In the last post, we learnt about the ancestry and family of Viswamitra. This post will continue on the tales narrated by him enroute to Mithila, the kingdom of Janaka. From the banks of River Sona, the ascetics travelled further and reached the sacred river Ganga. Let us learn what the epic has to offer about this place from the words of Viswamitra.
They walked on and on, feasting their eyes on beautiful woods and forests through which they traversed. Many miles later, they came upon that great river Ganga, revered, and loved by the sages. The beauty of breathtaking bubbling flow was breath- taking, and enhanced by majestic swans and soaring cranes. The august assembly halted on the banks surveying the sylvan splendor with great delight. Bathing in the holy waters they lighted their sacrificial fires, offered oblations to the gods and the ancestors and later partook in the remains of the offerings.At Rama's request Viswamitra told them as to how the river Ganga flows through the three worlds before merging with the ocean. " The lord of the Himalayas, a treasure trove of all precious metals, was blessed with two daughters of unsurpassed loveliness, named Ganga and Uma. Their mother Manorama was the daughter of mount Meru. For achieving the divine, the devas once wanted Ganga to accompany them with the consent of Himavat. The lord of the mountains yielded to the request for the benefit and welfare of the worlds. He knew that his daughter would travel only on the right path and purify the world. The devatas ever in the service of the world returned to their abode with Ganga following them. The other daughter of Himavat, a great ascetic, named Uma revered and worshiped by the worlds was given in marriage to Mahadeva, lord of Kailas.
Having heard the brief glorious history of Ganga, through Viswamitra, Rama and Lakshmana wished to know as to what had taken place in her hoary past, both in heaven as well as on the earth. Purifier of the world that she was, they wondered as to what made her flow in three different ways and by what merits she came to be known as Mother Ganga. "Many years ago," said Viswamitra, "the greatest of ascetics, Siva married Parvathi and they spent one hundred years blissfully reveling in each other. At the end of that period, Parvathi was yet to conceive a child. In the meanwhile Brahma and the gods were perplexed and worried as to who could bear the child born of this divine union. They then invoked lord Siva and pleaded with him to retain his energies of creation within his most magnificent self. Siva declared that he could have done so, but since the energy was already dislodged, he asked them "who would be capable of bearing it", and the devatas said that the earth would.
Thus counseled, Siva let his energies flow to the earth, which spread over forests and mountains, making them light up brilliantly. Fearing this great brilliance, the devatas implored the lord of fire, Agni along with Vayu, God of wind to pervade into the divine energy. The two gods heeding their pleas did so, turning the divine vital energy into the Sveta Mountain. On this grew a forest of white reeds, whose fiery brilliance was like that of the Sun. From this radiance was born the most glorious Karthikeya, whom the devas worshiped with great reverence, as they did also, lord Shiva and his consort Uma.
The daughter of the mountain king, Uma was furious at these happenings. Eyes red with anger she cursed them all, for preventing her from begetting a son. "Just as I am deprived, may you also be unable to father children. From now on your wives shall remain childless". She thundered. Nor did she spare, the earth, which she bitterly blamed and cursed "Evil one, my anger shall defile you. May you be manifold in form and wife to many masters. May you never experience a mother's love for her son". Beholding the shamed devatas, Siva started traveling towards the Himalayas. Reaching the northern slope and reaching a peak on that slope, he entered into a great penance along with Parvathi". Viswamitra concluding his narration asked Rama and Lakshmana to now listen to the origin of Ganga.
While lord Siva was immersed in his rigorous penance, the devatas led by Indra and Agni approached Brahma. Paying homage to the great one they said "At the beginning of creation you granted us the chief of armies, who is now engaged otherwise in deep penance along with Uma his consort". Brahma putting their fears to rest said, "The curse of Uma that you will not father any children is an inviolable truth, let there be no doubt about it. But there is Ganga flowing in the celestial regions. She will beget a son, fathered by the god of fire, Agni, and that son will lead your armies and destroy enemies. He will also become very dear to Uma". Relieved and grateful, the devatas bidding a reverential farewell to Brahma went on to mount Kailas to request Agni to grant a son to Ganga fathered by him. Agni met Ganga, who transformed herself into a divine human form. Where upon Agni pervaded her, releasing in her the creative energy. Ganga then spoke, saying that this great vitality in her was burning her, that it was unbearable and that she could no longer hold it. Agni told her to deposit it on the slopes of the Himalayas and Ganga expelled the tremendously radiant embryo from her body.
As the embryo was falling to earth, its luster was that of molten gold, from which derived gold and silver, along with metals like, copper, iron, tin and steel. The embryo placed on the mountain slopes emitted a wonderful light, engulfing the surroundings in a golden glow and in that brilliance materialized Kumara. The devatas led by Indra brought six nymphs to nurse the divine baby. As these Krittikas mothered and nursed the baby the gods declared the divine effulgence as Karthikeya who became famous in all the three worlds.
The Krittikas produced milk copiously to feed the child who was a manifestation of unsurpassed power and energy. He grew six heads and suckled milk with all his six mouths at once. A day's nourishment produced in him such indomitable power and energy, that he was able to vanquish hordes of demons. Though his body was still tender like that of a child, his vast in-born talents were awe-inspiring and the devatas appointed Karthikeya as chief of their armies.
This story of Ganga is auspicious and brings merit to those who worship Karthikeya. They will also enjoy a long life, blessed with sons and grandsons, and will live in the same world as that of Skanda in the life hereafter.
