The Indian Dharma

In the previous episode, we witnessed the next important accord given by Sage Naarada – This time about Sage Rishyashringa. Sage Rishyashringa was the son of Sage Vibhaandaka and he got married to Shaanta Devi. Once, in the Anga Desha wherein he was residing, there was a huge drought and people started to struggle for food and water. At that point in time, the king of Anga Desha learnt that only if Sage Rishyashringa’s feet touch the soil of Anga Desha, will it rain again. Hence, upon the king’s request, Sage Rishyashringa was brought to Anga Desha and the moment his feet set on the soil, it started raining copiously and with this, the drought condition came to an end. Moreover, Sage Rishyashringa was the person who was approached by King Dasharata of the neighbouring Ayodhya for performing the “Putra-Kaameshti-Yaaga”. This, as all of us know, was aimed at obtaining children for King Dasharata and with this, four divine children (Incarnations of Bhagawan Vishnu Himself) were born – Bhagawan Rama, Lakshmana, Bharata and Shatrughna. Thus, Sage Rishyashringa was instrumental in ensuring that Bhagawan Rama incarnated at Ayodhya. 

Now, as we understood the background story of Sage Vibhaandaka and Sage Rishyashringa, we shall go into detail about Sage Vibhaandaka’s “Charitra” a bit, and through this, Sage Naarada is trying to drive home an important point. Once upon a time, there was a great Sage by name Sage Rishaba. Even though he was a sage, he was extremely short-tempered. In other words, even if there was something that was slightly happening against his liking, he would get extremely angry and inflict curses on the person who is instrumental behind that action. We might wonder here that Sage Rishaba is a great Maharishi, but how can he get angry so badly like this? The fact here is that Sage Rishaba wanted to live in absolute peace and tranquillity amidst nature. Hence, even if there was a slightest noise somewhere around, he would get angry very quickly! Hence, in the forest where he lived and performed his penance, he had even gone to the extent of instructing the rivers that pass by, to flow silently without any sound! Even for the animals and the birds there – They also should remain silent without making any noise, if they’ve to live there! 

It is in this same forest, Sage Vibhaandaka was living. Once upon a time, since Sage Vibhaandaka’s sperms somehow went inside a deer, the deer became pregnant and subsequently delivered a baby boy, who was none other than Sage Rishyashringa. Sage Rishyashringa, right from day one of his birth, did not know anything about human-to-human interactions, both in terms of conversations and physical interactions as well! He was extremely aloof and kept to himself and his “Tapas”. Of course, Sage Rishyashringa was an extremely great person in terms of deep penance, as we’ve witnessed earlier as well. If it is a human being that Sage Rishyashringa knew, it was none other than his father, Sage Vibhaandaka. Other than his dad, Sage Rishyashringa did not come in contact with any other human being in this world! 

As Sage Rishyashringa grew up like this, it was at this time, King Lomapaada of Anga Desha wanted his help. King Lomapaada was a good friend of King Dasharata of the neighbouring Koshala Desha where Ayodhya is situated. As the drought condition was at its peak, King Lomapaada did not know how to handle it. However, long ago, King Lomapaada had heard that if Sage Rishyashringa comes to the country, rains would pour cats and dogs! Thus, King Lomapaada himself went to meet Sage Rishyashringa to invite him to Anga Desha – However, Sage Rishyashringa wasn’t interested to come anywhere. This is because, he did not know how to meet and interact with human beings at all! Subsequently, King Lomapaada realized that Sage Rishyashringa can be brought to the country with the help of sending some women to his residing place, because Sage Rishyashringa doesn’t even know what it is to interact with women! Thus, the idea clicked, and with this, Sage Rishyashringa agreed to visit Anga Desha. Thus, as we had witnessed earlier, Sage Rishyashringa sets foot on Anga Desha and immediately the rains started to pour down! Impressed by this, King Lomapaada decided to give his daughter, Shaanta Devi in marriage to Sage Rishyashringa. 

Even today, there is a small temple dedicated to both Sage Rishyashringa and Shaanta Devi. There is a place by name “Shringibera-puram”, which was also the dwelling place for Guha – The hunter with whom Bhagawan Rama had made friendship, before going to the forest for fourteen years. It is in this place, on top of a cliff, this temple is located. Hence, next time when we visit Ayodhya and surrounding places, we should make it a point to visit Shringibera-puram. So for today, let us understand up to this point, wherein Sage Naarada is detailing the story of Sage Rishyashringa and Shaanta Devi, and in the next episode, we shall continue this discussion forward. Stay tuned! 🙂 

In the previous episode, we had witnessed the continuation of the detailed accord on how Mother Ganga descended to the earth’s surface – Thanks to King Bhageeratha’s extraordinary efforts and penance. We’ve witnessed that Mother Ganga transcended to the earth and followed King Bhageeratha’s chariot, which went all the way from the Himalayan Mountains to the eastern coastline of our Bhaarata Desha, covering a distance of over 2,000 kilometers in total. On the way, the river passed through Jambu Maharishi’s ears and this led to Mother Ganga obtaining the divine name “Jaanhavi”. Thus, Ganga, Jaanhavi, Alakananda, Bhaageerathi, Deva-Strothas, etc. are divine names of our holy Ganga river in India. As Mother Ganga came down to the earth thus, King Bhageeratha sprinkled the water over the burnt ashes of his 60,000 ancestors, as per Sage Kapilachaarya’s instruction, and with this, all of them came back to life. Eventually, with the divine “Anugraha” of Sage Kapilachaarya and with the significance of the holy waters of Mother Ganga, these 60,000 people attained the highest “Moksha” as well. 

This is why it is widely believed that if we take a holy dip in the River Ganga, all our sins will be washed away and we would become pure. When we say that “we would get pure”, I mean to say that our “Atman” will get purified, along with our “Deham” (Physical body). Thus, with both getting purified simultaneously, we would get a step closer to attaining the highest “Moksha” at the end of this birth. Hence, readers should make it a point that we should take the holy dip in the River Ganga atleast once in our lifetime, and this is very important. This is exactly what Sage Naarada is also advising Yudishtra too, as they embark on the “Teertha Yatra”. Moving on thus, the storyline shifts to two different rivers – “Nanda” and “Apara-Nanda”. These two rivers originate from an important mountain range and this is where we’re going to travel to at this moment! Sage Naarada gives a beautiful explanation about this place, which is also associated with a great Rishi. Now let us witness this in a bit of a detail here. 

