The river Ganga is considered to be sacred by followers of the Vedic Sanatana Dharma religion. The waters of the holy river, from time immemorial, are known for their power to cleanse one from all sins. Our dear Lord Narayana too, while enumerating the best of worldly forms and to highlight that He is indeed the indwelling Supersoul of even all those, says (Bhagavad Gita 10.31): "I am Jahnavi (another name of Ganga) among rivers" (srotasAmasmi jAhnavI), thereby re-establishing the highly-held sanctity of this sacred river.
Sri Narayana Bhattathiri also confirms the excellence of this river in Narayaneeyam:
* bathing in river Ganges;
* study of Bhagavad Gita;
* recitaion of Gayatri Mantra;
* Offerings of Tulasi leaves (holy basil);
* Sacred scented clay, Gopika Chandana;
* Worship of Saligrama (a deity form of Vishnu found naturally);
* Fasting on Ekadasi (eleventh day of each fortnight); and
* Chanting of Thy holy names (even if done without understanding their meanings)
- all of which need little effort, lead to swift liberation through propitiating Thee.
O Lord ! May Thou cause me to practice these with sincerity.]
Even the popular "Bhaja Govindam" hymn, attributed to Sri Adi Sankaracharya and his disciples, says --
Sri Narayana Bhattathiri also confirms the excellence of this river in Narayaneeyam:
ga^ngA gItA ca gAyatryapi ca tulasikA gopikA candanaM tat
sAlagrAmAbhi pUjA parapuruSa tathaikAdashI nAmavarNAH |
etAnyaSTApyayatnAnyayi kalisamaye tvatprasAda pravRddhyA
kSipraM mukti pradAnItyabhidadhuH RSayasteSu maam sajjayethAH ||
(Narayaneeyam, 92-9)
[Sages have declared that, in Kali Yuga, eight deeds that take one to liberation easily -* bathing in river Ganges;
* study of Bhagavad Gita;
* recitaion of Gayatri Mantra;
* Offerings of Tulasi leaves (holy basil);
* Sacred scented clay, Gopika Chandana;
* Worship of Saligrama (a deity form of Vishnu found naturally);
* Fasting on Ekadasi (eleventh day of each fortnight); and
* Chanting of Thy holy names (even if done without understanding their meanings)
- all of which need little effort, lead to swift liberation through propitiating Thee.
O Lord ! May Thou cause me to practice these with sincerity.]
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| Devaprayag, on the bank of River Ganga (Copyright: Vvnataraj) |
[If one reads a little bit of Bhagavad Gita, drinks a few drops of the sacred waters of the river Ganga, or does a little bit of devotional service to Murari (an appellation of Lord Vishnu meaning 'the slayer of the demon Mura'), that person will not be having any unsavory encounters with Lord Yama (the lord responsible for punishing evil persons in hell after their death).]bhagavad gIta ki~ncit adhItAga^ngA jala-lava kaNikA pItA |sakRdapi-yena murAri samarcAkriyate tasya yamena na carcA ||
Itihasas, Puranas, and the works of Acharyas attribute the sacredness of Ganga to its association with Lord Vishnu's lotus-feet. In fact, it is confirmed by them that the river itself has its origin there. We shall see a few instances in those works where these are mentioned.
Sri Adi Sankaracharya's direct disciple Sureshvaracharya says thus in Naishkarmya Siddhi, while saluting his Acharya:
"viSNoH pAdAnugAM nikhila-bhava-nudaM sha^nkaro(a)vApa yogAtsarvaj~naM brahmasaMsthaM muni-gaNa-sahitaM samyagabhyarcya bhaktyA |vidyAM ga^ngAM-iva-ahaM pravara-guNa-nidheH prApya vedAntadIptAMkAruNyAt-tAm-avocaM janimRtinivahadhvastaye duHkhitebhyaH ||"
- (Naishkarmya Siddhi, IV.76)
[Having worshipped (Acharya Sri) Sankara -- who is all-knowing, established in (the knowledge of) Brahman, accompanied by a host of sages -- with devotion, I obtained from him who is the treasure of most excellent virtues, knowledge which, like the river Ganga, is illuminated by the Vedanta, that follows the feet of Lord Vishnu, and that, while destroying the sorrow of worldly existence, Sankara had attained through yoga; and from compassion, I have set it forth for sufferers to overcome the cycles of birth and death and obtain liberation.]
The above verse is a beautiful word-play comparing Ganga to spiritual knowledge, and is also a double entendre on the name 'Sankara', which stands for both the name of the Acharya as well as Lord Siva who bears the Ganga as his crown. Sri Jnanottama Misra, the advaitic commentator who wrote the "Candrika" gloss expanding on the Naishkarmya Siddhi, explains here --
viSNor-vyApino jagat-kAraNasya padamadhiSThAnaM saccidAnanda-eka-rasam-anugacchatIti viSNoH padAnugA vidyA | ga^ngApi viSNoH puruSottamasya caraNam-anusRtya gacchatIti "vAmapada-a^nguSTha-nakha-sroto-vinirgatAm"-iti smaraNAt |
[The knowledge that bears the fruit of liberation flows from the feet of Vishnu, the all-pervading Creator of the universe. Also, the river Ganga is known to flow from the Divine Feet of Lord Purushottama (another appellation of the Lord, meaning 'best among men'). We read thus in the scriptures: "(The river Ganga) flows from the left toenail (of Lord Vishnu)".]
