Shloka 57
Bhāgīratha’s Tapas and the Petition to Gaṅgā (गङ्गावतरण-प्रसङ्गः)
पावनार्थ सागराणां तोषयित्वा महेश्वरम् । हयं नयस्व भद्ठ ते यज्ञियं नरपुड़व,“तुम्हारे ही प्रभावसे सगरके सारे पुत्र जो मेरी क्रोधाग्निमें शलभकी भाँति भस्म हो गये हैं, स्वर्गलोकमें चले जायँगे। तुम्हारा पौत्र भगवान् शंकरको संतुष्ट करके सगरपुत्रोंकों पवित्र करनेके लिये स्वर्गलोकसे यहाँ गंगाजीको ले आयेगा। नरश्रेष्ठ! तुम्हारा भला हो। तुम इस यज्ञिय अश्वको ले जाओ
sagara uvāca | pāvanārthaṃ sāgarāṇāṃ toṣayitvā maheśvaram | hayaṃ nayasva bhadra te yajñiyaṃ narapuṅgava ||
Sagara said: “For the sake of purifying the sons of Sagara, your descendant will please Maheśvara (Śiva) and bring the river Gaṅgā down from heaven to this world, thereby sanctifying them. O best of men, may good befall you—now take back this sacrificial horse and proceed with the rite.”
सगर उवाच
Educational Q&A
Ancestral responsibility is fulfilled through dharma: ritual integrity, devotion to Śiva, and the purifying power of sacred waters (Gaṅgā) together become the means to redeem forebears and restore moral order after a catastrophic act.
Sagara foretells that a future descendant will propitiate Śiva and bring Gaṅgā from heaven to purify Sagara’s sons; he then instructs the addressee to take the sacrificial horse and continue the yajña.