As Sage Naarada takes a deviation now, he talks about an important sage by name Sage Vibaandaka. Sage Vibaandaka’s son is none other than Sage Rishyashringa. Sage Rishyashringa, as he grows up in his life, marries Shaanta Devi, who was Sage Romapaada’s daughter. All this is happening in the “Anga Desha”, which is close to the city of Ayodhya. We’re currently witnessing some stories from the “Ikshvaaku Dynasty” isn’t it? King Sagara, King Amsuman, King Dileepa, King Bhageeratha, etc. belong to this important dynasty, wherein all of them have ruled Ayodhya at various points in time, before King Dasharata and Bhagawan Rama. Thus, coming back to the context here, Sage Rishyashringa is living with his wife, Shaanta Devi in his ashram, as once upon a time, the entire Anga Desha was suffering from extreme drought conditions! There was not even a single drop of rain and the entire country became dry, without even basic food production. People thus started to struggle even for basic food and water. As days and months passed by, the king of Anga Desha came to understand from his ministers that only if Sage Rishyashringa’s divine feet touch the soil of Anga Desha, this drought condition will come to an end. 

Hence, the King of Anga Desha requests Sage Rishyshringa to pay a visit to his territory. He immediately refused, as he was in deep penance and also, he hasn’t visited a town / city for a long time. Hence, Sage Rishyashringa was hesitant to come to Anga Desha immediately. However, with the repeated persuasion by the ministers of Anga Desha, Sage Rishyashringa finally agreed. Thus, as expected, when Sage Rishyashringa set his feet on the soil of Anga Desha, rains started to lash the entire territory and with this, the drought situation was brought under control! Thus, Sage Rishyashringa is a very divine person, and it is with the same Sage Rishyashringa only, the famed “Putra-Kaameshti-Yaaga” also took place under the leadership of King Dasharata, which resulted in the divine incarnation of Bhagawan Rama, Lakshmana, Bharata and Shatrughna.

Thus, Sage Naarada is narrating here about the significance of Sage Rishyashringa and how he has been instrumental in the growth of the “Ikshvaaku Dynasty” as well. So for today, we shall understand up to this point, and this story is not going to end here. Sage Naarada is narrating an accord about Sage Rishyashringa, to arrive at another important point here. We shall witness what is this point in the next episode! Stay tuned! 🙂 

In the previous episode, we had witnessed the continuation of the discussion on how Mother Ganga landed on to the earth’s surface for the first time from the “Aakaasha”. Upon King Bhageeratha’s request and because of his deep penance, Mother Ganga was impressed and she agreed to descend down to the “Manushya Lokha”. However, upon her warning that if she comes down with the intensity of her flow of water, she may end up potentially destroying the vegetation and habitat on the earth. Hence, King Bhageeratha requested her to hold on for a while and performed a deep penance towards Bhagawan Shiva for a solution to this. Bhagawan Shiva accepted King Bhageeratha’s request and He held Mother Ganga in His head amidst His dense “Jataa-Mudi” (Divine hair). From there, Mother Ganga was about to flow down, however, Bhagawan Shiva felt that Mother Ganga had too much arrogance, which is not expected of a woman! Hence, Bhagawan Shiva decided to teach Mother Ganga a befitting lesson and locked her up into His “Jataa-Mudi”. However, as He does this, King Bhageeratha was waiting desperately for Mother Ganga to come down. As Bhageeratha again goes to Bhagawan Shiva and enquires, Bhagawan Shiva provides His divine “Anugraha” by opening up one of His divine hair strands. Through this one opening, Mother Ganga flows down to the earth. This place can be worshipped even today, which is called “Bindusaras”, amidst the great Himalayan Mountains in the Northern Indian State of Himachal Pradesh. This place is in the form of a huge glacier, termed as “Gangothri” and this is where Mother Ganga transcends into the earth surface from Bhagawan Shiva’s head. 

Now that Mother Ganga had started flowing, she instructed King Bhageeratha thus, “Oh Bhageeratha! Now you take your chariot and ride it as fast as you can. I shall keep following you wherever your chariot is going. I will also stop at a point where your chariot will stop!” King Bhageeratha, as per the instruction, took his chariot and started riding it as fast as he could. On the way, his chariot passed through Sage Jambu Maharishi’s ashram, wherein Sage Jambu Maharishi was in deep penance. Not knowing how to bypass his ashram, King Bhageeratha tore open his ashram, and even ended up passing through Jambu Maharishi’s one ear and coming out of the other! Mother Ganga followed King Bhageeratha’s route meticulously and she too passed through Jambu Maharishi’s one ear! However, with this act, Jambu Maharishi’s penance got disturbed, and with this, he became angry! Thus, he did not allow Mother Ganga to flow out of his other ear, and instead, he drank up all the waters of Mother Ganga! King Bhageeratha did not realize this for a while, as he was riding extremely fast on his chariot! 

However, after covering a certain distance, he did not hear the sound of the waters following him! Upon sensing this, King Bhageeratha realized that there is some problem and Mother Ganga has stopped following him! Hence, he immediately took a “U-turn”, to trace where Mother Ganga had got stuck! Upon coming back for a distance, he once again reached Jambu Maharishi’s ashram, only to find Mother Ganga being stuck inside him. Sensing this, King Bhageeratha deeply apologized for his mistake of barging in and tearing up his ashram and requested Jambu Maharishi to relent from his anger. As King Bhageeratha requested thus, Jambu Maharishi too thought that it was not his fault and thus, provided his divine “Anugraha”! With this, Mother Ganga was able to flow out of Jambu Maharishi’s body through his other ear! Thus, as Mother Ganga flows through the body of this great Jambu Maharishi, she is also referred to as “Jaanhavi”! 