Viswamitra continued, saying, "Rama I will now narrate the story of an Ikshvaku ancestor. In the times past lived a virtuous king by name Sagara who was childless and whose yearning for them was intense. Kesini, the princess of Vidarbha known for righteousness was his first wife. Sagara's second wife was Arishtanemi's daughter Sumathi, whose beauty had no rival upon this earth.
One day Sagara accompanied by his two wives reached the Himalayan slopes and entered into a great penance. A hundred years passed thus. Bhrugu, pleased, came to Sagara and said, "my son, one of your wives shall give birth to one son, who will carry on your dynasty. The other will have sixty thousand sons of great valour and perseverance". Kesini and Sumati reverently asked the sage, "Brahmin which one will have the one son, and which one will give birth to many?" To that question, Bhrugu's answer was that they had the freedom to choose. Kesini then chose to have the one son, who would be the heir. Sumathi, sister of Garuda, chose to be mother to the sixty thousand sons of valor and fame. Content and joyous the king along with his wives paid grateful obeisance to the noble sage and went back to Ayodhya.
Seasons passed and the time came when Kesini gave birth to a son, who was named Asamanjasa. Sumathi gave birth to a gourd like fetus, which then split and out of it emerged the sixty thousand sons. The nurses kept them in jars of clarified butter who in the course of time grew into young adolescence and then reached resplendent, handsome manhood. Asamanjasa also grew but brought little joy to Sagara for the son of Kesini took to torturing children. He would seize them and hurl them into the waters of the Sarayu and watch gleefully as they struggled and drowned. Sagara banished him from Ayodhya. Asamanjasa's son Anshuman was valiant, courteous and loved by all. One day Sagara resolved to perform a yagna and gathering his priests and preceptors together, embarked on the rituals.
Rama was pleased with the story of his ancestor narrated by Viswamitra. The latter elaborated upon it, saying that the sacrifice took place between the two mighty mountain ranges of the Himalayas and the Vindyas, almost facing each other. This region was known to be the most sacred and appropriate for such religious rites. Anshuman mounted on a magnificent chariot, stood guard over the sacrificial horse with bow in hand. Even as Sagara the patron of the yaga was conducting the rituals, Indra in the form of a rakshasa swooped down and stole the horse. Alarmed, the preceptors pronounced that such an act would be a taint on the sacrifice. They urged Sagara to kill the thief and retrieve the horse, or it would bring disaster to all. Calling his sixty thousand sons together Sagara spoke to them. "I cannot see how the horse could be stolen from our midst. The yagna is being performed by the most venerable of priests, so I must remain here along with Anshuman. Do go, my sons and search league by league, the land girt by the oceans. Dig up the very earth, if need be, until such a time the horse is found". The army of Sagara's sons roamed the earth in earnest enthusiasm. They tore at the crust of the earth with nails, sharp and hard as jagged diamonds. They dug with fearsome spears, which went in and out like bolts of lightning, and they plowed deep inside, on every side, until the earth cried out in anguish.
There arose terrible cries from creatures tormented. The outcry of the nagas, asuras and rakshasa being killed was sheer agony. The sixty thousand separate individuals of tremendous valor and energy dug into the very core of the earth, excavating sixty thousand yojanas into the underworld of Rasatala. With the sound of spears, plows and the wailing of living beings tortured, the noise reached a crescendo. They even scooped out parts of Jambu Island filled with majestic mountains. Petrified and crestfallen, the devatas along with the uragas, asuras and gandharvas, invoked Brahma. They implored him to save them from the wrath of the sons of Sagara, saying that even great sages living in the lower world were being killed.
To those agitated and frightened devatas, Brahma said, "The entire earth belongs to Vasudeva who bears the earth in the form of a great sage by name Kapila. The sons of Sagara will burn in the fire of his anger. It is destined that the earth will be dug up and it is also destined that the sixty thousand sons of Sagara will perish". Their fears abated, the celestials reached their abodes, relieved and happy. Meanwhile as if boding ill a thunderous sound emanated from the earth which being systematically slit open by the princes. Having searched in vain, they approached Sagara saying that they had found neither the horse nor the horse thief. But outraged at their failure Sagara ordered them to resume the search and not come back until the horse was found.
Making haste the princes rushed back. Reaching Rasatala they bore deeper into the earth, where they came upon the Diggajas - Virupaksha, Bhadra, Mahapada and Saumanasa, the four elephants bearing the earth. Worshipping each one of them, they burrowed further down into the nether region, where they saw the eternal Vasudeva in the form of Kapila and not far away grazed the horse. Happy at having found the horse and angry with Vasudeva for having stolen it, they called him a thief. Kapila hearing them flew into a towering rage and emitted the single sound'Hmm'; and the sixty thousand mighty sons of Sagara were reduced to ashes. Such was the power of Kapila, beyond conception and comprehension.
This concludes the chapters 35, 36, 37, 38, 39 and 40 where we learn about the river Ganga, tales around it, king Sagara of Ikshvaku dynasty who is going to be related to the Ganga reaching Earth. It has to be noted that Viswamitra started narrated about origin of Ganga, tales around it once they reached the river and performed holy rituals in sacred river along with Rama. The narration about the holy river will continue in next post where we learn how the river was brought to Earth by Ikshvaku king Bhageeratha to purify the land, people it touches and bring them to heaven.
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