The Ash
King Sagara's 60,000 sons had spread across the earth searching for a lost horse. They dug the earth itself. When they found the horse near sage Kapila in his tapasya, they accused him of theft. The sage's eyes opened in anger — and the princes were instantly burnt to ash.
Their souls could not proceed. They needed the sacred waters of Ganga to touch their ashes and free them.
The Tapasya
Bhagiratha, their descendant, undertook the tapasya to please Brahma. He stood with arms raised among the five fires for a year. He stood on one leg for another year.
Brahma was pleased. He agreed to send Ganga to earth.
But there was a problem: the force of Ganga falling from the heavens would shatter the earth.
Shiva Receives Her
Bhagiratha then did tapasya to Shiva. For another year, he stood on one toe, taking no food.
Shiva agreed to receive Ganga on his head.
The great river descended — crashing, roaring, immense. Shiva received her in his matted locks. She wound through his hair for years, unable to find her way out. Bhagiratha did further tapasya. Shiva released one stream.
That stream followed Bhagiratha's chariot across the earth, through three realms, to the ocean, down into the underworld — where it touched the ashes of Sagara's sons.
They were freed. Brahma named the river Bhagirathi in Bhagiratha's honor.