Thus, we witness here that the holy river of Ganga has multiple names – “Ganga”, “Jaanhavi”, “Bhaageerathi”, “Aalakanada”, etc. Since she decided to touch down upon the earth surface after an enormous effort of various people including King Amsuman, King Dileepa and finally King Bhageeratha, the river is called “Ganga”. Also, since the river was finally brought down by King Bhageeratha after a lot of effort, it is called “Bhaageerathi”. Since the river passes through Jambu Maharishi’s ears, it is referred to as “Jaanhavi”. Also, since the river comes from the “Deva Lokha”, it is also referred to as “Deva-Srothas”. Thus, we witness various such divine names for this holy river! Coming back to this discussion thus, King Bhageeratha once again commences his journey towards the eastern direction, and now Mother Ganga follows him without any hindrance. Thus, the duo pass through various important places like Varanasi, Prayagraj, Patna, etc. and finally enter Bengal as River Hoogly. Thus, the duo pass through the eastern Indian city of Kolkata and finally reach the sea coast near the “Sunderbans” forests. 

This is why, we call this great effort of King Bhageeratha as “Bhageerata-Prayathnam”! Even today we use this term often in our everyday usage too – If someone is writing an exam repeatedly over and over again and fails to clear it, we say thus, “Oh wow! What a “Bhageeratha-Prayathnam” this person is doing!” 🙂 Of course, the term “Bhageeratha Prayathnam” in our “Sanaatana Dharma” literature is used for a good cause and to appreciate King Bhageeratha’s great effort. This term is not used to indicate someone who is failing every time in an examination! 🙂 Thus, as Mother Ganga starts flowing into the earth, King Bhageeratha is extremely happy and with the sprinkling of the divine waters from the river, all his 60,000 ancestors were woken up to life! With this, they also attained the highest “Moksha” as well! Thus, Sage Naarada is narrating all of these to Yudishtra, so as to drive home the important point of Mother Ganga coming into the earth for the first time. So for today, let us understand up to this point and in the next episode, we shall continue this discussion further! Stay tuned! 🙂 

We’re in the midst of an important discussion wherein King Sagara’s 60,000 sons were burnt to death by Sage Kapilachaarya in the “Paathaala Lokha” for their alleged wrongdoing. Since this happened underground, nobody had a clue of what happened! Subsequently, King Sagara’s son, Asamanjas tried to search for the whereabouts of his 60,000 brothers, but was unable to trace them anywhere in the world. Next in the family lineage was King Amsuman, who was Asamanjas’s son. King Amsuman tried his best to search for his 60,000 ancestors and the horse. He made his way to the “Paathaala Lokha” and he found the horse standing near Sage Kapilachaarya. Also, King Amsuman learnt that his 60,000 ancestors were burnt down by none other than Sage Kapilachaarya. Upon apologizing for what his 60,000 ancestors did, King Amsuman requested Sage Kapilachaarya to give the horse back, for which Sage Kapilachaarya readily agreed. However, when King Amsuman requested Sage Kapilachaarya to give life to these 60,000 people, Sage Kapilachaarya expressed his inability. However, he gave a solution to that as well – He asked King Amsuman to somehow bring Mother Ganga to this earth and perhaps if the holy waters of Mother Ganga are sprinkled on them, they may come back to life! 

Subsequently, King Amsuman tried his best to bring Mother Ganga down to the earth, but wasn’t really successful. King Amsuman had a son by name Dileepa. King Dileepa was a great king and he too tried his best to bring Mother Ganga down to the earth, but he failed in this pursuit as well. King Dileepa had a son by name Bhageeratha. King Bhageeratha performed an extremely intense “Tapas” towards Mother Ganga, and with this, Mother Ganga was moved! She finally accepted King Bhageeratha’s request, but she asked him thus, “Oh Bhageeratha! I’m impressed with your Tapas and I accept your request to flow down into the Manushya Lokha. However, you should understand that my flow would be extremely powerful and this would destroy all the towns and cities in the world. There would be a great disaster. How do you think you can manage this?” As Mother Ganga explains thus, King Bhageeratha requested her to give him some time to think and act. Immediately, King Bhageeratha decided that none other than Bhagawan Shiva could save him at this crucial juncture. Hence, he immediately went into a deep penance towards Bhagawan Shiva. Subsequently, Bhagawan Shiva appears in front of him and King Bhageeratha explains thus, “Oh Bhagawan Shiva! My 60,000 ancestors have to be brought back to life, and Sage Kapilachaarya had explained to me that this is possible only with Mother Ganga transcending down to the Manushya Lokha. However, if she comes down, she might potentially destroy human habitat with disastrous flooding. I do not know what to do, and hence, I seek your help in this!” 

As King Bhageeratha explained thus, Bhagawan Shiva replied back to him – “Oh Bhageeratha! Please do not worry. I have a plan for this. I shall hold Mother Ganga amidst my dense hair (“Jataa-Mudi”). From there, I shall regulate her flow into the earth. This should prevent any form of disaster from happening in the “Manushya Lokha”!” Saying thus, Bhagawan Shiva holds Mother Ganga on to his head, and this is why we worship Bhagawan Shiva as Bhagawan “Gangaadhara” and “Bhagawan Jataadhara”. These divine names of Bhagawan Shiva simply refers to this story of how Bhagawan Shiva held Mother Ganga on His divine hair and from there, the river commences its flow. However, in the middle, as Bhagawan Shiva understands the intense flow of Mother Ganga, He thought within Himself thus, “Oh wow! How can a woman have this much of an intensity? A woman needs to exhibit some sort of steadiness and calmness isn’t it? This intensity of Mother Ganga is not the characteristic of a woman. Hence, I shall teach her a lesson today!” 

Thinking thus, Bhagawan Shiva opened His divine “Jataa-Mudi” (Dense hairs) and as Mother Ganga flows, Bhagawan Shiva collects all the waters of the river and ties His hair completely! Thus, Mother Ganga got stuck into Bhagawan Shiva’s “Jataa-Mudi”. As this was happening, King Bhageeratha was waiting for River Ganga to flow down. However, this did not happen, because Bhagawan Shiva had tightly packed Mother Ganga into His head! As time was passing by, King Bhageeratha lost his patience. He talks to Bhagawan Shiva thus, “Oh Bhagawan Shiva! I had to put immense effort to convince Mother Ganga to fall on to the earth. However, since her flow might be destructive to the earth, I requested you to intervene. However, you’ve completely packed Mother Ganga into your head! Now, how are we going to get her down?” Paying heed to King Bhageeratha’s tearful request thus, Bhagawan Shiva opens just one strand of His divine hair, and through this open hair strand, Mother Ganga starts flowing down towards the earth. The place where Mother Ganga lands on the earth’s surface for the first time is called “Bindusaras”. This place is amidst the Himalayan Mountains and can be worshipped even today. This place is also referred to as “Gangothri”, which can be worshipped as a huge glacier. It is from this place, Mother Ganga commences to flow into the earth! 

