Friday, August 22, 2008
The Story of Ganga
The following is the story of Ganga written as an introduction to a dance drama for the Telugu Cultural Association of Austin. This introduction was accompanied by a slide show before the actual dance drama commenced.
The Story of Ganga : Ganga Avarohanam : Dance drama for the TCA Diwali function in 2007.
Tonight we are proud to present ‘Ganga’ a legendary tale about a mighty river that is considered one of the most sacred rivers by Hindus all over.
Beginning high in the snowy Himalayas, Ganga rises in the Gangotri glacier at Goumukh in the state of Uttaranchal in India. Couched in the magnificent Garhwal hills, Gangotri is at an altitude of 3048 meters above sea level and is very near the Indo-Tibetan border.
Here the river is known as Bhagirathi after King -Bhagirath.
Rising in the icy caves of Gangotri glacier, the gushing , tossing and gurgling Bhagirathi starts its long journey downwards where it joins river 'Alaknanda' and becomes Ganga.It flows 2150Km across a vast plain to the Bay of Bengal. The fertile Ganges plain is one of the most densely populated regions in the world
There are many legends associated with river Ganga and its heavenly origins.
This descent of Ganga from its heavenly abode, is a beautiful educational tale that illustrates the glory of this great river and the greatness of the people who were able to bring it forth and harness its purfying properties for the benefit of mankind.
The honor of performing this formidable task falls upon a descendant of king Sagara , named Bhagiratha.
King Sagara was a mighty monarch of Suryavamsam, and wanted to declare his supremacy by performing the Aswamedha Yagna or Horse Sacrifice. This was an accepted practice of ancient Hindu kings, who, in order to declare themselves emperors, released a horse into neighbouring kingdoms, and proclaimed suzereignity over the lands where the horse wandered freely
As the Aswamedha progressed, Indra the heavenly monarch started to feel threatened and quietly stole the horse and tied it close to the hermitage/ashram of Sage Kapila.
Sagara’s 60,000 sons were sent out in search of the horse and found it in Sage Kapila’s Ashram, When they saw this, they set about freeing the horse and destroying everything in sight.
The Sage, who was performing austerities at that time, was rudely awakened from his meditation. In his anger, he reduced the 60,000 princes to ashes.
King Sagara later begged for forgiveness from the sage, but couldn;t do anything about his loss.He found out that the only way he could provide salvation or liberation for his sons souls was to pray to Brahma and through him persuade Ganga to descend to earth and wash away their impurities, so that their souls may ascend to heaven.
King Sagara and his succeeding generations tried in vain to accomplish this daunting task but failed.
It was only the seventh descendant of Sagara, a just and noble king named Bhagiratha who could manage enough austerities to make Brahma appear before him.
Happy with Bhagiratha's conduct, Brahma asked Bhagiratha to pray to Ganga and request her to flow to the earth from her current abode in heaven. Ganga agreed, but also warned the prince that if she flowed directly to the terrestrial world, the earth, it would be helpless against her overwhelming current, and all life would be washed away in its flood. She asked him to find a suitable holding place for her. The only recourse left to Bhagiratha was to pray to Lord Shiva, whose matted hair held sufficient power to withstand the onslaught of Ganga's forceful fall. Bhagiratha continued his austerities, this time focussed on pleasing lord Shiva, which he eventually did.
‘Ganga’ is visualized in Indian thought as a virtuous, but mischievous and restless maiden, just as many young lasses are. She allowed herself to follow Brahma's dictate to descend to earth, but couldn't playfully resist the unwarranted and undeserved feeling that she could sweep away even the mighty Shiva in her forceful current. Shiva, gauging her thoughts, decided to teach her a lesson. Spreading open his serpentine coils of hair, he covered the entire sky, and collected all the waves of Ganga in his outspread locks.
Then with a mighty swoop, he captured Ganga in the infinite swirls and whirls of his hair. Ganga still flowed with tremendous force, but could not escape, and remained imprisoned and confined inside Shiva's hair.
Bhagiratha, perplexed at the happenings, appealed to Shiva to release Ganga, so that she could wash away the sins of his ancestors, symbolized in their mortal remains. Shiva relented, and in any case Ganga had learnt her lesson. Thus Ganga again followed Bhagiratha, who showed her the way. But there were still more adventures to come.
