (twice; misprint) and removed a stray quotation mark (‘) before the second line. The first line is CE 3.108.11ef; the second is not in the critical edition's text (its apparatus has it as 3.108.11f*0536).

Verse 14 (3.109.14)

एवंप्रकारान्सुबहून्कुर्वती गगनाच्च्युता । पृथिवीतलमासाद्य भगीरथमथाब्रवीत् ॥

evaṃprakārānsubahūnkurvatī gaganāccyutā | pṛthivītalamāsādya bhagīrathamathābravīt

Taking many such forms as she fell from the sky, she reached the surface of the earth and said to Bhagiratha:

Note on the text: Corrected गगनाच्युता → गगनाच्च्युता (misprint in Wikisource; गगनात् + च्युता, critical edition gaganāc cyutā).

Verse 15 (3.109.15)

दर्शयस्व महाराज मार्गं केन व्रजाम्यहम् । त्वदर्थमवतीर्णास्मि पृथिवीं पृथिवीपते ॥

darśayasva mahārāja mārgaṃ kena vrajāmyaham | tvadarthamavatīrṇāsmi pṛthivīṃ pṛthivīpate

Show me the way, great king: by which path shall I go? It is for your sake that I have come down to the earth, lord of the earth.

Note on the text: Corrected मार्ग → मार्गं (misprint in Wikisource with a dropped anusvara; critical edition mārgaṃ). Speaker: the verse is wholly Ganga's speech, though Wikisource prints no heading.

Verse 16 (3.109.16)

एतच्छ्रुत्वा वचो राजा प्रातिष्ठत भगीरथः । तत्र तानि शरीराणि सागराणां महात्मनाम् । प्लावनार्थं नरश्रेष्ठ पुण्येन सलिलेन च ॥

etacchrutvā vaco rājā prātiṣṭhata bhagīrathaḥ | tatra tāni śarīrāṇi sāgarāṇāṃ mahātmanām | plāvanārthaṃ naraśreṣṭha puṇyena salilena ca

Hearing these words, King Bhagiratha set out for the place where the bodies of the great-souled sons of Sagara lay, to flood them, O best of men, with her holy water.

Note on the text: Corrected प्रातिष्टत → प्रातिष्ठत (misprint in Wikisource; critical edition prātiṣṭhata).

Verse 17 (3.109.17)

गङ्गाया धारणं कृत्वा हरो लोकनमस्कृतः । कैलासं पर्वतश्रेष्ठं जगाम त्रिदशैः सह ॥

gaṅgāyā dhāraṇaṃ kṛtvā haro lokanamaskṛtaḥ | kailāsaṃ parvataśreṣṭhaṃ jagāma tridaśaiḥ saha

Having borne the Ganga, Hara, revered by the worlds, went with the thirty gods to Kailasa, best of mountains.

Note on the text: Corrected गंङ्गाया → गङ्गाया (misprint in Wikisource; a stray anusvara).

Verse 18 (3.109.18)

समासाद्य समुद्रं च गङ्गया सहितो नृपः । पूरयामास वेगेन समुद्रं वरुणालयम् ॥

samāsādya samudraṃ ca gaṅgayā sahito nṛpaḥ | pūrayāmāsa vegena samudraṃ varuṇālayam

Reaching the ocean together with the Ganga, the king filled the ocean, the abode of Varuna, with her rushing flood.

Verse 19 (3.109.19)

दुहितृत्वे च नृपतिर्गङ्गां समनुकल्पयत् । पितॄणां चोदकं तत्र ददौ पूर्णमनोरथः ॥

duhitṛtve ca nṛpatirgaṅgāṃ samanukalpayat | pitṝṇāṃ codakaṃ tatra dadau pūrṇamanorathaḥ

The king took the Ganga as his daughter, and there, his wish fulfilled, he offered water to his forefathers.

Note on the text: Corrected पितृणां → पितॄणां (misprint in Wikisource; the genitive plural is पितॄणाम्, critical edition pitṝṇāṃ).

Verse 20 (3.109.20)

एतत्ते सर्वमाख्यातं गङ्गा त्रिपथगा यथा । पूरणार्थं समुद्रस्य पृथिवीमवतारिता ॥

etatte sarvamākhyātaṃ gaṅgā tripathagā yathā | pūraṇārthaṃ samudrasya pṛthivīmavatāritā

I have told you all of how the Ganga, who flows by three paths, was brought down to the earth to fill the ocean;

Note on the text: Corrected गङ्ग → गङ्गा and पूरणार्थ → पूरणार्थं (misprints in Wikisource; critical edition gaṅgā … pūraṇārthaṃ).

Verse 21 (3.109.21)

कालेयाश्च महाराज त्रिदशैर्विनिपातिताः । समुद्रश्च यथा पीतः कारणार्थे महात्मना ॥

kāleyāśca mahārāja tridaśairvinipātitāḥ | samudraśca yathā pītaḥ kāraṇārthe mahātmanā

and how, great king, the Kaleyas were struck down by the gods, and how the ocean was drunk dry by the great-souled sage for that purpose;

Note on the text: Corrected कारणार्थ → कारणार्थे (misprint in Wikisource; critical edition kāraṇārthe) and removed a stray wiki mark (`) at the start. The first line is not in the critical edition's text (its apparatus has it as 3.108.18d*0539); the second is CE 3.108.19ab.

Verse 22 (3.109.22)

वातापिश्च यथा नीतः क्षयं स ब्रह्महा प्रभो । अगस्त्येन महाराज यन्मां त्वं परिपृच्छसि ॥

vātāpiśca yathā nītaḥ kṣayaṃ sa brahmahā prabho | agastyena mahārāja yanmāṃ tvaṃ paripṛcchasi

and how Vatapi, that slayer of brahmins, was brought to his end by Agastya, my lord, great king. That is all you asked of me.

Note on the text: This verse is CE 3.108.19cd–ef (Wikisource divides the lines differently).