(P) How the River Ganges Came Down from Heaven
There was once a wise king called Sagara. He had 60,000 sons, who were all brave and strong. King Sagara was the greatest king on earth and the Emperor of the World. He started one-hundred great sacrifices to see if other kings accepted him as their emperor. The holy books said that anyone who performed one-hundred sacrifices would also become the king of heaven. King Sagara had completed ninety-nine sacrifices and had only one more to perform.
At the beginning of this final sacrifice, he chose the finest horse in his kingdom. He set it free to wander over the world for a whole year. When the horse roamed into another kingdom, the king there had two choices. Either he could accept Sagara as his emperor, or he could capture the horse and, riding upon it, declare war against Sagara.
But something happened that spoiled the emperor’s plans. Indra, the king of the gods, was jealous of Sagara. He was worried that the king might take over his throne in heaven. Therefore, just as the horse galloped off, the god stole it and hid it underground.
Hearing what had happened, King Sagara asked his 60,000 sons for help. They were devoted to their father, and travelled all over the world, searching for the horse. Finally, they came to the ashram (hermitage) of a holy man named Kapila. They saw the sage deep in meditation and found the horse nearby Thinking the sage to be the thief, they attacked him. Kapila awoke form his meditation, and was furious at being disturbed. Simply by looking at Sagara’s sons, he burnt them to ashes. Later, one of Sagara’s grandsons found the horse and took it back to his grandfather, who completed the one-hundredth sacrifice.
Many, many years later, Bhagiratha, one of the great grandchildren of King Sagara, became king. When he heard the story of his ancestors, he became very gloomy. King Bhagiratha was worried that after their violent deaths, his ancestors had not reached heaven. He went to see Sage Kapila, asking his advice. The sage told him that the waters of the river Ganga could purify the ashes of his ancestors and help the dead princes reach heaven.
He explained why the water of the Ganga were so special. A long time ago, Lord Vishnu crossed the whole universe by taking only three steps. When he took the last step, his toe touched the wall of the universe, and cracked it. Some water came in, and it became the water of the River Ganga, which flowed in heaven. Because the water had touched Vishnu’s foot, it was holy.
Bhagiratha followed holy man’s advice, and prayed for the river Ganga to come down from heaven. Lord Vishnu heard his prayers and asked Ganga, the river goddess, to descend to earth. But it was clear that the river was so ferocious that it might damage or even destroy the earth.
Bhagiratha feared such a disaster and prayed again. Lord Shiva heard his prayers and held out his matted hair to catch the river as she fell. In this way, he softened her descent to earth. Shiva is still shown with the holy river entering his hair.
Then King Bhagiratha led the river across India. Ganga divided herself into a hundred streams. One of these streams washed the ashes of the dead princes, and their souls went to heaven.
The River Ganga still flows in India and Hindus consider it a holy river. They bath regularly in her waters. They believe that Ganga can purify them and give them liberation. Where the Ganga reaches the sea, there is an island called ‘Sagara Island. Every year there is a festival there, and Hindu people tell the story of how the holy river came down from heaven.