Now that Mother Ganga commences her flow, she requests King Bhageeratha thus, “Oh Bhageeratha! Now take your chariot and drive towards the eastern direction. I shall closely follow your chariot. Moreover, you should ride your chariot with the maximum speed possible, and you should not turn back and look at me. If you do so, I will stop my flow and go back to the “Aakaasha”!” Obeying Mother Ganga’s words thus, King Bhageeratha starts driving his chariot with the maximum speed possible, and goes as far as the eastern coast near the Indian city of Kolkata. So for today, let us understand up to this point, and in the next episode, we shall witness the passage through which Mother Ganga passed by. This is going to be another interesting accord, and stay tuned for the next episode to understand! 🙂 

In the previous episode, we had commenced an important discussion with regards to the origin and the significance of River Ganges, as narrated by Sage Naarada to Yudishtra and Co. Of course, we’ve already had a briefer about this during our previous Ramayana project, but here we shall have a more detailed discussion. Sage Naarada had initially commenced with the “Charitra” of King Sagara and how he was childless for a long time. After a few years, his wives performed a penance towards Bhagawan Vishnu for a solution to this problem, who gave them two options – One child with zero effort but with good brilliance, or many children with zero brilliance but good effort. One of the wives said “one” and the other said “many” and the latter obtained 60,000 sons. The former obtained one son by name “Asamanjas”. One day, as King Sagara wanted to perform the “Ashwamedha Yaaga” in a grand manner, he performed the spiritual offerings to the “Ashwam” (Horse) and let it circle around the territory. However, to King Sagara’s shock and dismay, the horse never came back! Hence, he sent his 60,000 sons in search of the horse, and after a lot of research, they found the horse to be standing near Sage Kapilachaarya in the “Paathaala Lokha” (Underground). 

Sage Kailachaarya, as we’ve witnessed in our previous “Shrimad Bhaagwatha Puraana” project, is yet another incarnation of Bhagawan Vishnu Himself, and is considered to be one of the most extremely powerful sages with regards to penance. As the 60,000 people arrived near Sage Kapilaachaarya, they mistook that it was he who “abducted” the horse! With this intention, they attacked Sage Kapilachaarya, who was in deep penance at that time. As the sage got disturbed and as he realized that he was under attack, he immediately burnt all the 60,000 people within seconds – Thanks to the extreme power of his penance. Thus, with this, nobody knew the whereabouts of both the horse as well as the 60,000 sons of King Sagara! 

As days and months progressed, King Sagara got worried and with this, he sent his son “Asamanjas” to search for all of them. As we know already – Asamanjas was a lazy fellow and even today, we use this in our slang as well. If someone is sitting lazily without doing any work, we say that this person is of a very “Asamanjasa” characteristic! 🙂 Thus, Asamanjas went around everywhere and couldn’t find neither the horse nor the 60,000 people! Later on, Asamanjas obtains a son by name Amsuman. King Amsuman was a great and a righteous king like King Sagara and he launched a huge search operation to find all these people and the horse. As Amsuman was smart enough, he understood that the horse is standing near Sage Kapilachaarya in the “Paathaala Lokha”, and also the reminiscence of the 60,000 people who were burnt down. Hence, he immediately went there and found the horse standing near Sage Kapilachaarya. As the Sage opened his eyes, he saw King Dileepa waiting for him with folded hands. King Amsuman paid his respects to Sage Kapilachaarya and explains thus, “Oh great Sage! I totally understand that it was the fault of my 60,000 ancestors that they had mistaken you for stealing the horse. I request you to provide your divine “Anugraha” to hand over the horse and also bring these 60,000 people back to life!” 

As King Amsuman requests thus, Sage Kapilachaarya replies back: “Oh Amsuman! I know that you’re a righteous king from the “Ikshvaaku Dynasty”. I know that King Sagara was a great king before you. Yes. Your 60,000 predecessors have committed a mistake. I give them the benefit of doubt. As requested by you, the horse is yours. You may take it along with you and perform the “Ashwamdeha Yaaga” successfully. I shall provide the divine “Anugraha” for the same!” As Sage Kapilachaarya says thus, King Amsuman wasn’t very happy. He again asked Sage Kapilachaarya thus, “Oh Great Sage! I’m deeply happy that you’ve forgiven my 60,000 ancestors. However, can we have all of them back to life? Will it be possible for you to perform this miracle?” As King Amsuman says thus, Sage Kapilachaarya explains to him – “Oh Amsuman! This cannot be possible, given my limitations. It is a curse that I had inflicted upon them for their bad act. However, it is not possible for me to revoke it. You may do one thing. You can pray to Mother Ganga from the “Aakasa” (Sky) and maybe if Mother Ganga comes down to the earth, you may sprinkle the divine holy waters from her and with this, these 60,000 people may come alive!” 

As Sage Kapilachaarya says thus, King Amsuman did not know what to do. However, he was able to bring back the horse from Sage Kapilachaarya, but was clueless as to how to bring down Mother Ganga to the earth. He performed the “Ashwamedha Yaaga” with Sage Kapilachaarya’s divine “Anugraha”, and commenced a deep penance towards Mother Ganga. It did not bear any fruit. King Amsuman subsequently had a son by name Dileepa, who was a great king as well. King Dileepa is often celebrated as “Dileepa Chakravarthy” in the Ramayana text as he was an epitome of every aspect of “Dharma”. King Dileepa took over from his father, the penance towards Mother Ganga, but even he wasn’t able to bring her down. Subsequently, King Dileepa had a son by name, King Bhageeratha. King Bhageeratha continued from where King Dileepa left and was extremely determined to bring Mother Ganga down. Thus, after years and years of penance, Mother Ganga decided that it was time for her to go down to the earth, as she was extremely impressed by King Bhageeratha’s efforts.