The full version of the verse quoted by Jnanottama occurs in the Vishnu Purana, the "Gem of all Puranas" (purANaratna), and is given below:
vAma-padAmbuja-a^nguSTha-sroto-vinirgatAM |viSNor-bibharti yAM bhaktyA shirasAharniSaM dhRvaH ||
(Vishnu Purana, II.8.104)
In the Srimad Bhagavatam, we are told that Lord Siva, having known that the river washed the feet of Lord Vishnu, bears Ganga on his head as he is aware of the principles of the religious:
tat-pAda shaucaM jana-kalmaSApahaM sa dharmavin-mUrdhny-adhadAt suma^ngalaM |yad-deva-devo girishaH-candra-maulir-dadhAdara mUrdhnA parayA ca bhaktyA ||
(Srimad Bhagavata Purana, 8.18.28)
Sri Narayana Bhattathiri's Narayaneeyam, which forms a beautiful summary of the Bhagavatam in 1000 verses, explains the same:
prahlAda-vaMshajatayA kratubhir-dvijeSu
vishvAsato nu tadidaM ditijo(a)pi lebhe |
yatte padAmbu girishasya shiro(a)bhilAlyaM
sa tvaM vibho gurupurAlaya pAlayethAH ||
(Narayaneeyam, 30-10)
[The sacred water flowing from Thy feet, adorns the head of Lord Siva. Although a demon by birth, Bali, was fortunate enough to have it sprinkled on his head, perhaps due to his being born in the dynasty of Prahlada, or due to his sacrifices or because of his faith in Brahmins. Oh Guruvayurappa, May Thou of such glory, save me].
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| Lord Vishnu measures the universe in three steps, subduing Mahabali and the demons |
Sri Sarvajnatma Muni, another early Advaita Acharya, writes thus at the end of the sa^nkSepa shAriraka, dedicating the work to the lotus feet of Lord Vishnu:
avirala-pada-pa^nktiH padmanAbhasya puNyAcaraNa-kamala-dhUligrAhiNI bhAratIyaM |ghanataraM upaghAtaM shreyasaH shrotRsa^ngAtsurasaridiva sadyo mArSTu mA^ngalya-hetuH ||
(Samksepa-Sariraka, IV. 61)
[Like Ganga -- the river of the celestials, let these auspicious words running to several thousand lines, from its association with the dust of the lotus feet of Lord Padmanabha (another name of Lord Hari meaning, 'one who has the primordial lotus -- the source of the universe -- springing from his navel'), immediately release one from darkness and ignorance upon hearing them, and serve them as a means for reaching auspiciousness.]
Srimad Ramatirtha, who wrote a sub-commentary "anvayA-artha-prakAshikA" to the Samksepa Sariraka, explains here that the author, Sri Sarvajnatma Muni, is dedicating his work to Bhagavan Narayana, the Lord. (etA kRtiM bhagavati nArAyaNe samarpayan sva-kRter-ma^ngalaM prArthayate).
Ramatirtha says further that Sarvajnatman is presenting this work to all, after having dedicated it to Lord Narayana in the form of Sri Padmanabha -- the form of the Lord residing in the city of Anantapuri, the modern-day Trivandrum/Tiruvanantapuram of Kerala -- by which process the book carries the dust of the lotus-feet of the Lord (padmanAbhasya shrImad-anantapurI-vAsinaH sheshA^nke shayAnasya nArAyaNasya caraNa-kamala-dhUli-grAhiNI taccaraNayoH samarpitA satI tathAvidhA).
The commentator explains the comparison with the river Ganga next: "Indeed, the river Ganga also carries the dust of the same Lord Padmanabha, the one who bore the form of Trivikrama -- the form to which the Lord expanded himself to measure the entire universe by three steps, during the divine Vamana avatAra. Hence, the sin-cleansing auspicious nature of the river Ganga is also meant. (ga^ngA tu padmanAbhasya trivikramarUpaMdhRtavataH caraNa-kamala-dhUli grAhiNI prasiddhA, ata eva puNyA pAvayitrI bhAratI ga^ngA ca ityarthaH).
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| Lord Ananta Padmanabha Swami of Tiruvanantapuram, Kerala |
Finally, the Tamil poet Kambar, in his Kambaramayana (Tamil version of Sage Valmiki's epic Ramayana), re-establishes this Vedic doctrine about the river Ganga:
(1) "The river Ganga was produced from the sacred pot (kamaNDalam) of the four-faced Lord Brahma when he washed the feet of Vishnu" ("pa^nkayattu ayan paNDu tan pAdattin am kaiyin tarum gangaiyin nIrADinAn" - Kambaramayanam ayOdyA kANDam, gangaip paDalam, verse 16).
(2) In the verse that immediately follows, the poet illustrates the scene of Rama having a bath in the river, at which point the poet says that the river Ganga, which washes away the sins of those who take a dip in it, is rejoicing that her own sins are being delivered, since Rama, who as Vishnu was its own origin, took a dip in it! ("panni nIkka arum pAdakam pAruLor ennin nIkkuvar: yAnum inRu en tanda unnin nIkkinen. uyndenan yAn") Kambar clearly implies here that the sin-destroying capacity of the river Ganga itself is dependent on the Highest Lord, Sriman Narayana.
REFERENCES
[1] Narayaneeyam references: see end of this article.
[2] Naiskarmyasiddhi of Sureshvaracharya with the Chandrika of Jnanottama, Bombay Sanskrit Series No. XXXVIII, 1891 (edited with notes and index by Colonel G. A. Jacob). Readable online for free here.
[3] Samksepa Sariraka of Sarvajnatma Muni, with the anvayA-artha-prakAshikA Tiika of Srimad Ramatirtha. Readable online fore free here.
[4] Vishnu Purana with Sridhara Swami's "svaprakAsha" gloss, Saraswati Press, Kolkata, 1882. Read online for free here.
[5] Transcriptions of two episodes of Sri U. Ve. Velukkudi Krishnan Swami's Podhigai TV lectures on Bhagavad Gita, dealing with River Ganga and its history: [a][b].
