गङ्गावतरणम्
The Descent of the Gaṅgā and Bhagiratha’s Fulfilment
यतो भगीरथो राजा ततो गङ्गायशस्विनी।।।।जगाम सरितां श्रेष्ठा सर्वपापप्रणाशिनी।
yato bhagīratho rājā tato gaṅgā yaśasvinī |
jagāma saritāṃ śreṣṭhā sarva-pāpa-praṇāśinī ||
Partout où allait le roi Bhagīratha, en cette même direction s’avançait la célèbre Gaṅgā, la plus éminente des rivières, qui anéantit tous les péchés.
Ganga, famous and foremost of rivers, destroyer of all sins, flowed in the direction king Bhagiratha moved.
A leader’s dharmic resolve guides powerful forces toward purification and welfare; steadfast righteousness becomes a ‘path’ that even sacred powers follow.
Gaṅgā continues to follow Bhagīratha’s route exactly as he leads her onward.
Bhagīratha’s guiding responsibility and single-pointed purpose in fulfilling an ancestral duty.