Just near their ultimate destination lay the hermitage of another accomplished sage, known as Jahnu. Ganga, ever the playful maiden, hurried over to what she perceived was a new and curious place. And lo and behold, barely had she entered upon the precincts of the ashram (hermitage), that it became flooded, and all sacrificial fires were extinguished. The ritual utensils and tools were washed away, and the inhabitants of the sanctuary became frightened and anxious. The leader of the ashram, sage Jahnu, became livid at Ganga's intrusion. He then chanted a mantra, and took a sip of the water flowing all around his hermitage. With the power of his mantra, he swallowed away Ganga with all her waters. All traces of Ganga were gone.
Bhagiratha was in a fix. No sooner had he overcome one hurdle, than another was created, mostly due to the impulsiveness and restlessness of Ganga. He hurried over to Jahnu, and explained to him the magnitude and significance of the task he was out to accomplish. Jahnu gave him a sympathetic hearing and appreciated his hard work in bringing Ganga to the earthly realm. Consoling Bhagiratha, he said: " For you, I will release Ganga immediately," and saying this,he let Ganga flow out of his ear. The waters of Ganga flew out like a fountain. Hence Ganga came to be known as Jahnvi, the daughter of sage Jahnu. She is still known by that name in that part of the world.
Thankfully, the rest of the way was without any further adventures, and Bhagiratha successfully showed Ganga the way to the ashes of his ancestors. As soon as Ganga touched the ashes, the ancestors arose, glowing forth in their astral bodies, and ascended towards heaven. Carrying away their mortal remains, Ganga merged into the ocean, which hitherto had been dry.
From that day onwards, the ocean came to be known as 'Sagara,' in honor of the king who started it all in the first place. The place where Ganga merged in the ocean, came to be known as Ganga-Sagar.
This legend makes amply clear that Ganga's purity and auspiciousness springs in no small measure from her proximity to various important divinities and holy sages. Falling onto Shiva's head, where she meanders through his tangled locks, the mighty Ganga appears in this world after having been made more sacred by her direct contact with Shiva, and also the accomplished ascetic Jahnu. The river then spreads the divine potency of these hallowed personalities into the world, when she flows into the terrestrial realm.
Tonight, we will witness this impressive descent of the mighty river from its heavenly abode to the land of mere mortals in our presentation of “Ganga”.
The Story of Ganga : Ganga Avarohanam : Dance drama for the TCA Diwali function in 2007.
Tonight we are proud to present ‘Ganga’ a legendary tale about a mighty river that is considered one of the most sacred rivers by Hindus all over.
Beginning high in the snowy Himalayas, Ganga rises in the Gangotri glacier at Goumukh in the state of Uttaranchal in India. Couched in the magnificent Garhwal hills, Gangotri is at an altitude of 3048 meters above sea level and is very near the Indo-Tibetan border.
Here the river is known as Bhagirathi after King -Bhagirath.
Rising in the icy caves of Gangotri glacier, the gushing , tossing and gurgling Bhagirathi starts its long journey downwards where it joins river 'Alaknanda' and becomes Ganga.It flows 2150Km across a vast plain to the Bay of Bengal. The fertile Ganges plain is one of the most densely populated regions in the world
There are many legends associated with river Ganga and its heavenly origins.
This descent of Ganga from its heavenly abode, is a beautiful educational tale that illustrates the glory of this great river and the greatness of the people who were able to bring it forth and harness its purfying properties for the benefit of mankind.
The honor of performing this formidable task falls upon a descendant of king Sagara , named Bhagiratha.
King Sagara was a mighty monarch of Suryavamsam, and wanted to declare his supremacy by performing the Aswamedha Yagna or Horse Sacrifice. This was an accepted practice of ancient Hindu kings, who, in order to declare themselves emperors, released a horse into neighbouring kingdoms, and proclaimed suzereignity over the lands where the horse wandered freely
As the Aswamedha progressed, Indra the heavenly monarch started to feel threatened and quietly stole the horse and tied it close to the hermitage/ashram of Sage Kapila.
Sagara’s 60,000 sons were sent out in search of the horse and found it in Sage Kapila’s Ashram, When they saw this, they set about freeing the horse and destroying everything in sight.
The Sage, who was performing austerities at that time, was rudely awakened from his meditation. In his anger, he reduced the 60,000 princes to ashes.
