Srimad Bhagavatam — Dashama Skandha, Shloka 44
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यस्यामलं दिवि यश: प्रथितं रसायां भूमौ च ते भुवनमङ्गल दिग्वितानम् । मन्दाकिनीति दिवि भोगवतीति चाधो गङ्गेति चेह चरणाम्बु पुनाति विश्वम् ॥ ४४ ॥
yasyāmalaṁ divi yaśaḥ prathitaṁ rasāyāṁ bhūmau ca te bhuvana-maṅgala dig-vitānam mandākinīti divi bhogavatīti cādho gaṅgeti ceha caraṇāmbu punāti viśvam
O Lord, auspicious to all worlds, Your spotless fame spreads like a canopy across the higher, middle, and lower realms. The transcendental water that bathes Your lotus feet is known in heaven as Mandākinī, in the nether regions as Bhogavatī, and on this earth as the Gaṅgā; flowing through the universe, it purifies wherever it goes.
This translation is based on Śrīla Prabhupāda’s Kṛṣṇa. Śrīdhara Svāmī mentions that the word dig-vitānam indicates that Lord Kṛṣṇa’s transcendental glories spread throughout the universe like a cooling canopy over the universal directions. In other words, the whole world can find shelter under the cooling shade of the Lord’s lotus feet. Thus the Lord is bhuvana-maṅgala, the symbol of everything auspicious for this world.
FAQs
This verse says the same sacred water connected with the Lord’s feet is known as Mandākinī in heaven, Bhogavatī in the subterranean regions, and Gaṅgā on earth—yet it is one purifier celebrated in different realms.
Because it is directly connected to Bhagavān; contact with the Lord’s feet is supremely auspicious, and therefore that water is said to spread auspiciousness in all directions and cleanse all worlds.
By honoring sacred water and sacred places (like the Gaṅgā) with devotion, and by cultivating inner purity through remembrance of Kṛṣṇa—recognizing that spiritual purification comes from connection to the Divine.