The Story of Bhagiratha and Ganga…

Hi there!!! Today's story is about Bhagiratha, an ancestor of Rama, and the River Ganga. Let's go…

The Story of Bhagiratha doesn't start from when he was born, nooo. It starts all the way from the time of his great-great-grandfather, King Sagara.
Sagara was performing an Ashwamedha Yajna, in which he sent a gleaming white horse around the whole country. Wherever the horse put its hooves, Sagara would earn that kingdom as his own. Or, the current ruler of that kingdom would fight him.
When Sagara's horse was wandering aimlessly around, Indra, the god of the heavens, started to worry. He trembled at the sight of the horse. Sagara was a decorated king, so Indra thought that Sagara wanted the heavens!! But, Indra was smart. He was cunning. He stole the horse and locked it up in the heavens!!
Sagara was enraged!!! But, he only knew that his horse was missing. He had no clue that Indra had taken his horse and kept it in his court!! Sagara sent his 60,000 sons all the way around the country, looking for the chalk-white horse.
Not long after the start of their journey, the sons of Sagara found hoofprints. They followed the hoofprints on to Sage Kapila's ashram, where the horse was calmly drinking water from a bowl. They saw Kapila meditating, with his eyes closed and chanting, "Om… Om…" Concluding, the sons of Sagara thought that Kapila had stolen their horse!! They started insulting him. They even threw a few small stones at him!! But, Kapila wasn't perturbed. He kept meditating.
Soon, Sage Kapila lost his cool. He opened his eyes in rage. Suddenly, the 60,000 children turned to ashes!!! Their bodies became heaps of black cinders.

Meanwhile, Sagara got anxious about his sons. He sent Anshuman, his grandson, to go and retrieve his horse.
Anshuman followed the hoofprints that his uncles had followed before him. When he reached Sage Kapila's ashram, he saw the ashes of his kin. He started weeping at the sight of his elders' embers. Kapila acknowledged Anshuman's arrival and said, " Hello, Anshuman," Anshuman kept on weeping. He pleaded Kapila, "Please let my uncles go to heaven. Please help them attain moksha!!" Kapila replied, " You must bring River Ganga down to Earth. She must flow over the ashes of your kin."
So, Anshuman took the horse to Sagara and explained the situation. Sagara tried performing a penance to Lord Bramha, but he died while he was chanting.

Centuries passed. Each king after Sagara tried to please the gods, but they died in the process. Many, many years; many, many kings.
A long, long time passed. Soon, Bhagiratha was born. He was Dilipa's (The great-great-grandson of Sagara) son.
When his father lay on his deathbed, Bhagiratha was introduced to the task that his ancestors had been given. Bhagiratha was bent on completing the task, so he set out to the forest.
Bhagiratha performed a severe penance to please the Creator of the Universe, Lord Bramha.
After many long years, Bramha appeared before Bhagiratha, "What do you desire, My boy?" Bhagiratha expressed his desire to let Ganga flow on the Earth. Bramha stated, "That's impossible!! You know that Ganga would crush the Earth if she came!! Pray to Lord Shiva, for he can help you," and Bramha disappeared into the clouds.
Bhagiratha continued his penance, but it was for Lord Shiva.
Shiva appeared before him and said, "What do you want, little one?" Bhagiratha replied, "I would like you to hold the force of Ganga and let her flow peacefully down to earth," Shiva blessed him and went to heaven.

In the heavens, Ganga rushed down from her abode. Shiva sat calmly and waited for her to come close. Ganga rushed down, flowing to Shiva. Looking up, Shiva slightly opened his hair and received Ganga through them. His locks got flooded with Ganga's water, who trickled down. Only a sliver of her water came down to earth.
Meanwhile, on earth, Sage Jahnu was conducting a yajna. As Ganga flowed down, Jahnu's yajna was disrupted. He was enraged!!! In a fit of anger, he drank all of Gang's water. Bhagiratha was dismal. He pleaded Jahnu to let out the water. Jahnu was annoyed, but he soon calmed down. He let out Ganga's water from his ear and made it trickle on to Bhagiratha's ancestors' ashes. They attained moksha and flew to heaven.
Thus, Bhagiratha fulfilled his task.

Fun Fact Nº 1: Ganga is also called Bhagirathi and Jahnavi, because she was called by Bhagiratha and she came from Sage Jahnu

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