The Descent of the River Ganges
Each material universe is like a coconut, with a hollow central part half-filled with water and surrounded by seven coverings. Outside these coverings are the spiritual waters of the causal ocean.
« Making Sense of the Vedic Universe, a Higher-Dimensional Reality
The Descent of the River Ganges
After describing Jambūdvīpa, which is the center of the intermediate planetary system of Bhū-mandala, Śukadeva Goswami describes the descent of the river Ganges, passing through the higher planets of the universe until reaching the top of Mount Sumeru, and from there the other parts of Jambūdvīpa.
“Śukadeva Gosvāmī said: My dear King, Lord Viṣṇu, the enjoyer of all sacrifices, appeared as Vāmanadeva in the sacrificial arena of Bali Mahārāja. Then He extended His left foot to the end of the universe and pierced a hole in its covering with the nail of His big toe. Through the hole, the pure water of the Causal Ocean entered this universe as the Ganges River. Having washed the lotus feet of the Lord, which are covered with reddish powder, the water of the Ganges acquired a very beautiful pink color. Every living being can immediately purify his mind of material contamination by touching the transcendental water of the Ganges, yet its waters remain ever pure. Because the Ganges directly touches the lotus feet of the Lord before descending within this universe, she is known as Viṣṇupadī. Later she received other names like Jāhnavī and Bhāgīrathī. After one thousand millenniums, the water of the Ganges descended to Dhruvaloka, the topmost planet in this universe. Therefore all learned sages and scholars proclaim Dhruvaloka to be Viṣṇupada [“situated on Lord Viṣṇu’s lotus feet”].” (SB 5.17.1)
The pastime of Lord Vāmanadeva is described in detail in the Eighth Canto. Different from most of the pastimes described in the 3rd and 4th cantos, (which happened in the first manvantara), the descent of the river Ganges happened relatively recently on a cosmic scale, at the beginning of the current manvantara (Vaivasvata).
At a certain point, having secured the blessings of the brāhmanas, Bali Maharaja was able to defeat the demigods and take possession of the celestial planets. Defeated, the demigods appealed to Lord Viṣnu, who appeared as Vāmanadeva. In this form, the Lord assumes both the position of a līlā-avatāra and the current manvantara-avatāra.
The Lord can be simultaneously the smallest and the biggest, and thus, Vāmanadeva covered the whole universe with two steps by increasing His size. With the first step, he covered the entire surface of the earth, and when he raised his foot to take his second step, his foot hit the coverings of the universe and opened a crack through which the water of the causal ocean leaked inside. It is described that “a few drops” of the causal ocean entered the universe, but this is from the perspective of someone almost as big as the universe itself.
Each material universe is like a coconut, with a hollow central part half-filled with water and surrounded by seven coverings. Outside these coverings are the spiritual waters of the causal ocean, where Lord Mahā-Viṣṇu stays. This water is pure in itself, but it became even more sacred after touching the lotus feet of the Lord, becoming the transcendental river Ganges.
This stream of water then falls through the universe, reaching Dhruvaloka (the Polestar), and from there the abodes of the seven sages, the moon, and finally the top of Mount Sumeru.
Dhruvaloka is described in the verse as the topmost planet in this universe, because it is a Vaikuṇṭha planet, and the abode of Lord Kṣīrodakaśāyī Viṣṇu. Geographically speaking, however, Dhruvaloka is situated above Svargaloka and the Saptarṣi constellation (the seven sages), but below the planetary systems of Maharloka, Janaloka, Tapoloka, and Satyaloka.
“Dhruva Mahārāja, the famous son of Mahārāja Uttānapāda, is known as the most exalted devotee of the Supreme Lord because of his firm determination in executing devotional service. Knowing that the sacred Ganges water washes the lotus feet of Lord Viṣṇu, Dhruva Mahārāja, situated on his own planet, to this very day accepts that water on his head with great devotion. Because he constantly thinks of Kṛṣṇa very devoutly within the core of his heart, he is overcome with ecstatic anxiety. Tears flow from his half-open eyes, and eruptions appear on his entire body. The seven great sages [Marīci, Vasiṣṭha, Atri and so on] reside on planets beneath Dhruvaloka. Well aware of the influence of the water of the Ganges, to this day they keep Ganges water on the tufts of hair on their heads. They have concluded that this is the ultimate wealth, the perfection of all austerities, and the best means of prosecuting transcendental life. Having obtained uninterrupted devotional service to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, they neglect all other beneficial processes like religion, economic development, sense gratification and even merging into the Supreme. Just as jñānīs think that merging into the existence of the Lord is the highest truth, these seven exalted personalities accept devotional service as the perfection of life.” (SB 5.17.2-3)
These two verses describe the spiritual potency of the water of the Ganges, whose waters are accepted by both Dhruva and the sages with great respect. Because these great sages keep the water on the tufts of hair on their heads with such great respect, they obtain uninterrupted devotional service to the Lord, and lose interest in the materialistic process of karma-kanda, based on economic development and impersonal liberation.
This shows how the waters are spiritually powerful. If even such great sages derive such great benefit, what to speak of us? This also reveals the true benefit of bathing in the Ganges: ultimately, it is not merely a matter of becoming free of sins, but attaining pure devotional service to the Lord.