So what is Mother Ganga going to do? How is she going to respond to King Bhageeratha’s extraordinary efforts? Let us wait till the next episode to find out! Stay tuned! 🙂 

In the previous episode, we had continued our discussion on Sage Agasthya’s significance and his great contribution towards our Sanaatana Dharma. As we’ve seen, Sage Agasthya is the founder and propagator of the Tamil Language, which is one of the world’s oldest existing languages in practice. Moreover, Sage Agasthya was also instrumental in bringing the famed and one of the most revered and respected rivers of India – The River Cauvery. This river originates from Sage Agasthya’s “Kamandalam” in the place called “Coorg” amidst the Kodagu Mountains in the Indian state of Karnataka, and subsequently passes through various “Divya-Desams” of Bhagawan Vishnu and “Shiva-Sthalas” of Bhagawan Shiva in the states of both Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, before concluding at “Poompuhar” on the coast of the Bay of Bengal. Thus, Sage Agasthya is one of the most important and celebrated sages in our entire Sanaatana Dharma and various references about him are present in the “Teertha-Yatra Parva” in the Mahabharata text. Of course, we’ve just witnessed a brief about this, but readers can go through Sage Naarada’s accord in the Mahabharata in a great detail at your own convenience. 

Moving on further thus, as the Paandavas embark on the “Teertha-Yatra” as Sage Naarada keeps explaining all the places that they’re visiting, they are now coming to the banks of River Ganga or Bhaageerathi. Now, as per Sage Naarada’s instruction, Yudishtra and Co. have commenced their “Teertha-Yatra”, and Sage Naarada is also accompanying them to various places. Now, as they reach the banks of River Ganga, Yudishtra is curious to know more about it. Of course, Sage Naarada had earlier given a briefer, but Yudishtra wants to know more details about it. Hence, upon Yudishtra’s request for more explanation, Sage Naarada commences an important accord on River Ganga, which all of us have to know and understand. I shall try to explain as much as possible here – Sage Naarada explains thus: “Oh Yudishtra! This River Ganga that you see in front of your eyes today, has no origin! She is a perennial river and is permanently flowing in the “Aakaasha” (Sky), and in the three other worlds as well. What you see in front of your eyes is just one section of the river. This is why, the river is also referred to as “Tripathaga”. This means that the River Ganga flows through the three “Lokhas” – The “Aahaaya Lokha”, the “Antaraksha Lokha” and finally the “Manushya Lokha”. As the River Ganga comes down to the “Manushya Lokha”, Bhagawan Shiva holds it in His head, and this is why, Bhagawan Shiva is referred to as “Gangaadhara” or “Jataadhara”!” 

As Sage Naarada explains thus, Yudishtra quickly asks Sage Naarada, “Oh Sage Naarada! Why should Bhagawan Shiva hold River Ganga in His head? What is the significance behind this? Please, can you explain in detail? I’m unable to understand!” As Yudishtra asks thus, Sage Naarada gives a detailed explanation. He commences from King Sagara and how the entire set of events unfolded. Sage Naarada explains thus, “Once upon a time, there was a king by name “Sagara”. He was part of the famed “Ikshvaaku Dynasty”, wherein Bhagawan Rama too was later a part of it. King Sagara was a righteous king and he ruled his kingdom efficiently with all the possible “Dharma” in his actions and administration. However, King Sagara had just one problem in his life – He never had a child. King Sagara had two wives – Vaidharbi and Shaibya. Both the wives of King Sagara prayed to Bhagawan Vishnu for the want of children. They performed a penance and at the end of it, Bhagawan Vishnu was impressed and He gave two options – One option is to have just one child, and the other is to have many. One of the wives said “one”, and the other said “many”. The latter obtained 60,000 children! The lone child which was born, had the name “Asamanjas”. This child was extremely lazy by birth, but had a good amount of brilliance. The other 60,000 children were zero in brilliance, but not lazy! 

Now, this is a peculiar combination isn’t it? Once, King Sagara wanted to perform an “Ashwamedha Yaaga” and for this, he had offered prayers to a horse (“Ashwam”) and allowed it to run all over the territory. The “Ashwamedha Yaaga”, as per the rule, can only be conducted if the horse comes back safely without being captured by someone. Thus, the horse is going around the territory and all of them were waiting for it to come back. However, to their utter dismay, the horse never came back! Worried over this situation, King Sagara asks his 60,000 children to go and search for the horse and bring it back somehow. As we already know, these 60,000 people did not have any intellectual capability! They simply went searching for the horse, and found it to be standing near Sage Kapilaachaarya, who was in deep penance in the “Paathaala Lokha” (Underground). Upon seeing the horse standing there, these 60,000 people wrongly assumed that it was Sage Kapilaachaarya who had captured the horse! However, that was never the truth. The horse by itself came here and was standing and Sage Kapilaachaarya knew nothing about it, as he was in deep penance! However, these 60,000 people took out all their weapons and tried to launch an attack on Sage Kapilaachaarya! As Sage Kapilaachaarya realized that he was being attacked by someone, he quickly opened his eyes. Upon seeing 60,000 people rushing towards him, Sage Kapilaachaarya became angry and with his ferocious eyes and his extreme power of penance, he burnt down all the 60,000 people to death instantaneously! 

Now, unfortunately for King Sagara, he did not know the whereabouts of the horse, as well as his 60,000 sons as well! Hence, he sent Asamanjas to go and search for all of them. As all of us know, Asamanjas doesn’t put any real effort to find out anything – Hence, he just goes here and there and concludes that all of them including the horse are “lost”! So for today, let us understand up to this point, and in the next episode we shall witness what happened to the horse as well as the 60,000 people! Stay tuned for an important accord! 🙂 

In the previous episode, we had witnessed the continuation of Sage Agasthya’s significance as narrated by Sage Naarada to Yudishtra and Co. We’ve already seen that Sage Agasthya was the one who developed and propagated the Tamil Language, which is one of the oldest languages in the entire world. Moreover, he was also instrumental in bringing down the jealousy and anger of the Vindhya mountains, as he came and settled in the south of India. Now, as we’re witnessing an interesting “Charitra” as to how Sage Agasthya got married, we’ve seen the originating of River Cauvery from Sage Agasthya’s “Kamandalam”, and along with River Cauvery, came a beautiful woman by name “Lopamudra”. In yesterday’s episode, we witnessed how River Cauvery was born and how it is one of India’s most sacred rivers after Rivers Ganga and Yamuna. The River Cauvery originates amidst the “Kodagu” mountains in the Southern Indian state of Karnataka and subsequently passes through enormous numbers of “Punya-Kshetras” on the way, before it empties itself at Poompuhar in the Southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu. One of the most important “Punya-Kshetra” through which the River Cauvery passes through is the famed “Srirangam”, in the city of Trichy in Tamil Nadu, which houses the world’s largest functioning temple – The “Sri Ranganatha Swamy” temple. Apart from this, the river passes through various other important places such as Kumbakonam, Mayavaram, etc. which are dotted with several “Divya-Desams” of Bhagawan Vishnu and many of the 276 “Shiva-Sthalas” of Bhagawan Shiva. 

