Mahabharata, Book 3, Section CIXवनपर्व

Kisari Mohan Ganguli’s English prose (1883–96), beside the Sanskrit of adhyāya 3.109.

109Sanskrit adhyāya 3.109 · Sanskrit source · English source

Sanskrit

लोमश उवाच ।
भगीरथवचः शुत्वा प्रियार्य च द्विचौकसाम् ।
एवमस्त्विति राजानं भगवान्प्रत्यभापत ॥
धारयिष्ये महाभाग गगनात्मच्युतां शिवाम्
दिव्यां देवनदीं पुण्यां त्वत्कृते नृपसत्तम् ।
एवमुक्त्वा महाबाहो हिमवन्तुमुपागमत् ।
संवृतः पार्षदैर्घोरैर्नानाप्रहरणोधतैः ।
तत्र स्थित्वा नरश्रेष्ठं भगीरथमुवाच ह ।
प्रयाचस्व महाबाहो शैलराजसुतां नदीम् ॥
पितृणां पावनार्थ ते तामहं मनुजाधिप ।
पतमानां सरिच्छ्रेष्ठां धारयिष्ये त्रिविष्टपात् ।।
एतच्छ्रुत्वा बचो राजा शर्वेण समुदाहृतम् ।
प्रयतः प्रणतो भूत्वा गङ्गं हि समचिन्तयत् ॥
ततः पुण्यजला रम्या राज्ञा समनुचिन्तिता ।
ईशानं च स्थितं दृष्ट्वा गगनात्सहसा च्युता ॥
तां प्रच्युतामथो दृष्ट्वा देवाः सार्घ् महर्षिभिः ।
गन्धर्वोरगयक्षाश्व समाजग्मुर्दिदृक्षवः ॥
ततः पपात गगनाद्ग्ङ्गा हिमवतः सुता ।
समुद्वान्तमहावर्ता मीनग्राहसमाकुला ॥
तां दधार हरो राजन्गङ्गां गगनमेखलाम् ।
ललाटदेशे पतितां मालां मुक्तामयीमिव ।
सा बभूव विसर्पन्ती त्रिधा राजन्समुद्रगा ।
फेनपुञ्जाकुलजला हंसानामिव पङ्कयः ॥
क्कचिदाभोगकुटिला प्रस्खलन्ती क्कचित्क्कचित् ।
सा फेनपटसंवीता मत्तेव प्रमदाऽव्रजत् ।।
क्कचित्सा तोयनिनदैर्नदन्ती नादमुत्तमम् ।
‘क्कचिदाकाशमावर्तैः संक्षिपन्तीव सर्वशः ॥
एवंप्रकारान्सुबहून्कुर्वती गगनाच्युता ।
पृथिवीतलमासाद्य भगीरथमथाब्रवीत् ॥
दर्शयस्व महाराज मार्ग केन व्रजाम्यहम् ।
त्वदर्थमवतीर्णास्मि पृथिवीं पृथिवीपते ॥
एतच्छ्रुत्वा वचो राजा प्रातिष्टत भगीरथः ।
तत्र तानि शरीराणि सागराणां महात्मनाम् ।
प्लावनार्थं नरश्रेष्ठ पुण्येन सलिलेन च ॥
गंङ्गाया धारणं कृत्वा हरो लोकनमस्कृतः ।
कैलासं पर्वतश्रेष्ठं जगाम त्रिदशैः सह ॥
समासाद्य समुद्रं च गङ्गया सहितो नृपः ।
पूरयामास वेगेन समुद्रं वरुणालयम् ॥
दुहितृत्वे च नृपतिर्गङ्गां समनुकल्पयत् ।
पितृणां चोदकं तत्र ददौ पूर्णमनोरथः ॥
एतत्ते सर्वमाख्यातं गङ्ग त्रिपथगा यथा ।
पूरणार्थ समुद्रस्य पृथिवीमवतारिता ॥
`कालेयाश्च महाराज त्रिदशैर्विनिपातिताः ।
समुद्रश्च यथा पीतः कारणार्थ महात्मना ॥
वातापिश्च यथा नीतः क्षयं स ब्रह्महा प्रभो ।
अगस्त्येन महाराज यन्मां त्वं परिपृच्छसि ॥
॥ इति श्रीमन्महाभारते अरण्यपर्वणि तीर्थयात्रापर्वणि नवाधिकशततमोऽध्यायः ॥१०९॥
F.N. गगनाच्युतं यथा भवति तथा पतन्त्याः । गगनाद्भुवमिति ।
झ्.पाठः ॥२२॥ अष्टाधिकशततमोऽध्यायः ॥ १०८॥
वर्गः:महाभारतम्/आरण्यकपर्व

English Ganguli

“Lomasa said, ‘The blessed God having heard what Bhagiratha had said, and with a view to doing what was agreeable to the residents of heaven, replied to the king, saying, ‘So let it be. O most righteous of the protectors of men, O (prince) of a powerful arm! For thy sake I shall sustain the river of the gods, when she will take her descent from the sky, she who is pure and blessed and divine, O (king) of a mighty arm!’ Saying this, he came to the snowy mountain, surrounded by his attendants, of awful mien, and with uplifted weapons of diverse forms. And standing there, he said to Bhagiratha, the most praiseworthy of men, ‘O (prince) of a powerful arm! do thou pray to the river, the daughter of the king of mountains. I shall sustain that most praiseworthy of rivers when she falls down from the third region of the world (heaven).’ Having heard these words uttered by Siva, the king became devout (in heart), made obesiance and directed his thoughts towards Ganga. Then the delightful (river), of pure water in being so thought of by the king, and seeing that the great lord (Siva) was standing (to receive her fall), came down all of a sudden from the sky. And seeing that she had taken her leap from the sky, the gods, together with the mighty saints, the Gandharvas, the snakes, and the Yakshas, assembled there as spectators. Then came down from the sky Ganga, the daughter of the snowy mountain. And her whirlpools were raging, and she was teeming with fishes and sharks. O king! she directing her course towards the sea, separated herself, into three streams; and her water was bestrewn with piles of froth, which looked like so many rows of (white) ganders. And crooked and tortuous in the movement of her body, at places; and at others stumbling at it were; and covered with foam as with a robe: she went forward like a woman drunk. And elsewhere, by virtue of the roar of her waters, she uttered loud sounds. Thus assuming very many different aspects, when she fell from the sky, and reached the surface of the earth, she said to Bhagiratha, ‘O great king! show me the path that I shall have to take. O lord of the earth! for thy sake have I descended to the earth.’ Having heard these words, king Bhagiratha directed his course towards the spot where lay those bodies of mighty Sagara’s sons, in order that, O most praiseworthy of men, the holy water might flood (the same). Having achieved the task of sustaining Ganga, Siva, saluted by men, went to Kailasa the most praiseworthy of mountains, accompanied by the celestials. And the protector of men (Bhagiratha) accompanied by Ganga reached the sea; and the sea, the abode of Varuna, was quickly filled. And the king adopted Ganga as a daughter of himself, and at that spot offered libations of water to the names of his forefathers; thus was his heart’s wish fulfilled. Thus asked by thee, I have narrated the whole story how Ganga running in three streams, was brought down to the earth for filling the sea; how the mighty saint had drunk up the sea for a particular reason, and how, O lord! Vatapi, the slayer of Brahmanas, was destroyed by Agastya.’”