“After purifying the seven planets near Dhruvaloka [the polestar], the Ganges water is carried through the spaceways of the demigods in billions of celestial airplanes. Then it inundates the moon [Candraloka] and finally reaches Lord Brahmā’s abode atop Mount Meru.” (SB 5.17.4)
Dhruvaloka and the abode of the Seven Ṛṣis are far above Svargaloka (which starts from the sun, which is 100,000 yojanas above our planet). In his purport to SB 5.23.9, Prabhupāda gives the distances: “Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura estimates that Dhruvaloka, the polestar, is 3,800,000 yojanas above the sun. Above Dhruvaloka by 10,000,000 yojanas is Maharloka, above Maharloka by 20,000,000 yojanas is Janaloka, above Janaloka by 80,000,000 yojanas is Tapoloka, and above Tapoloka by 120,000,000 yojanas is Satyaloka.”
How to make a river flow through space over such a great distance? The solution found by the demigods is to carry the waters on their vimānas. The verse mentions that an army of thousands and millions of vimānas (sahasra-koṭi-vimānānīka) is constantly engaged in this service of carrying the waters of the Ganges all the way to Candra-loka (the moon). From there, the water flows into Brahmāpurī, the abode of Lord Brahmā on top of Mount Meru.
Prabhupāda describes the whole process in his purport: “We should always remember that the Ganges River comes from the Causal Ocean, beyond the covering of the universe. After the water of the Causal Ocean leaks through the hole created by Lord Vāmanadeva, it flows down to Dhruvaloka (the polestar) and then to the seven planets beneath Dhruvaloka. Then it is carried to the moon by innumerable celestial airplanes, and then it falls to the top of Mount Meru, which is known as Sumeru-parvata. In this way, the water of the Ganges finally reaches the lower planets and the peaks of the Himālayas, and from there it flows through Hardwar and throughout the plains of India, purifying the entire land. How the Ganges water reaches the various planets from the top of the universe is explained herein. Celestial airplanes carry the water from the planets of the sages to other planets.”
The next verses describe how the waters of the Ganges flow into the different tracts of land in Jambūdvīpa, including our planet:
“On top of Mount Meru, the Ganges divides into four branches, each of which gushes in a different direction [east, west, north and south]. These branches, known by the names Sītā, Alakanandā, Cakṣu and Bhadrā, flow down to the ocean.
The branch of the Ganges known as the Sītā flows through Brahmāpurī atop Mount Meru, and from there it runs down to the nearby peaks of the Kesarācala Mountains, which stand almost as high as Mount Meru itself. These mountains are like a bunch of filaments around Mount Meru. From the Kesarācala Mountains, the Ganges falls to the peak of Gandhamādana Mountain and then flows into the land of Bhadrāśva-varṣa. Finally it reaches the ocean of salt water in the west. The branch of the Ganges known as Cakṣu falls onto the summit of Mālyavān Mountain and from there cascades onto the land of Ketumāla-varṣa. The Ganges flows incessantly through Ketumāla-varṣa and in this way also reaches the ocean of salt water in the west. The branch of the Ganges known as Bhadrā flows from the northern side of Mount Meru. Its waters fall onto the peaks of Kumuda Mountain, Mount Nīla, Śveta Mountain and Śṛṅgavān Mountain in succession. Then it runs down into the province of Kuru and, after crossing through that land, flows into the saltwater ocean in the north.
Similarly, the branch of the Ganges known as Alakanandā flows from the southern side of Brahmāpurī [Brahma-sadana]. Passing over the tops of mountains in various lands, it falls down with fierce force upon the peaks of the mountains Hemakūṭa and Himakūṭa. After inundating the tops of those mountains, the Ganges falls down onto the tract of land known as Bhārata-varṣa, which she also inundates. Then the Ganges flows into the ocean of salt water in the south. Persons who come to bathe in this river are fortunate. It is not very difficult for them to achieve with every step the results of performing great sacrifices like the Rājasūya and Aśvamedha yajñas. Many other rivers, both big and small, flow from the top of Mount Meru. These rivers are like daughters of the mountain, and they flow to the various tracts of land in hundreds of branches. (SB 5.17.5-10)
In Brahmāpurī, the city of Lord Brahmā on top of Mount Sumeru, the waters of the Ganges divide into four streams, which go into the four directions, flowing through Bhadrāśva-varṣa to the east, Ketumāla-varṣa to the west, Ramyaka, Hiraṇmaya, and Uttarakuru to the north, and Hari-varṣa, Kimpuruṣa, and Bhārata-varṣa to the south. These four principal streams ramify into many, bathing many different tracts of land.
Just as the continents of our planet are surrounded by the ocean, Jambūdvīpa is surrounded by a salt ocean that has the same breadth as the island itself. Therefore, it is said that all these different streams of water flow into the salt ocean.
On our planet, the Ganges appears to originate from melted ice in the Himalaya region, but this is just the apparent cause. Somehow, the subtle waters flow from other regions of Bhū-mandala and mix with this gross water coming from the Himalayas, producing the river we can bathe in to become free from all material contamination.
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