A Classical Dictionary of Hindu Mythology and Religion, Geography, History, and Literature c5.234
A Classical Dictionary of Hindu Mythology and Religion, Geography, History, and Literature c5.234
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c5.234
BHĀGĪRATHĪ. The Ganges. The name is derived from Bhagīratha, a descendant of Sagara, whose austerities induced Siva to allow the sacred river to descend to the earth for the purpose of bathing the ashes of Sagara’s sons, who had been consumed by the wrath of the sage Kapila. Bhagīratha named the river Sāgara, and after leading it over the earth to the sea, he conducted it to Pātāla, where the ashes of his ancestors were laved with its waters and purified.