"Vaisampayana said,--'Equal unto Vrihaspati in intelligence and Brahma
himself in forgiveness, resembling Sakra in prowess and Surya in energy,
Bhishma the son of Ganga, of infinite might, had been overthrown in
battle by Arjuna. Accompanied by his brothers and many other people, king
Yudhisthira asked him these questions. The old hero was lying on a bed
that is coveted by heroes, in expectation of that auspicious time when he
could take leave of the physical frame. Many great Rishis had come there
for seeing that foremost one of Bharata's race. Amongst them were Atri
and Vasishtha and Bhrigu and Pulastya and Pulaha and Kratu. There were
also Angiras and Gotama and Agastya and Sumati of well-restrained soul,
and Viswamitra and Sthulasiras and Samvarta and Pramati and Dama. There
were also Vrihaspati and Usanas, and Vyasa and Chyavana and Kasyapa and
Dhruva, and Durvasas and Jamadagni and Markandeya and Galava, and
Bharadwaja and Raibhya and Yavakrita and Trita. There were Sthulaksha and
Savalaksha and Kanwa and Medhatithi and Krisa and Narada and Parvata and
Sudhanwa and Ekata and Dwita. There were also Nitambhu and Bhuvana and
Dhaumya and Satananda and Akritavrana and Rama, the son of Jamadagni and
Kacha. All these high-souled and great Rishis came there for seeing
Bhishma lying on his bed of arrows. Yudhishthira with his brothers duly
worshipped those high-souled Rishis who had come there, one after another
in proper order. Receiving that worship, those foremost of Rishis sat
themselves down and began to converse with one another. Their
conversation related to Bhishma, and was highly sweet and agreeable to
all the senses. Hearing that talk of theirs having reference to himself,
Bhishma became filled with delight and regarded himself to be already in
heaven. Those Rishis then, having obtained the leave of Bhishma and of
the Pandava princes, made themselves invisible, vanishing in the very
sight of all the beholders. The Pandavas repeatedly bowed and offered
their adorations to those highly blessed Rishis, even after they had made
themselves invisible. They then with cheerful souls waited upon the son
of Ganga, even as Brahmanas versed in Mantras wait with reverence upon
the rising Sun. The Pandavas beheld that the points of the compass blazed
forth with splendour in consequence of the energy of their penances, and
became filled with wonder at the sight. Thinking of the high blessedness
and puissance of those Rishis, the Pandava princes began to converse on
the subject with their grandsire Bhishma.'
"Vaisampayana continued, 'The conversation being over, the righteous
Yudhishthira, the son of Pandu, touched Bhishma's feet with his head and
then resumed his questions relating to morality and righteousness.'
"'Yudhishthira said, "Which countries, which provinces, which retreats,
which mountains, and which rivers, O grandsire, are the foremost in point
of sanctity?"
"'Bhishma said, "In this connection is cited the old narrative of a
conversation between a Brahmana in the observance of the Sila and the
Unccha vows, O Yudhishthira, and a Rishi crowned with ascetic success.
Once on a time, a foremost person, having roamed over this entire earth
adorned with mountains, arrived at last in the house of a foremost person
leading the domestic mode of life in accordance with the Sila vow. The
latter welcomed his guest with due rites. Received with such hospitality,
the happy Rishi passed the night happily in the house of his host. The
next morning the Brahmana in the observance of the Sila vow, having
finished all his morning acts and rites and purified himself duly, very
cheerfully approached his guest crowned with ascetic success. Meeting
with each other and seated at their ease, the two began to converse on
agreeable subjects connected with the Vedas and the Upanishads. Towards
the conclusion of the discourse, the Brahmana in the observance of the
Sila vow respectfully addressed the Rishi crowned with success. Endued
with intelligence, he put this very question which thou, O Yudhisthira,
hast put to me.
"'"The poor Brahmana said, 'What countries, what provinces, what retreats,
what mountains, and what rivers should be regarded as the foremost in
point of sanctity? Do thou discourse to me on this.'
