Shloka 4
Brahmā Worships Vāmana; the Demons Attack; Bali is Bound and Questioned About the Third Step
धातु: कमण्डलुजलं तदुरुक्रमस्य पादावनेजनपवित्रतया नरेन्द्र । स्वर्धुन्यभून्नभसि सा पतती निमार्ष्टि लोकत्रयं भगवतो विशदेव कीर्ति: ॥ ४ ॥
dhātuḥ kamaṇḍalu-jalaṁ tad urukramasya pādāvanejana-pavitratayā narendra svardhuny abhūn nabhasi sā patatī nimārṣṭi loka-trayaṁ bhagavato viśadeva kīrtiḥ
O King, the water from Brahmā’s kamaṇḍalu, having washed the lotus feet of Urukrama (Lord Vāmanadeva), became supremely pure and turned into the Svardhunī—the Ganges—flowing down from the heavens. As she descends, she purifies the three worlds, just like the spotless fame of the Supreme Lord.
Here we understand that the Ganges began when the water from Lord Brahmā’s kamaṇḍalu washed the lotus feet of Lord Vāmanadeva. But in the Fifth Canto it is stated that the Ganges began when Vāmanadeva’s left foot pierced the covering of the universe so that the transcendental water of the Causal Ocean leaked through. And elsewhere it is also stated that Lord Nārāyaṇa appeared as the water of the Ganges. The water of the Ganges, therefore, is a combination of three transcendental waters, and thus the Ganges is able to purify the three worlds. This is the description given by Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura.
FAQs
This verse says Gaṅgā is supremely purifying because she is sanctified by washing Lord Viṣṇu’s feet, and by descending through the cosmos she cleanses the three worlds.
Because her purity originates from contact with the Lord’s lotus feet; thus her flowing presence in the universe is like the visible, undefiled glory of Bhagavān spreading everywhere.
Seek purification by connecting life to the Lord—through remembrance, chanting, and service—because true cleansing is ultimately the result of contact with Bhagavān’s sanctifying presence.