Adhyaya 56 — The Descent and Fourfold Course of the Ganga; Jambudvipa’s Varshas and Their Conditions
गत्वा भुवं समासाद्य भद्राश्वाज्जलधिं गता ।
तथैवालकनन्दाख्या दक्षिणे गन्धमादने ॥
gatvā bhuvaṃ samāsādya bhadrāśvājjaladhiṃ gatā /
tathaivālakanandākhyā dakṣiṇe gandhamādane
Als sie die Erde erreichte, ging sie von Bhadrāśva bis zum Ozean. Ebenso ist im Süden bei Gandhamādana jener Arm als Alakanandā bekannt.
The same sanctifying principle becomes locally present under different names; reverence is due not only to a single famous site but to the sacred networks that sustain worlds.
Sthāna: description of varṣas/regions (e.g., Bhadrāśva) and their waters’ movement to the ocean.
‘Reaching the earth’ suggests descent of higher consciousness into embodied reality; the ocean destination symbolizes re-mergence into the undifferentiated absolute.