Moving on further thus, we shall now witness Sage Agasthya getting married. As we’ve seen earlier, Sage Agasthya’s ancestors requested him to get married, so that the family lineage is not coming to a halt with him. Obeying their words, Sage Agasthya “created” a woman with his power of penance, and this woman is none other than Lopamudra. As her name suggests, she was an embodiment of “Dharma”, and would not tolerate even an inch of a deviation from the path of “Dharma”. Thus, Sage Agasthya created Lopamudra and entered into a marriage with her. Both of them had a baby boy by name “Idhma-Vaahana”. This “Idhma-Vaahana” was an extraordinary “Pandit” (Learned Scholar) and both Sage Agasthya and Idhma-Vaahana together propagated the Tamil Language across the entire “Draavida Desha”. In today’s context, the term “Draavida Desha” is conveniently being mistaken by a few opportunist politicians, who do not even have an iota of knowledge about our rich Tamil history and culture. The “Draavida-Desha” is a subsection of our great “Bhaarata Desha” and it is the entire area that is to the south of the Vindhya Mountains. The northern portion to the Vindhya Mountains is called “Aarya Desha”. Thus, the Vindhya Mountains serve like a partition between the “Aarya Desha” and the “Draavida Desha”. However, in today’s terms, the “Draavida Desha” is mistaken to be only Tamil Nadu for various political reasons, but it is not. It encompasses other South Indian states such as Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, and parts of southern Maharashtra. We’ve to understand this point very clearly as we move on. 

Moving on further from this point, Sage Naarada now talks about the River Ganga and its significance. We’ve so far witnessed the significance of River Cauvery, and now let us witness the origin of River Ganga. Yudishtra asks Sage Naarada to explain the whole context in detail, as all of them pass through the banks of River Ganga. Upon Yudishtra’s request, Sage Naarada begins to give a detailed accord on how River Ganga came down to the earth. He explains that River Ganga is perennial in existence and doesn’t have a definite origin or a start point. So for today, let us understand up to this point, and in the next episode, we shall witness a detailed accord on how River Ganga came down to the earth! Stay tuned for an interesting accord! 🙂 

In the previous episode, we had continued the discussion on Sage Agasthya and we’ve witnessed how Sage Agasthya made his way to the southern part of our Bhaarata Desha. We’ve witnessed how there was a jealousy fight between the Meru and the Vindhya mountains. Vindhya mountains were angry because Bhagawan Surya and Chandra were only interested in revolving around the Meru Mountains and not around them. With this, the Vindhya mountain decided to show its might, and started growing taller and taller! At one point, the entire southern part of India was completely cut off from the northern part. Understanding the grave danger thus, the Devas ran for help to Sage Agasthya, who decided to put an end to the jealousy of the Vindhya mountain. He undertook a “Teertha-Yatra” towards the south and while passing through the Vindhya mountains, Sage Agasthya requested it to bow down until he returned back to the north. However, he never returned! He stayed amidst the “Podhigai” Mountains (The Western Ghats) in the southern part of India. Thus, until today, it is believed that the Vindhya mountains are still bowing down to allow the passage for Sage Agasthya to cross over, fearing that Sage Agasthya might curse them if they lifted their heads again! Thus, this is a very interesting accord given by Sage Naarada as he requests Yudishtra to pay a visit to Sage Agasthya’s ashram and obtain his divine “Anugraha” as well! 

Thus, we’ve witnessed a brief background of Sage Agasthya, wherein he had helped the Devas to destroy the “Kaala-Keya” Raakshasas by drinking all the waters of the ocean, and now he has brought down the jealousy of the Vindhya Mountains with his smartness and shrewdness. Now Sage Naarada is going to talk about the important marriage between Sage Agasthya and Lopamudra. Once upon a time, as Sage Agasthya was walking his way through to some place, he suddenly saw his ancestors (Pitru Devatas of Sage Agasthya) hanging upside down from a tree and doing penance! Upon seeing this peculiar position in which they were in deep penance, Sage Agasthya was shocked! He couldn’t understand the reason why this is happening. Hence, he asked them thus, “Oh my dear ancestors! Why are all of you hanging upside down like this from the tree? What had gone wrong? I would like to understand the reason for this act of yours!” As Sage Agasthya said thus, the Pitrus replied him back with an iota of sadness on their face. They said thus, “Oh Agasthya! All of us know how great a Sage you are! Indeed, we are proud to be your ancestors! However, the only regret that we have is that, you’ve not got married, and our generation has not grown beyond you! This generation or family lineage should not stop with you. It should grow further. Atleast for this reason, you should get married and have children!” As the Pitru Devatas express their concern thus, Sage Agasthya replies back thus, “Oh Pitrus! I understand your concern! I shall get married, as per your wish. However, who will marry me in the form of mine? I’m very short and stout, and I do not look very appealing and handsome. Given my “not-so-good” physical appearance, who on earth will come forward to marry me?” 

As Sage Agasthya asks thus, the Pitru Devatas remind him of his powers that he had gained with his years of penance. With this power, Sage Agasthya himself creates a woman, by name “Lopamudra”. This name has a unique meaning – “The woman who is an absolute perfectionist when it comes to “Dharma” and its execution! She would not tolerate even the smallest of the small deviance from the path of “Dharma”! This is the same “Lopamudra” who had originated along with the River Cauvery and both of them were born out of Sage Agasthya’s auspicious “Kamandalams” (Water vessel with which Sage Agasthya performs his spiritual practices). All these incidents are happening amidst the “Kodagu” Mountains, as part of the Western Ghats, in the Indian state of Karnataka. Even today we shall worship this place – This town called “Kodagu” is also referred to as “Coorg” and at a distance of around 50 kilometers from here, is the place called “Tala-Cauvery”, from where the River Cauvery originates. Thus, we can understand a very important point here – The Origin of River Cauvery! As Cauvery Devi originates from Sage Agasthya’s “Kamandalam”, Bhagawan Brahma and Bhagawan Vishnu also provide their divine “Anugraha” to her, and we witness the river in its magnificent form, going on its full flow, all the way from the Southern Indian state of Karnataka to the eastern coast of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. 