"'"The Rishi crowned with success said, 'Those countries, those provinces,
those retreats, and those mountains, should be regarded as the foremost
in point of sanctity through which or by the side of which that foremost
of all rivers, viz., Bhagirathi flows. That end which a creature is
capable of attaining by penances, by Brahmacharyya, by sacrifices, or by
practising renunciation, one is sure to attain by only living by the side
of the Bhagirathi and bathing in its sacred waters. Those creatures whose
bodies have been sprinkled with the sacred waters of Bhagirathi or whose
bones have been laid in the channel of that sacred stream, have not to
fall away from heaven at any time.[237] Those men, O learned Brahmana,
who use the waters of Bhagirathi in all their acts, surely ascend to
heaven after departing from this world. Even those men who, having
committed diverse kinds of sinful deeds in the first part of their lives,
betake themselves in after years to a residing by the side of Ganga,
succeed in attaining to a very superior end. Hundreds of sacrifices
cannot produce that merit which men of restrained souls are capable of
acquiring by bathing in the sacred waters of Ganga. A person is treated
with respect and worshipped in heaven for as long a period as his bones
lie in the channel of the Ganga. Even as the Sun, when he rises at the
dawn of day, blazes forth in splendour, having dispelled the gloom of
night, after the same manner the person that has bathed in the waters of
Ganga is seen to shine in splendour, cleansed of all his sins. Those
countries and those points of the compass that are destitute of the
sacred waters of Ganga are like nights without the moon or like trees
without flowers. Verily, a world without Ganga is like the different
orders and modes of life when they are destitute of righteousness or like
sacrifices without Soma. Without doubt, countries and points of the
compass that are without Ganga are like the firmament without the Sun, or
the Earth without mountains, or the welkin without air. The entire body
of creatures in the three worlds, if served with the auspicious waters of
Ganga, derive a pleasure, the like of which they are incapable of
deriving from any other source. He who drinks Ganga water that has been
heated by the Sun's rays derives merit much greater than that which
attaches to the vow of subsisting upon the wheat or grains of other corn
picked up from cowdung. It cannot be said whether the two are equal or
not, viz., he who performs a thousand Chandrayana rites for purifying his
body and he who drinks the water of Ganga. It cannot be said whether the
two are equal or not, viz., one who stands for a thousand years on one
foot and one who lives for only a month by the side of Ganga. One who
lives permanently by the side of Ganga is superior in merit to one who
stays for ten thousand Yugas with head hanging downwards. As cotton, when
it comes into contact with fire, is burnt off without a remnant, even so
the sins of the person that has bathed in Ganga become consumed without a
remnant. There is no end superior to Ganga for those creatures who with
hearts afflicted by sorrow, seek to attain to ends that may dispel that
sorrow of theirs. As snakes become deprived of their poison at the very
sight of Garuda, even so one becomes cleansed of all one's sins at the
very sight of the sacred stream of Ganga. They that are without good name
and that are addicted to deeds of sinfulness, have Ganga for their fame,
their protection, their means of rescue, their refuge or cover. Many
wretches among men who become afflicted with diverse sins of a heinous
nature, when they are about to sink into hell, are rescued by Ganga in
the next world (if, notwithstanding their sins, they seek the aid of
Ganga in their after-years). They, O foremost of intelligent men, who
plunge every day in the sacred waters of Ganga, become the equals of
great Munis and the very deities with Vasava at their head. Those
wretches among men that are destitute of humility or modesty of behaviour
and that are exceedingly sinful, become righteous and good, O Brahmana,
by betaking themselves to the side of Ganga. As Amrita is to the deities,
as Swadha is to the Pitris, as Sudha is to the Nagas, even so is Ganga
water to human beings. As children afflicted with hunger solicit their
mothers for food, after the same manner do people desirous of their
highest good pay court to Ganga. As the region of the self-born Brahma is
said to be the foremost of all places, even so is Ganga said to be
foremost of all rivers for those that desire to bathe. As the Earth and
the cow are said to be the chief sustenance of the deities and other
celestials, even so is Ganga the chief sustenance of all living
creatures.[238] As the deities support themselves upon the Amrita that
occurs in the Sun and the Moon and that is offered in diverse sacrifices,
even so do human beings support themselves upon Ganga water. One
besmeared with the sand taken from the shores of Ganga regards oneself as
a denizen of heaven, adorned with celestial unguents. He who bears on his
head the mud taken from the banks of Ganga presents an effulgent aspect
equal to that of Sun himself bent on dispelling the surrounding darkness.
When that wind which is moistened with the particles of Ganga-water
touches one's person, it cleanses him immediately of every sin. A person
afflicted by calamities and about to sink under their weight, finds all
his calamities dispelled by the joy which springs up in his heart at
sight of that sacred stream. By the melody of the swans and Kokas and
other aquatic fowls that play on her breast, Ganga challenges the very
Gandharvas and by her high banks the very mountains on the Earth.
Beholding her surface teeming with swans and diverse other aquatic fowls,
and having banks adorned with pasture lands with kine grazing on them.
Heaven herself loses her pride. The high happiness which one enjoys by a
residence on the banks of Ganga, can never be his who is residing even in
heaven. I have no doubt in this that the person who is afflicted with
sins perpetrated in speech and thought and overt act, becomes cleansed at
the very sight of Ganga. By holding that sacred stream, touching it, and
bathing in its waters, one rescues one's ancestors to the seventh
generation, one's descendants to the seventh generation, as also other
ancestors and descendants. By hearing of Ganga, by wishing to repair to
that river, by drinking its waters, by touching its waters, and by
bathing in them a person rescues both his paternal and maternal races. By
seeing, touching, and drinking the waters of Ganga, or even by applauding
Ganga, hundreds and thousands of sinful men become cleansed of all their
sins. They who wish to make their birth, life and learning fruitful,
should repair to Ganga and gratify the Pitris and the deities by offering
them oblations of water. The merit that one earns by bathing in Ganga is
such that the like of it is incapable of being earned through the
acquisition of sons or wealth or the performance of meritorious acts.
