Srimad Bhagavatam — Navama Skandha, Shloka 12
Bhagīratha Brings Gaṅgā; Saudāsa’s Curse; Khaṭvāṅga’s Instant Renunciation
यज्जलस्पर्शमात्रेण ब्रह्मदण्डहता अपि । सगरात्मजा दिवं जग्मु: केवलं देहभस्मभि: ॥ १२ ॥
yaj-jala-sparśa-mātreṇa brahma-daṇḍa-hatā api sagarātmajā divaṁ jagmuḥ kevalaṁ deha-bhasmabhiḥ
ब्रह्मदंडाने दग्ध होऊन केवळ देहभस्म उरले तरी सगरपुत्र गंगाजलाच्या स्पर्शमात्राने स्वर्गास गेले; मग जे श्रद्धेने गंगाजलाने पूजन करतात, त्यांच्या फलाची काय कथा!
Mother Ganges is worshiped by the water of the Ganges: a devotee takes a little water from the Ganges and offers it back to the Ganges. When the devotee takes the water, mother Ganges does not lose anything, and when the water is offered back, mother Ganges does not increase, but in this way the worshiper of the Ganges is benefited. Similarly, a devotee of the Lord offers the Lord patraṁ puṣpaṁ phalaṁ toyam — a leaf, flower, fruit or water — in great devotion, but everything, including the leaf, flower, fruit and water, belongs to the Lord, and therefore there is nothing to renounce or to accept. One must simply take advantage of the bhakti process because by following this process one does not lose anything but one gains the favor of the Supreme Person.
FAQs
This verse states that merely touching that sacred water enabled the sons of Sagara—though destroyed by brahminical punishment—to attain heavenly destinations, showing the extraordinary purificatory potency of such holy water.
They were destroyed due to a powerful brāhmaṇa’s punitive curse-like force (brahma-daṇḍa), and the verse highlights that despite that fate, contact with the sacred water granted them an elevated destination.
Seek purification through sincere devotion and association with sacred practices—such as honoring tīrthas and holy remembrance—while understanding that spiritual purification is ultimately meant to awaken God-centered life, not merely ritual benefit.