Shloka 1
Adhyaya 56 — The Descent and Fourfold Course of the Ganga; Jambudvipa’s Varshas and Their Conditions
इति श्रीमार्कण्डेयपुराणे भुवनकोशे पञ्चपञ्चाशोऽध्यायः षट्पञ्चाशोऽध्यायः- ५६
मार्कण्डेय उवाच
धराधरां जगद्योनॆः पदं नारायणस्य च ।
ततः प्रवृत्ता या देवी गङ्गा त्रिपथगामिनी ॥
iti śrīmārkaṇḍeyapurāṇe bhuvanakośe pañcapañcāśo 'dhyāyaḥ ṣaṭpañcāśo 'dhyāyaḥ- 56
mārkaṇḍeya uvāca
dharādharāṃ jagadyoneḥ padaṃ nārāyaṇasya ca /
tataḥ pravṛttā yā devī gaṅgā tripathagāminī
Mārkaṇḍeya berkata: Dari penopang bumi yang luhur—sumber lahirnya jagat—dan dari jejak telapak Nārāyaṇa, memancar Gaṅgā yang ilahi, sungai Tripathagā yang mengalir melalui surga, bumi, dan alam bawah.
FAQs
The Gaṅgā is presented as a divine principle of purification whose origin is traced to the supreme cosmic source (Nārāyaṇa’s ‘pada’). This frames tīrtha and sacred waters as conduits of transcendence, not merely physical geography.
Primarily within ‘Sthāna’ (cosmic geography/placement of worlds and sacred features). It also touches ‘Sarga’ indirectly by referencing cosmic origins, but the dominant function is geographic mapping.
‘Tripathagā’ symbolizes a current of grace moving through three levels of reality—celestial, terrestrial, and subterranean—suggesting that purification and dharma can permeate all planes of existence.