Suryavanshi King Bhagirath, the descendant of Ikshvaku, the son of King Dilipa of Ayodhya, is a well-known legendary figure in Hindu mythology attributed to have brought down the sacred river Ganga from Heaven to earth by performing intense penance to please Lord Shiva. The purpose of doing so was to liberate his ancestors, the 60,000 sons of his great-grandfather King Sagara, who were reduced to ashes by Kapil Muni.
We have been hearing and narrating this story for ages, as heard from our ancestors and spiritual gurus. Therefore, we fully trust the same and pass on this legendary story to our next generations.
But in the light of absolute spiritual knowledge, we got to know that this is a legendary belief and falls short of facts told through true spiritual knowledge by Sachhidanand Ghan Brahm. The evidence from the Suksham Veda provides entirely a different perspective; therefore, based on tatvagyan, we will mention here the true and complete story of King Bhagirath and the descent of river Ganga and will do a meticulous analysis of myth vs facts of these beliefs.
Let us proceed and analyse King Bhagirath and his association with the Ganga River based on the following points.
Note: The reference has been taken from Suksham Veda and the spiritual discourses of Jagatguru Tatvadarshi Sant Rampal Ji Maharaj.
This article will provide answers to a few questions often asked by people
The Ganga River is revered as the most sacred river on earth, whose water is said to be immortal. Scientists have conducted extensive research to uncover the secret of its chemical properties, which differentiate Ganga water from that of all other rivers on Earth, but have so far failed miserably.
The earth we live in is a mortal world of Jyoti Niranjan/ Kaal Brahm, where everything perishes, including heaven and Hades.
At a distance of 16 Sankh kose (1 kose = 3 kms) from 21 Brahmands of butcher Kaal, there is an eternal world called Satlok, which is lesser known to the people residing on this earth. Suksham Veda describes this marvellous imperishable Satlok as a realm where everything is in abundance and nothing destroys. There are rivers of milk, curd, nectar water and butter. There are fruits, vegetables, dry fruits, gardens filled with a variety of flowers, and everything grows on white earth.
There are mountains of diamonds, gold and several precious pearls and stones. Beautiful streams are flowing. In highly radiant Satlok, souls reside who never die or grow old. The males are called ‘Hans’ and the females are called ‘Hansni’. Each soul has a very big bungalow in Satlok, has individual aeroplanes all free of cost provided by the supreme father Kavir Dev. The bhandara runs throughout, and merely with a wish, everything becomes available.
The creator of the entire universe, Param Akshar Brahm/ Satpurush Almighty Kavir Dev Himself, resides in the third topmost part of that eternal abode (dhulok) Satlok. He created the Ganga river and sent it on earth in subtle form as a sample to prove that such an immortal world exists and there are such imperishable materials.
The evidence of the aforementioned is found in Suksham Veda, Kabir Sagar and in the nectar speech of respected Sant Garib Das Ji Maharaj. This certifies that the roots of the Ganga River are in Satlok and not Heaven. Ganga is the embodiment of immortality and purity of Satlok.
There is a huge dam in the realm of Kaal Brahm called the Jata Kundli dam. The Ganga River was sent from Amarlok/ Satlok by Satpurush to his Jata Kundli dam. When this dam in Brahm Lok got filled in six months, Ganga started overflowing. Then Ganga water fell and filled the dam in Vishnulok in six months. Overflowing from there, finally, Ganga reached Shivalok and filled the Jata Kundli dam in six months.
Important: Ganga does not belong to Shivalok. The female shown in pictures and idols as Ganga, originating from the matted locks of Shiva/ Shankar, is a fabricated story.
After the dam in Shiva Lok filled fully Ganga river fell and came to earth and settled over the Himalayas. In this process, Ganga turned into water vapour (Nirgun/ invisible form). Over the Himalayas Ganga river settled in the form of snow. From the Himalayas Ganga changed its form into water. Since then, it's flowing and has become Sargun (visible).
It is said in the Suksham Veda
Bahur gaya sargun prasanga Shiv ki jata rahe Jyon Ganga।|
The Ganga River in Nirguna (invisible form) already existed. When it descended on earth over the Himalayas in the form of snow, it became Sargun (visible). For example, a plant in nirgun form is already present in a seed, but it becomes visible/ Sargun only after the seed is sown and the plant grows and becomes a tree.
Few accomplished seekers who were provided divine vision by the grace of the supreme father, supreme God Kabir Sahib, could only see its subtle form flowing from Heaven onto the matted locks of Lord Shiva. Since people were only aware of Heaven and not Satlok, this truth could never be revealed.
Once, the sixty thousand sons of King Sagara, the great-grandfather of King Bhagirath, started digging the earth as some sage told them to dig a pond, a well, and a garden. Doing so will provide them a reward equivalent to one Ashvamedha Yagya, hence, attainment of Heaven. Some sensible men told 60,000 sons that if you would dig land like this everywhere on earth, then there would be no space left for farming.
Then where will the crops grow and grains be produced? What will people eat? But the crazy sons did not agree; rather, they used to fight and continued digging the earth. Those sons took a horse with them and tied a pamphlet around its neck and challenged, ‘whoever will become a hindrance in their work should dare to capture the horse and get ready to fight with them’. Who would dare to fight with those 60,000 crazy sons?
