Bala Kanda, Sarga 44

Meaning

Reaching the excavation made by Sagara’s sons, followed by the Gaṅgā, the king Bhagīratha then entered the lowest stratum of the bowels of the earth, where his great grand-uncles lay reduced to ashes. (1)

Meaning

When their ashes had been thoroughly washed by the water of the Gaṅgā, Brahmā, the overlord of the whole universe, called on and spoke to the king as follows : (2)

Meaning

“The sixty thousand sons of the high-souled Sagara have all been delivered from damnation, O tiger among men, and have ascended to heaven like gods. (3)

Meaning

“Like the very gods all the sons of Sagara will abide in heaven so long as the water of the ocean continues to exist on earth, O prince ! (4)

Meaning

“Nay, this Gaṅgā will be your eldest daughter and will now be widely known in the world by the name Bhāgīrathī, derived from you. (5)

Meaning

“The Gaṅgā will also be called Tripathagā, following a threefold path, Divyā (a heavenly stream) and Bhāgīrathī (daughter of Bhagīratha). Because it carves its way through the three spheres, viz., heaven, earth and the subterranean region, hence it is designated as ‘Tripathagā’. (6)

Meaning

“Offer water here on the bank of the Gaṅgā to all your great grand-uncles, O ruler of men, and implement the vow undertaken by your forefathers and yourself, viz., of redeeming the sons of Sagara by offering them the water of the Gaṅgā, O king! (7)

Meaning

“This ambition of bringing down the Gaṅgā to the mortal plane was not at all realized in those days by that celebrated ancestor of yours, viz., Sagara, who enjoyed exceptional glory and was the foremost of pious souls. (8)

Meaning

“Even so, the vow could not be redeemed, O dear child, even by the royal sage Aṁśumān, who was invested with a glory which had no parallel in the world, nay, who longed to bring the Gaṅgā down to the earth, was full of excellences, possessed a splendour resembling that of great Ṛṣis, was my equal in asceticism and devoted to the duties of a Kṣatriya. (9-10)

Meaning

“The Gaṅgā could not be brought down to the terrestrial plane, O highly blessed one, even by your exceedingly glorious father, Dilīpa, much though he implored her to that effect, O sinless prince ! (11)

Meaning

“That vow has been implemented by you, O jewel among men, and you have in consequence attained the highest glory, solicited even by the greatest in the world. (12)

Meaning

“The celebrated achievement in the shape of bringing down the Gaṅgā to the terrestrial plane has been accomplished by you, O subduer of foes ! and by this you have attained the great reward of virtue in the shape of the realm of Brahmā. (13)

Meaning

“Even though pure, bathe yourself, O jewel among men, in the water of the holy Gaṅgā, which is fit for bath all the year round (unlike other rivers which are rendered unfit for bath during the monsoons) and attain the reward of your merit, O superman! (14)

Meaning

“Offer water to all your great grand-uncles, may all be well with you. I shall now go back to my realm, you may also return to your own capital, O protector of men !” (15)

Meaning

(Viśwāmitra continues) “Saying so, the highly glorious Brahmā (the progenitor of all the worlds), the overlord of gods, ascended to the realm of gods even as he had come.(16)

Meaning

“Having offered the best water to Sagara’s sons in order of seniority and according to the scriptural ordinance, and having similarly gratified his other forbears too and getting purified thereby, the exceptionally glorious Bhagīratha, a seer among kings, for his part returned to his capital: so the tradition goes. His aim having been realized thereby, he ruled over his kingdom, O jewel among men ! (17-18)

Meaning

“The people greatly rejoiced to get him—their king—once more, O scion of Raghu ! With their grief, caused by separation from him, dispelled, they felt accomplished of purpose and found their anxiety gone. (19)

Meaning

“In this way, O Rāma, the story of the descent of the Gaṅgā has been narrated to you at length by me. Attain blessedness as a reward of hearing it, may prosperity attend you ! The hour of Sandhyā prayers is slipping past. (20)

Meaning

The departed forbears of the man who narrates to the Brāhmaṇas, the Kṣatriyas and others this story—which fetches wealth and renown, is conducive to longevity and ensures the birth of a male issue and also residence in heaven—feel gratified and gods too get propitiated thereby. He who listens, O scion of Kakutstha, to this blessed story of the descent of the Gaṅgā to the mortal plane, which is conducive to longevity, bids fair to attain all his desired objects. All his sins totally disappear and the span of his life as well as his fame extends.” (21—23)