Gangá

Also known as: Bhágirathí / Goddess of the stream / Jáhnavi / Jáhnaví / Tripathagá · Family: — · Role: goddess and river · First appears: Book I, Canto 36 · The Birth Of Gangá

In Book I, Canto 36, Gangá was born to Himálaya and Mená as the elder sister of Umá. Himálaya gave her to the Immortals, and in Book I, Canto 43 Brahmá told Bhagírath that Śiva must hold her torrents before she descended to earth. In Canto 44, Śiva received Gangá in his hair and released her at Vindu’s lake, where seven rivers flowed from her; Bhagírath rode ahead as she followed.

When Gangá flooded Jahnu’s sacrificial ground, he drank her waters, then released her from his ears and accepted her as his child, giving rise to the name Jáhnavi. Brahmá named her Bhágirathí as Bhagírath’s eldest child. In Book II, Canto 52, Sítá vowed offerings to Gangá if Ráma returned safely from exile, and Gangá is described as the spouse of Varuṇ and as descending from Brahmá’s sphere.