As the River Cauvery flows down from the Kodagu Mountains, it comes across the place called “Aadhi Rangam”, which is also referred to as “Srirangapatna” – A town in the state of Karnataka. Subsequently, as all of us know, the Cauvery river passes through the famous Sriranga-Kshetra, in the city called Trichy in Tamil Nadu. Here, the river splits into two – The Cauvery and Kollidam, and the Sriranga-Kshetra is situated in between both these rivers! Thus, we can see that the Srirangam island is formed in between the two Cauverys and is an extremely auspicious place with enormous spiritual significance. Apart from Srirangam, the Cauvery river passes through numerous other “Punya-Kshetras” as well in the Indian states of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. The temple town of Kumbakonam is also situated on the banks of River Cauvery. Similarly, places like Thiruvindalur, Thalaichenga-naanmadhiyam, which is very close to Poompuhar, are all Divya-Desam temples of Bhagawan Vishnu. Poompuhar is the place where the River Cauvery empties itself into the Bay of Bengal. 

Thus, from its origin to its end, we can witness innumerable “Punya-Kshetras” all along the River Cauvery, and with this, Sage Naarada advises Yudishtra to go and visit all these places as well! So for today, we’ve witnessed the origin of River Cauvery and the woman by name “Lopamudra”, whom Sage Agasthya is going to marry. In the next episode, we shall witness how the marriage took place between both of them! Stay tuned! 🙂 

In the previous episode, we had witnessed Sage Naarada talking to Yudishtra about Sage Agasthya, who is also solely responsible for developing and propagating the famed Tamil language. In today’s scenario, some people “proclaim” widely about themselves that they are the “true” propagators of the Tamil language, but this is absolutely absurd. It is Sage Agasthya who has taken all the efforts to develop the Tamil language, and subsequently, the “Alwars”, “Nayanmars”, many “Aachaaryas” have taken it upon themselves to propagate the poetic and sweet Tamil language all over the world. We’ve also witnessed a brief background about Sage Agasthya and how he was responsible for destroying the “Kaala-Keyas”. Sage Agasathya started “drinking” the entire ocean waters and this exposed the hiding point of the “Kaala-Keya” Raakshasas. With this, Indra was easily able to destroy them. Explaining this, Sage Naarada advises Yudishtra and Co. to pay a visit to Sage Agasthya’s place amidst the “Podhigai” mountains (Today’s southern section of the Western Ghats in South India) and obtain his divine “Anugraha”. 

Moreover, Sage Naarada explains to Yudishtra as to why Sage Agasthya resides in the Podhigai Mountains in the south. Once upon a time, there was a big fight between the “Meru” mountain and the “Vindhya” mountain. It is a usual practice for Surya Bhagawan (Sun) and Chandra Bhagawan (Moon) to revolve around the “Meru” Mountain every passing day. However, the “Vindya” mountain was jealous about this. It was thinking within itself thus, “Oh wow! This “Meru” mountain is getting this opportunity every passing day that both the sun and the moon are constantly revolving around him! However, I’m not getting that opportunity! Hence, let me go to Surya Bhagawan and Chandra Bhagawan and request them to give me this opportunity as well!” Thinking thus, the “Vindhya” mountain went to both of them and proposed its request to revolve around it as well, along with the “Meru” mountain. However, Surya Bhagwan and Chandra Bhagawan weren’t really convinced and interested with the proposal given by the “Vindhya” mountain. Both of them replied thus, “Oh Vindhya! Whatever you’re proposing is not realistic in nature! Meru’s significance is unique, which you do not possess. Hence, we cannot revolve around you every day. You cannot compare yourself with Meru for all these. Hence, stop being jealous of Meru and mind your own business!” 

As both of them gave a straightforward reply thus, the “Vindhya” mountain became extremely angry! Thus, it decided to teach both Chandra and Surya a lesson. It decided to grow in height and stand up tall! With this intention, the “Vindhya” mountain started growing taller! The height was increasing to dangerous levels and this served as a complete blockade for people to go from the south of India to the north! Even today, we can see the “Vindhya” mountains standing tall, which is like a “divider” between the north and south of India. Upon seeing this, all the Devas, including Chandra Bhagawan and Surya Bhagawan started getting nervous. They did not know how to reduce the anger of the “Vindhya” mountain. Hence, all of them once again ran to meet Sage Agasthya for help. 

As Sage Agasthya understood the gravity of the situation, he took it upon himself to find a solution for this problem. With this, Sage Agasthya decided to take up a “Teertha Yatra” from the Himalayan mountains, all the way to the southern tip of India. En-route his journey, he came across the tall “Vindhya” mountains. As the “Vindhya” mountain spots Sage Agasthya coming towards it, it wanted to bow down in respect, fearing that Sage Agasthya might end up cursing it. With the “Vindhya” mountain bowing in front of Sage Agasthya, its height came down! Acknowledging “Vindhya” mountain’s respect, Sage Agasthya replies thus, “Oh Vindhya! I’m deeply happy with the amount of respect you have for me! If you’re bowing down like this, you look very beautiful, rather than standing tall! If you’re standing up to your full height, I somehow find it quite odd! I feel that it’s better for you to keep bowing down everytime, so that your humility is proven to the world!” Upon hearing this from Sage Agasthya, the “Vindhya” mountain replies thus, “Oh Sage Agasthya! Thank you for your compliment! However, it is not possible for me to bow down everytime, as I’m in a war with “Meru”! He is getting an opportunity in life which I’m not getting. I’m determined to teach him a lesson and I’m going to prove my worth!” 

