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What is the story behind Ganga River
What is the story behind Ganga River – Legend is as below.
The Ganga River, also known as the Ganges, holds immense cultural and religious significance in India. It is considered sacred by Hindus, and its legend is deeply rooted in ancient mythology and religious beliefs. One of the most popular legends behind the Ganga River is associated with the descent of the river to Earth.
According to Hindu mythology, there was a king named Bhagiratha who belonged to the lineage of the famous King Sagara. King Sagara had performed a ritual called Ashwamedha Yagna, which involved releasing a sacred horse and following it to assert his dominance over the entire land. However, the horse was stolen by Lord Indra, the king of gods, and taken to the Patal world.
King Sagara’s sons searched for the horse and found it near the hermitage of Sage Kapila, who was in deep meditation at that time. Mistakenly thinking that the sage had stolen the horse, they disturbed his meditation, resulting in Sage Kapila opening his eyes in anger. Due to the intense power of his gaze, the 60,000 sons of King Sagara were instantly reduced to ashes.
King Bhagiratha, a descendant of King Sagara, wanted to bring peace to his ancestors’ souls and sought the help of Lord Brahma, the creator of the universe. Lord Brahma advised him to seek the assistance of Lord Shiva, the supreme deity. King Bhagiratha embarked on a rigorous penance to please Lord Shiva, who was eventually pleased with his devotion and granted him a boon.
King Bhagiratha requested Lord Shiva to bring the Ganga River down to Earth so that its holy waters could wash away the sins of his ancestors and provide salvation to their souls. Lord Shiva agreed but he cautioned Bhagirath that the force of the descending river could devastate the Earth. He suggested that King Bhagiratha should pray to Goddess Ganga to soften her descent.
King Bhagiratha followed Lord Shiva’s advice and performed intense prayers and penance to Goddess Ganga. Pleased with his devotion, Goddess Ganga agreed to descend to Earth, but she feared that her mighty force would flood the entire land. To mitigate this, King Bhagiratha prayed again to Lord Shiva, Lord Shiva intervened and trapped the mighty river flow in his hair (jata), making flow to slow down and preventing from devastating the Earth by flood.
As Ganga descended from the heavens, she flowed through Lord Shiva’s hair and onto Earth. Ganga is the only river flown through heaven, earth and patala world. Arriving from heaven, River flown through the Himalayas, cleansed the ashes of King Sagara’s sons in Patal world and finally flow on earth purifying the land. The Ganga River became a symbol of purity, divinity, and salvation, and its waters were believed to have the power to absolve sins and grant liberation (Moksha).
Since then, the Ganga River has held a special place in the hearts of millions of Hindus. It is considered a motherly figure, and people flock to its banks to take part in sacred rituals, bathe in its holy waters, and perform cremations with the belief that it will ensure spiritual liberation for their departed loved ones. The legend of the descent of the Ganga River serves as a powerful metaphor for the significance of purification, devotion, and the eternal cycle of life and death in Hindu mythology.
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