Those who, although possessed of the physical ability, do not seek to
have a sight of the auspicious Ganga of sacred current, are, without
doubt, to be likened to persons afflicted with congenital blindness or
those that are dead or those that are destitute of the power of
locomotion through palsy or lameness. What man is there that would not
reverence this sacred stream that is adored by great Rishis conversant
with the Present, the Past, and the Future, as also by the very deities
with Indra at their head. What man is there that would not seek the
protection of Ganga whose protection is sought for by forest recluses and
householders, and by Yatis and Brahmacharins alike? The man of righteous
conduct who, with rapt soul, thinks of Ganga at the time when his
life-breaths are about to leave his body, succeeds in attaining to the
highest end. That man who dwells by the side of Ganga up to the time of
his death, adoring her with reverence, becomes freed from the fear of
every kind of calamity, of sin, and of kings. When that highly sacred
stream fell from the firmament, Maheswara held it on his head. It is that
very stream which is adored in heaven.[239] The three regions, viz.,
(Earth, Heaven, and the nether place called Patala) are adorned by the
three courses of this sacred stream. The man who uses the waters of that
stream becomes certainly crowned with success. As the solar ray is to the
deities in heaven, as Chandramas is to the Pitris, as the king is to
human beings, even such is Ganga unto all streams.[240] One who becomes
bereaved of mother or father or sons or spouses or wealth does not feel
that grief which becomes one's, when one becomes bereaved of Ganga. One
does not obtain that joy through acts that lead to the region of Brahma,
or through such sacrifices and rites that lead to heaven, or through
children or wealth, which one obtain from a sight of Ganga.[241] The
pleasures that men derive from a sight of Ganga is equal to what they
derive from a sight of the full moon. That man becomes dear to Ganga who
adores her with deep devotion, with mind wholly fixed upon her, with a
reverence that refuses to take any other object within its sphere, with a
feeling that there is nothing else to the universe worthy of similar
adoration, and with a steadiness that knows no failing away. Creatures
that live on Earth, in the welkin, or in Heaven, indeed, even beings that
are very superior,--should always bathe in Ganga. Verily, this is the
foremost of all duties with those that are righteous. The fame of Ganga
for sanctity has spread over the entire universe, since she bore all the
sons of Sagara, who had been reduced to ashes, from here to Heaven.[242]
Men who are washed by the bright, beautiful, high, and rapidly moving
waves, raised by the wind, of Ganga, become cleansed of all their sins
and resemble in splendour the Sun with his thousand rays. Those men of
tranquil souls that have cast off their bodies in the waters of Ganga
whose sanctity is as great as that of the butter and other liquids poured
in sacrifices and which are capable of conferring merits equal to those
of the greatest of sacrifices, have certainly attained to a station equal
to that of the very deities. Verily, Ganga, possessed of fame and vast
extent and identical with the entire universe and reverenced by the
deities with Indra at their head, the Munis and human beings, is
competent to bestow the fruition of all their wishes upon them that are
blind, them that are idiots, and them that are destitute of all
things.[243] They that sought the refuge of Ganga, that protectress of
all the universe, that flows in three streams, that is filled with water
at once highly sacred and sweet as honey and productive of every kind of
good, have succeeded in attaining to the beatitude of Heaven.[244] That
mortal who dwells by the side of Ganga and beholds her every day, becomes
cleansed by her sight and touch. Unto him the deities give every kind of
happiness here and a high end hereafter. Ganga is regarded as competent
to rescue every creature from sin and lead him to the felicity of Heaven.
She is held to be identical with Prisni, the mother of Vishnu. She is
identical with the Word or Speech. She is very remote, being incapable of
easy attainment. She is the embodiment of auspiciousness and prosperity.
She is capable of bestowing the six well-known attributes beginning with
lordship or puissance. She is always inclined to extend her grace. She is
the displayer of all things in the universe, and she is the high refuge
of all creatures. Those who have sought her protection in this life have
surely attained heaven. The fame of Ganga has spread all over the welkin,
and Heaven, and Earth, and all the points, cardinal and subsidiary, of
the compass. Mortal creatures, by using the waters of that foremost of
streams, always become crowned with high success. That person who himself
beholding Ganga, points her out to others, finds that Ganga rescues him
from rebirth and confers Emancipation on him. Ganga held Guha, the
generalissimo of the celestial forces, in her womb. She bears the most
precious of all metals, viz., gold, also in that womb of hers. They who
bathe in her waters every day in the morning, succeed in obtaining the
aggregate of three, viz., Righteousness, Wealth and Pleasure. Those
waters are, again, equal in point of sanctity to the butter that is
poured with Mantras on the sacrificial fire. Capable of cleansing one
from every sin, she has descended from the celestial region, and her
current is held in high esteem by every one. Ganga is the daughter of
Himavat, the spouse of Hara, and the ornament of both Heaven and Earth.
