Reading Notes: Week 13 Reading Part B

Ganga: The Divine Beauty [Comic on Reserve]
Ganga Comic Cover Page. Source: Indian Epics Blog
POV: Third person
Summary:
  • The story of how Ganga came to Earth; she is defined as a great beauty and is said to be able to be able to purify all who cross her path; born to the mountain Himavan (Himalayas!)
  • The gods and goddesses come to Himavan one day to ask him to send Ganga to earth so that she may cleanse its people
  • They are having a very hard time down on earth as asuras are plaguing them and hiding in the ocean during the day; thus, the gods go to a sage who drinks up the oceans waters revealing them (as Vishnu told them they are on the ocean bed), so that the devas may fight them.
  • When the asuras are defeated, the earth is now without an ocean
  • Many years pass and again they beg that Ganga be sent down to earth, but it does not occur as yet; Vishnu tells them that a king is being gifted a son who from his line, will produce an heir that brings Ganga to Earth; Shiva is in the process of granting King Sagara and his wives children
  • The first wife will have 60,000 children and all will perish, but the one son that the other wife will have will continue the family line
  • The 60 000 sons are the nicest while the one son is not; but his son Amsuman is a good person
  • During a sacrifice, Indra steals the sacrificial horse and thus Sagara sends his 60,000 sons to retrieve it; on their journey they go to the Nether world and disturb the elephant that holds up the Earth, but also cause an earthquake on the surface as well
  • They finally find the horse deposited by Indra by a sage, and they believe and accuse him of stealing;They are burnt to ash by the offended sage; Amsuman goes after his uncles more gracefully and finds them laid waste by the sage who informs him that it was fated beforehand by Shiva; in order to purify the ashes of his uncles and ensure that they do not stay in hell, Amsuman promises to bring Ganga to Earth
  • Many generations pass before this happens, and Bhagiratha, a third gen, after renouncing his crown and praying to Brahma for many years who tells him to pray to Shiva, is granted a boon by Shiva for his penance; he asks that Ganga be brought to earth.
  • As Ganga becomes ready to descend, she tries to descend upon Shiva's head! He punishes her by imprisoning her in his matted locks (yikes) for many years until Bhagiratha again begs Shiva to release Ganga
  • He does, and Bhagiratha leads Ganga along (winding like a river through the country) and she gets into trouble again by disturbing the sages; one of them swallows her up for this but upon Bhagiratha's request, she is released again; she is said to be even more purified by going through these prisons/punishments (Shiva's locks and the stomach of the sage, >.<); in the comic she is also depicted as being released from the sage from his ear!
  • Finally, Ganga is led to where the ashes of his ancestors are and they are purified, and many people believe that Ganga's waters will purify them should they come into contact with it. 
Ganga descends from the heavens. Source: Wikimedia Commons

Reference: Ganga: The Divine Beauty, Amar Chitra Katha. [Printed Comic]

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