Then Goddess Earth acquired the form of a cow and went to seek help from Lord Vishnu. He assured her to save her. Lord Vishnu told Lord Indra to dissolve the Yagya, else he would have to give up his throne to the sons of Sagara if 100 such Ashvamedha Yagya were completed. They will be enthroned as King of Heaven.
Fearful, Indra immediately sent his attendants to dissolve the Yagya. Those attendants stole the horse of Ashwamegha Yagya and tied him to the thigh of sage Kapil. Kapil Muni is believed to be the incarnation of Shri Vishnu Ji, who was performing hard penance for several years. His body had emaciated, and his eyelids had grown very long, which were touching the earth.
The 60,000 sons of King Sagara went to search for the horse, and noticing it was tied to Kapil Muni, they started piercing him with spears and troubled him a lot. Sage Kapil had gained accomplishments by performing meditation/ hathayoga. Feeling intense pain, Kapil Muni lifted his long eyelids from where fire arrows were released, which brought all 60,000 sons of King Sagara to ashes.
It has been mentioned in Sukshm Ved
60 hazaar Sagad ke hotey, Kapil munishwar khaay |
Jae Parmeshwar ki karein bhakti, to ajar-amar ho jaaye||
In pursuit of the emancipation of his ancestors' souls meaning those 60,000 sons, King Bhagirath embarks on intense penance to bring Ganga to earth. Due to ignorance, it is a belief that Ganga water provides salvation to souls. This is a pure myth. The descent of Ganga on earth and the austerity of King Bhagirath were simply a coincidence. It has been mentioned in the Suksham Veda
Ganga ne to aana tha aur Bhagirath ne jas pana tha।। Tap karke Bhagirath laye। Teen lok kirti darshaye।। Gupt vastu pragat dikhlayee। Ab Nirgun Sargun samjho bhai।।
The Ganga River, after overflowing from Shivalok, automatically fell on the earth over the Himalayas. This was simply a matter of timing. When Ganga dropped on earth at the same time, King Bhagirath was performing austerity.
Mistakenly, he is given the credit for bringing Ganga to earth. If he hadn't been meditating, then according to the time fixed by Satpurush Kavir Dev, Ganga had to come down anyway.
Due to a lack of true spiritual knowledge, there are certain myths prevalent amongst the devotee society regarding the existence of the Ganga River and its association with King Bhagirath.
Let us resolve these myths and read scriptural evidence to know facts
The fact is Ganga River's coming down to earth was a planned action by God Kabir. Its time was already fixed. It was simply a coincidence. Ganga was not descended from the penance of King Bhagirath. He has no role in this episode and is mistakenly glorified.
The fact is Ganga River came on earth by the grace of Satpurush Kabir Sahib. When Ganga started overflowing from Shiva’s Jata Kundli Dam (not his matted locks), Shri Shiva Ji smartly gave a boon to King Bhagirath, saying ‘Tathastu’ (Amen/ so be it). Through folklore, Lord Shiva is unnecessarily given the credit. He has no role in the Ganga River's descension.
Shrimad Bhagavad Gita Chapter 17 Verse 23 tells about the indicative mantra of Salvation, which is ‘Om Tat Sat’. The enlightened saint whose identity has been told in Gita Chapter 15, Verse 1-4, decodes the secret of this mantra. Only he is authorised to grant these salvation mantras. The process gets complete in three stages, whose evidence is found in Sam Veda Mantra no. 822 Samved Utarchik Adhyay 3 Khand no. 5 Shlok no. 8.
There is no other way to attain salvation. Worshipping the Ganga River or offering to it can never liberate souls. It's an arbitrary practice that is against the injunctions of holy scriptures and is strictly prohibited in Gita Chapter 16, Verse 23-24.
The supreme God Kavir Dev/ Param Akshar Purush, the creator of the entire universe, is only the provider of salvation. Devotees who take refuge in Tatvadarshi Sant and do scriptures-based true devotion to God Kabir only attain emancipation.
The fact is that the deceased ancestors of King Bhagirath did not perform the true devotion of Almighty Kabir. They were engaged in the unscriptural devotion of God Kaal, who cannot emancipate souls as he is a devil and is in the vicious cycle of birth-rebirth (Gita 2:12, 4:5 and 7:18). With his devotion, only Brahmlok can be attained. His attainment is inferior as creatures remain in recurrence (Gita 8:16). The souls keep suffering in 84 lakh life species like ghosts, Pitras, dogs, donkeys, reptiles and so on. Even the worshippers of the Hindu triumvirate Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva are never liberated. Goddess Durga also cannot provide salvation.
Those 60,000 sons were not liberated and are still trapped in butcher Kaal's dangerous Web. Unless they do true devotion to God, Kabir Sahib, their situation will remain unchanged.
The Primordial God, the creator of the Ganga River, the provider of Salvation, Kavir Dev, has incarnated on earth at present in Haryana, India, as Jagatguru Tatvadarshi Sant Rampal Ji Maharaj. He has come to take away His beloved souls back to Satlok.
People are advised to stop useless worship, like doing Ganga Aarti or immersion of ashes and bones of their dead family members, or doing meditation like King Bhagirath. There is no benefit to these activities.
God loving souls aiming to be liberated should, without delay, take His refuge and get their welfare done.