She is the bestower of everything auspicious, and is competent to confer
the six well-known attributes beginning with lordship or puissance.
Verily O king, Ganga is the one object of great sanctity in the three
worlds and confers merit upon all. Truly, O monarch, Ganga is
Righteousness in liquefied form. She is energy also running in a liquid
form over the Earth. She is endued with the splendour or puissance that
belongs to the butter that is poured with Mantras on the sacrificial
fire. She is always adorned with large waves as also with Brahmanas who
may at all times be seen performing their ablutions in her waters.
Falling from Heaven, she was held by Siva on his head. The very mother of
the heavens, she has sprung from the highest mountain for running over
the plains and conferring the most precious benefits on all creatures of
the Earth. She is the highest cause of all things; she is perfectly
stainless. She is as subtile as Brahma. She affords the best bed for the
dying. She leads creatures very quickly to heaven. She bears away a large
volume of water. She bestows great fame on all. She is the protectress of
the universe.[245] She is identical with every form. She is very much
coveted by persons crowned with success. Verily, Ganga is the path to
Heaven of those that have bathed in her current.[246] The Brahmanas hold
Ganga as equalling the Earth in forgiveness, and in the protection and
upholding of those that live by her; further, as equalling Fire and Surya
in energy and splendour; and, lastly, as always equalling Guha himself in
the matter of showing favours unto the regenerate class.[247] Those men
who, in this life, even mentally seek with their whole souls that sacred
stream which is praised by the Rishis, which has issued out of the feet
of Vishnu, which is very ancient, and which is exceedingly sacred,
succeed in repairing to the regions of Brahman. Fully convinced that
children and other possessions, as also regions possessed by every kind
of felicity, are transitory or liable to destruction, men of subdued
souls, who are desirous of attaining to that everlasting station which is
identical with Brahma, always pay their adorations to Ganga with that
reverence and love which are due from a son to mother. The men of
cleansed soul who is desirous of achieving success should seek the
protection of Ganga who is like a cow that yields Amrita instead of
ordinary milk, who is prosperity's self, who is possessed of omniscience,
who exists for the entire universe of creatures, who is the source of all
kinds of food, who is the mother of all mountains, who is the refuge of
all righteous persons, who is immeasurable in puissance and energy, and
who charms the heart of Brahma himself. Having, with austere penances,
gratified all the deities with the Supreme Lord (Vishnu), Bhagiratha
brought Ganga down on the Earth. Repairing unto her, men always succeed
in freeing themselves from every kind of fear both here and hereafter.
Observing with the aid of intelligence, I have mentioned to thee only a
small part of the merits of Ganga. My power, however, is inadequate to
speak of all the merits of the sacred river, or, indeed, to measure her
puissance and sanctity. One may, by putting forth one's best powers,
count the stones that occur in the mountains of Meru or measure the
waters that occur in the ocean, but one cannot count all the merits which
belong to the waters of Ganga. Hence, having listened to these particular
merits of Ganga which I have uttered with great devotion, one should, in
thought, word and deed, reverence them with faith and devotion. In
consequence of thy having listened to those merits which I have recited,
thou art sure to fill all the three regions with fame and attain to a
measure of success that is very large and that is difficult of being
attained to by any other person. Verily, thou shalt, soon after that,
sport in joy many a region of great felicity created by Ganga herself for
those that reverence her. Ganga always extends her grace unto those that
are devoted to her with humbleness of heart. She unites those that are so
devoted to her with every kind of happiness. I pray that the
highly-blessed Ganga may always inspire thy heart and mine with such
attributes as are fraught with righteousness'.
"'Bhishma continued, "The learned ascetic endued with high intelligence
and great illumination, and crowned with success, having in this manner
discoursed unto that poor Brahmana in the observance of the Sila vow, on
the subjects of the infinite merits of Ganga, then ascended the
firmament. The Brahmana in the observance of Sila vow, awakened by the
words of that ascetic crowned with success, duly worshipped Ganga and
attained to high success. Do thou also, O son of Kunti, seek Ganga with
great devotion, for thou shalt then, as the reward thereof, attain to
high and excellent success."'
"Vaisampayana continued, 'Hearing this discourse from Bhishma that was
fraught with the praise of Ganga, Yudhishthira with his brothers became
filled with great delight. That person who recites or hears recited this
sacred discourse fraught with the praise of Ganga, becomes cleansed of
every sin.'"