King Sagara later begged for forgiveness from the sage, but couldn;t do anything about his loss.He found out that the only way he could provide salvation or liberation for his sons souls was to pray to Brahma and through him persuade Ganga to descend to earth and wash away their impurities, so that their souls may ascend to heaven.
King Sagara and his succeeding generations tried in vain to accomplish this daunting task but failed.
It was only the seventh descendant of Sagara, a just and noble king named Bhagiratha who could manage enough austerities to make Brahma appear before him.
Happy with Bhagiratha's conduct, Brahma asked Bhagiratha to pray to Ganga and request her to flow to the earth from her current abode in heaven. Ganga agreed, but also warned the prince that if she flowed directly to the terrestrial world, the earth, it would be helpless against her overwhelming current, and all life would be washed away in its flood. She asked him to find a suitable holding place for her. The only recourse left to Bhagiratha was to pray to Lord Shiva, whose matted hair held sufficient power to withstand the onslaught of Ganga's forceful fall. Bhagiratha continued his austerities, this time focussed on pleasing lord Shiva, which he eventually did.
‘Ganga’ is visualized in Indian thought as a virtuous, but mischievous and restless maiden, just as many young lasses are. She allowed herself to follow Brahma's dictate to descend to earth, but couldn't playfully resist the unwarranted and undeserved feeling that she could sweep away even the mighty Shiva in her forceful current. Shiva, gauging her thoughts, decided to teach her a lesson. Spreading open his serpentine coils of hair, he covered the entire sky, and collected all the waves of Ganga in his outspread locks.
Then with a mighty swoop, he captured Ganga in the infinite swirls and whirls of his hair. Ganga still flowed with tremendous force, but could not escape, and remained imprisoned and confined inside Shiva's hair.
Bhagiratha, perplexed at the happenings, appealed to Shiva to release Ganga, so that she could wash away the sins of his ancestors, symbolized in their mortal remains. Shiva relented, and in any case Ganga had learnt her lesson. Thus Ganga again followed Bhagiratha, who showed her the way. But there were still more adventures to come.
Just near their ultimate destination lay the hermitage of another accomplished sage, known as Jahnu. Ganga, ever the playful maiden, hurried over to what she perceived was a new and curious place. And lo and behold, barely had she entered upon the precincts of the ashram (hermitage), that it became flooded, and all sacrificial fires were extinguished. The ritual utensils and tools were washed away, and the inhabitants of the sanctuary became frightened and anxious. The leader of the ashram, sage Jahnu, became livid at Ganga's intrusion. He then chanted a mantra, and took a sip of the water flowing all around his hermitage. With the power of his mantra, he swallowed away Ganga with all her waters. All traces of Ganga were gone.
Bhagiratha was in a fix. No sooner had he overcome one hurdle, than another was created, mostly due to the impulsiveness and restlessness of Ganga. He hurried over to Jahnu, and explained to him the magnitude and significance of the task he was out to accomplish. Jahnu gave him a sympathetic hearing and appreciated his hard work in bringing Ganga to the earthly realm. Consoling Bhagiratha, he said: " For you, I will release Ganga immediately," and saying this,he let Ganga flow out of his ear. The waters of Ganga flew out like a fountain. Hence Ganga came to be known as Jahnvi, the daughter of sage Jahnu. She is still known by that name in that part of the world.
Thankfully, the rest of the way was without any further adventures, and Bhagiratha successfully showed Ganga the way to the ashes of his ancestors. As soon as Ganga touched the ashes, the ancestors arose, glowing forth in their astral bodies, and ascended towards heaven. Carrying away their mortal remains, Ganga merged into the ocean, which hitherto had been dry.
From that day onwards, the ocean came to be known as 'Sagara,' in honor of the king who started it all in the first place. The place where Ganga merged in the ocean, came to be known as Ganga-Sagar.
This legend makes amply clear that Ganga's purity and auspiciousness springs in no small measure from her proximity to various important divinities and holy sages. Falling onto Shiva's head, where she meanders through his tangled locks, the mighty Ganga appears in this world after having been made more sacred by her direct contact with Shiva, and also the accomplished ascetic Jahnu. The river then spreads the divine potency of these hallowed personalities into the world, when she flows into the terrestrial realm.
Tonight, we will witness this impressive descent of the mighty river from its heavenly abode to the land of mere mortals in our presentation of “Ganga”.
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