Upon hearing this, Sage Agasthya laughs out loud and replies thus, “Oh Vindhya! I understand your rift with Meru. There is no point in fighting with him, as I truly acknowledge that both of you have your own significance. It is not wise to make such comparisons! However, please do one thing – I’m on my way to the southern tip of India. Hence, to give me some way, just keep bowing down for some time and stay like that until I come back. Once I cross over back to North India, you can once again regain your original tall form!” As the “Vindhya” mountain hears this from Sage Agasthya, it had no other option but to obey his words. On one hand, it was scared if Sage Agasthya would end up cursing it, if it doesn’t obey his words, and on the other hand, it would be a great sin if it disobeys a Sage’s words! Hence, it decides to bow down until Sage Agasthya comes back. 

As the “Vindhya” mountain bows down, Sage Agasthya makes his way to the southern part of India, but with this, he never comes back! He settles amidst the mountain ranges of the “Podhigai” mountains! Thus, it is believed that even until today the “Vindhya” mountain is bowing in respect towards Sage Agasthya and waiting for his return, and Sage Agasthya is also believed to be residing somewhere amidst the “Podhigai” mountains! Narrating thus, Sage Naarada explains why Sage Agasthya is residing amidst the “Podhigai” mountains as he wants him to meet Sage Agasthya to seek his divine “Anugraha”. Hence, for today, let us understand up to this point and we shall wait till the next episode to continue this discussion forward! Stay tuned! 🙂 

In the previous episode, we had witnessed Sage Naarada explaining to Yudishtra about the significance of Sage Vishwamitra and how he obtained enormous “Tapo-Bhalam” in the process of seeking “revenge” against Sage Vasishtachaarya. All these narratives that are being given by Sage Naarada is in direct reference to the conversation between Sage Pulasthya and Bhishmachaarya, which readers should always remember in mind. Sage Naarada is not giving a direct answer to Yudishtra’s question on “Teertha-Yatras”, but is referring to this important conversation on the banks of River Ganga to make him understand the significance of going on “Teertha-Yatras”. We’ve witnessed this a few episodes back and readers should recollect this as we move forward. 

Moving on further, Sage Naarada talks about various other sages as well, which I’m not explaining in detail here. We shall witness these detailed descriptions at a later context. However, what is important here is the next description about River Ganga and her origin. Of course, we’ve witnessed this as a part of our Ramayana project, wherein Sage Vishwamitra himself is explaining the origin of River Ganga to Bhagawan Rama and Lakshmana as they were enroute Mithilapuri for the auspicious “Sita-Kalyaanam” event. When Sage Vishwamitra explained to Bhagawan Rama and Lakshmana, who were children at that time, he had narrated only one part of it – Wherein King Sagara’s 60,000 children had to be brought back to life. We’ve seen how King Sagara, King Amsuman, King Dileepa and King Bhageeratha made enormous efforts to bring down River Ganga to this earth. However, it was only with King Bhageeratha’s intense “Tapas”, River Ganga accepted to flow into the world! This is where the river originates at a place called “Tripaghata” (The Gangothri Glacier is situated in this place). This means that River Ganga branches out into three directions from Bhagawan Shiva’s head (Bhagawan Jataadhara / Bhagawan Gangaadhara). The third direction is towards the Manushya Lokha, wherein the River originates from the Gangothri glacier. Subsequently, as King Bhageeratha rides his chariot, as per the instruction of Mother Ganga, the river follows him swiftly until he reaches the shore of the Bay of Bengal, which we’ve seen in our earlier episodes as “Ganga-Dvaar”. On the route, since the river passes through the “Dvaaras” (Holes) of Jambu Maharishi, the river is referred to as “Jaanhavi”. Also, the river has other names as well, such as Bhaageerathi, Alakananda, Ganga, etc. Thus, this is the significance of River Ganga and is considered even today as one of India’s most sacred rivers! 

Moving on further, in continuation to this entire storyline, Sage Naarada also talks about the significance of Sage Agasthya and his “Ashram” situated somewhere in this place itself. We shall now witness in brief, why did Sage Agasthya come here and what did he do here. There were a few Raakshasas by name “Kaala-Keyas”. We’ve earlier witnessed that Indra (Leader of the Devas) had killed the dangerous Vridhraasura with the help of a weapon called “Vajra-Ayutha”. Because of this, Indra was caught into the “Brahma-Hati Dosham”. Bhagawan Rama too was caught into this same “Brahma-Hati Dosha” for killing Ravana, because all these people were great devotees of Bhagawan Shiva. Hence, in this context, Indra was waiting amidst the petals of a lotus flower, to free himself from this. In the meanwhile, Vridhraasura’s disciples – The Kaala-Keyas were angry that their leader had been killed! Hence, they decided to launch an assault on all the Brahmins who were residing in this world. They started chasing and killing all the Brahmana Rishis and Pandits all over the world. Wherever Yaagas and other spiritual offerings were taking place, these Kaala-Keyas went there and destroyed everything. Ad they were going on this destruction spree, the Kaala-Keyas also had obtained a boon – They can go and hide inside the ocean waters after this spree, so that nobody can destroy them! 

Fearing this, all the Devas ran to Bhagawan Vishnu for a solution to this problem. They explained how the Kaala-Keyas were wreaking havoc in the world and preventing any spiritual offering that was being made. In turn, Bhagawan Vishnu advised the Devas to go to Sage Agasthya for a solution. As per Bhagawan Vishnu’s direction, the Devas went and met Sage Agasthya, who was a very short and a stout person by nature. Sage Agasthya has another name called “Kumba-Sambhava” and he is considered to be the person who propagated the Tamil language all over the world. Even today we refer to the “Sanga-Kaala-Tamil” language, isn’t it? This old language called Tamil was found and propagated by none other than Sage Agasthya, who resided amidst the “Podhigai” mountains (Today’s southern section of the Western Ghats). Thus, the Devas go in search of this Sage Agasthya for a solution to the “Kaala-Keyas” problem. As Sage Agasthya understood the problem, he started drinking all the ocean waters and storing them into his body! With this, the Kaala Keyas were exposed, and Indra took this opportunity to attack them and finish them off! 

Hence, such is the significance of Sage Agasthya and Sage Naarada invokes him in his lengthy accord. Thus, he instructs Yudishtra and Co. to seek the divine “Anugraha” of Sage Agasthya and for today, we shall understand up to this point. We shall continue this discussion forward in the next episode as well, to witness some more details of Sage Agasthya! Stay tuned! 🙂