Srimad Bhagavatam — Panchama Skandha, Shloka 5
Viṣṇupadī Gaṅgā: Descent, Cosmic Pathways, and Śiva’s Praise of Saṅkarṣaṇa
तत्र चतुर्धा भिद्यमाना चतुर्भिर्नामभिश्चतुर्दिशमभिस्पन्दन्ती नदनदीपतिमेवाभिनिविशति सीतालकनन्दा चक्षुर्भद्रेति ॥ ५ ॥
tatra caturdhā bhidyamānā caturbhir nāmabhiś catur-diśam abhispandantī nada-nadī-patim evābhiniviśati sītālakanandā cakṣur bhadreti.
Atop Mount Meru, the Gaṅgā divides into four streams; bearing four names, they surge toward the four directions and ultimately enter the ocean, lord of rivers. These branches are called Sītā, Alakanandā, Cakṣu, and Bhadrā.
FAQs
This verse explains that a principal river in that region divides into four branches and flows in four directions as Sītā, Alakanandā, Cakṣu, and Bhadrā, finally merging into the ocean.
Śukadeva Gosvāmī is narrating the cosmological description of Jambūdvīpa to King Parīkṣit as part of the Fifth Canto’s account of the universe’s structure.
Just as many rivers ultimately enter one ocean, diverse paths of duty and purification should culminate in remembrance of and surrender to the Supreme Lord, the ultimate goal of all journeys.