THE TAMING OF THE GANGES

Though King Sagara, the dynamic ruler of the Ikshvaku dynasty and forefather of Sri Rama, had successfully prepared a channel for the descent of the Ganga and even constructed a reservoir to hold its waters, the greater task still lay incomplete. The sacred river continued to surge unchecked in many directions, while the channel carved to contain her remained barren and dry. To read more about the 'Channelling of the Ganges' click here. 

Sagara ascended to heaven, and his grandson Anshuman too could not advance the work—the task remained formidable. Another generation passed; King Dileepa, though he spent long years in the Himalayas studying the challenge, made no progress. At last, when his son Bhagirath came of age, the dynasty was prepared to attempt the undertaking, but only under the guidance and power of Lord Shiva. The Ramayana tells us that thousands of years had elapsed—a metaphor for the long passage of time—since King Sagara had completed the first phase of the work. Now, at last, the ashes of his sons—incinerated by Sage Kapila for disturbing his sadhana—were destined to be sanctified by the descent of the Ganga.

It is said that Brahma and the other celestials counseled Bhagirath to seek the aid of Lord Shiva, for the task was beyond the reach of lesser beings. Lord Shiva accepted the plea and resolved to master the descent of the Ganga. He planned to break the river’s furious torrent upon the Himalayas, tempering its force, and then guiding the waters gently down to the plains, where they would flow into the channel already carved by the sons of King Sagara.

It is said that Lord Shiva first bound the Ganga within the coils of his matted locks—perhaps a metaphor for the ridges, ravines, rocks, and roots of the Himalayas—and thus broke the force of her descent. He tempered the torrent by channeling it through lakes and reservoirs, dispersing the waters into many streams before releasing them to flow onward.

The water flowing through the matted locks of Shiva?

The great lake created to slow the descent of the waters bound in Shiva’s matted hair came to be known as Bindu Sarovar. Its vast expanse tempered the river’s force, allowing the torrent to settle. From there, the waters were divided into seven streams: three flowing eastward, collectively known today as the Brahmaputra; three directed westward, forming the Sindhu; and the seventh, the Bhagirathi—the Ganga herself—guided into the central channel prepared for her descent.

The gods beheld the descent of the Ganga from the skies, and Valmiki’s description is wondrous. He writes: “Some of the gods, in aerial craft vast as cities, some astride prancing horses, and some upon mighty elephants, entered the firmament at the sight of the plunging Ganga.” [Valmiki Ramayana 1‑43‑18b, 19a].

From the verses that follow, it is evident that the celestials watched from above, borne in aerial vehicles. Even Bhagirath himself guided the river’s release from an airborne chariot—not a horse‑drawn conveyance, but a hovering craft. Had he been earthbound, the torrent newly freed would have engulfed both chariot and charioteer in an instant.

Bhagirath flew ahead of the surging Ganga, tracing her course over the channel already prepared. Behind him, the river followed—swift in some stretches, slower in others, at times colliding with her own waters—yet always pressing forward along the path he marked.

Another legend tells that Skanda, son of Shiva and Ganga, was born upon the banks of the sacred river. He is described as having six faces, nourished by the milk of six nurses. Yet the imagery in the Valmiki Ramayana evokes another vision: here stood a dam beyond Bindu Sarovar. Rather than merely “drinking the milk of six nurses.” 

Skanda seems to embody the very act of construction—the myth perhaps arising from scenes like the one captured above, of water gushing forth from the gates of a dam. Skilled in engineering, Skanda is said to have drilled a tunnel through Mount Kailash in another of Shiva’s undertakings. He was not only the son of Shiva, but his helper and collaborator in works of immense scale.