Namaskar!
So, this is my favorite post from the challenge. The first time I knew
of the story of River Goddess Ganga arriving on the earth was through a
Ramayana movie (at the end). It became my favorite scene ever. We have a similar
version in Mahabharata, making it easy for me to share it for the
challenge.
Aranyaka Parva has many stories (even a summary of
Ramayana) as the Pandavas learned from the rishis and went on a
pilgrimage.
Raja Bhagiratha of the Ikshvaku dynasty (an ancestor
of Rama) did tapasya on the peaks of the Himalayas to please River Ganga. He requested her to cleanse his ancestors to help them attain a place in heaven.
She agreed but said that none except Shiva could handle the force of her
waters. Ganga told Raja Bhagiratha to find a way to break her fall from heaven and absorb the
impact so that only a portion of her waters would reach the earth. Otherwise, it would have destroyed the earth.
Now, here’s the beautiful scene of Gangavataranam from Sita Kalyanam (1976), a movie by the Late Bapu Garu. Surprisingly (or not), the lyrics of the song describing Ganga’s journey to the earth are similar to how Vyasa wrote the scene in Mahabharata. Here’s an excerpt from P. Lal’s translation:
Her frothing waters
Flapping like hamsas (swans)
Turning stumbling rushing
In tortuous abandon
Meandering like a drunken girl
Wearing a dress of transparent foam
At times roaring and
At other times whispering
In various forms and
In various moods reaching
The earth where she turned to Bhagiratha
I feel happy (and go teary-eyed) each time I see the video. Such a blissful feeling, as if she is cleansing me too!
I’m participating in #BlogchatterA2Z.
The AI images are made on Bing.
No matter how much I tried, I couldn't get AI to understand that Ganga flows from Shiva's topknot.
You remembered Bapu and his picturization. Good.
ReplyDeleteThank you, sir. :) My father is a fan of Bapu and Ramana.
DeleteI am all admiration for your AI images. They are truly amazing, even if you couldn't persuade Ganga to flow from Lord Shiva's top knot. And I never knew that Bhagirathi was named after Bhagiratha (though I knew of him and his penance to bring Ganges to the earth). Thanks
ReplyDeletehttps://www.sundarivenkatraman.in/
Thank you so much, mam. :)
DeleteThis is a set of tales that I only know a little bit about but am fascinated every time I read more. Thank you for these! And for expanding my education.
ReplyDelete--
Tim Brannan, The Other Side blog
2024 A to Z of Dungeons & Dragons, Celebrating 50 Years of D&D
My pleasure and thank you for reading, Timothy. :)
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