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Ganga Home -› Lesser Gods -› Ganga
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Ganga the daughter of parvataraja
GANGA
Ganga the daughter of parvataraja
GANGA DAUGHTER OF PARVATARAJA
Sagar worshipping shiva
SAGAR GETTING BLESSED BY SHIVA
The ashwamedha yagya
THE ASHWAMEDA YAGYA
Indra stealing the horse
INDRA STEALING THE HORSE
This goddess representing the holy river of Ganges is shown as a white woman, wearing a white crown, sitting on the sea animal crocodile, holding in her right hand a water lily and in her left hand a lute.

Rig Veda mention the name of Ganga only twice but in the later period of Puranic age Ganga assumed great importance as a goddess. The legend says that she was produced from the sweat of Vishnu's feet, which Brahma caught and filled in his KAMANDAL (vessel-container).

Another legend states that Ganga is the daughter of Parvataraja and is the sister of Parvati who is the consort of Shiva.

The story of Ganga's coming from heaven to earth is a famous mythological tale. Sagar, a legendary king of Ayodhya had no children. He performed long and arduous penances worshipping Shiva as a result of which he was promised the birth of sixty thousand children.

Sagar did get these sons and when they grew up king Sagar resolved to perform the ASHVAMEDH YAGYA (a ritual of proclaiming oneself unbeatable). Indra the lord of heavens was alarmed and feared that Sagar would become very strong and dethrone him.

Indra descended to the earth and stealthily carried away the horse, which he placed in PATAL (the subterranean region) just near the famous sage Kapil, who was sitting there in deep meditation. The sixty thousand sons of Sagar, after searching that horse on the whole of earth, dug a hole and reached patal. There they found the horse standing near a sage who was sitting with eyes closed in meditation.
Sage kapil burning the sons to ashes
SAGE KAPILA BURNT THE SONS OF SAGAR TO ASHES
They thought that he was the thief and began beating the sage Kapil, who awoke at this and in anger reduced all the princes to ashes.

The wandering sage Narada informed Sagar about the fate of his sixty thousand sons. King Sagar prayed to sage Kapil for relief, and was advised that if he could somehow bring the goddess Ganga from heavens on the earth and if the ashes were washed with her water, their salvation would come. Sagar gave the throne to the one surviving son of his and went to forest for prayers but perished in his efforts. So also his son, who too sacrificed his life as a penance after giving throne to his son (Sagar's great grand-son), named Dalip.
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