Srimad Bhagavatam — Panchama Skandha, Shloka 1
Viṣṇupadī Gaṅgā: Descent, Cosmic Pathways, and Śiva’s Praise of Saṅkarṣaṇa
श्रीशुक उवाच तत्र भगवत: साक्षाद्यज्ञलिङ्गस्य विष्णोर्विक्रमतो वामपादाङ्गुष्ठनखनिर्भिन्नोर्ध्वाण्डकटाहविवरेणान्त:प्रविष्टा या बाह्यजलधारा तच्चरणपङ्कजावनेजनारुणकिञ्जल्कोपरञ्जिताखिलजगदघमलापहोपस्पर्शनामला साक्षाद्भगवत्पदीत्यनुपलक्षितवचोऽभिधीयमानातिमहता कालेन युगसहस्रोपलक्षणेन दिवो मूर्धन्यवततार यत्तद्विष्णुपदमाहु: ॥ १ ॥
śrī-śuka uvāca tatra bhagavataḥ sākṣād yajña-liṅgasya viṣṇor vikramato vāma-pādāṅguṣṭha-nakha-nirbhinnordhvāṇḍa-kaṭāha-vivareṇāntaḥ-praviṣṭā yā bāhya-jala-dhārā tac-caraṇa-paṅkajāvanejanāruṇa-kiñjalkoparañjitākhila-jagad-agha-malāpahopasparśanāmalā sākṣād bhagavat-padīty anupalakṣita-vaco ’bhidhīyamānāti-mahatā kālena yuga-sahasropalakṣaṇena divo mūrdhany avatatāra yat tad viṣṇu-padam āhuḥ.
Śukadeva Gosvāmī dit : Ô roi bien-aimé, dans l’arène sacrificielle de Bali Mahārāja, Bhagavān Viṣṇu, l’incarnation même du yajña, apparut sous la forme de Vāmanadeva. Lorsqu’Il étendit Son pied gauche jusqu’à la limite de l’univers, l’ongle de Son gros orteil perça l’enveloppe cosmique. Par cette ouverture, l’eau pure de l’Océan Causal entra dans ce monde et se manifesta comme le fleuve Gaṅgā. Ayant lavé les pieds de lotus du Seigneur, couverts d’une poussière rougeâtre, l’eau prit une teinte rose d’une grande beauté. Quiconque touche cette eau transcendante se purifie aussitôt des souillures du péché, et pourtant la Gaṅgā demeure à jamais immaculée ; c’est pourquoi on la nomme Viṣṇupadī. Plus tard, après un temps immense—mesuré par mille yugas—la Gaṅgā descendit sur Dhruvaloka ; ainsi les sages proclament que Dhruvaloka est Viṣṇupada, « situé aux pieds de Viṣṇu ».
In this verse, Śukadeva Gosvāmī describes the glories of the Ganges River. The water of the Ganges is called patita-pāvanī, the deliverer of all sinful living beings. It is a proven fact that a person who regularly bathes in the Ganges is purified both externally and internally. Externally his body becomes immune to all kinds of disease, and internally he gradually develops a devotional attitude toward the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Throughout India, many thousands of people live on the banks of the Ganges, and by regularly bathing in her waters, they are undoubtedly being purified both spiritually and materially. Many sages, including Śaṅkarācārya, have composed prayers in praise of the Ganges, and the land of India itself has become glorious because such rivers as the Ganges, Yamunā, Godāvarī, Kāverī, Kṛṣṇā and Narmadā flow there. Anyone living on the land adjacent to these rivers is naturally advanced in spiritual consciousness. Śrīla Madhvācārya says:
FAQs
This verse explains that the Ganga is the sacred water that entered the universe through an opening in the cosmic shell, made when Lord Viṣṇu’s toenail pierced it during His cosmic stride, and it became supremely purifying by washing His lotus feet.
Viṣṇu-pada is described here as the heavenly point where that foot-born sacred current descends—connected directly to the Lord’s lotus feet—making it a spiritually significant locus of purity and divine contact.
The verse highlights purification through contact with what is connected to Bhagavān—encouraging devotees today to seek inner cleansing through devotion, remembrance of Viṣṇu, and association with sacred practices and teachings.