Shloka 33
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 ||
ਜਿਧਰ ਜਿਧਰ ਰਾਜਾ ਭਗੀਰਥ ਗਿਆ, ਓਧਰ ਹੀ ਯਸ਼ਸਵਿਨੀ ਗੰਗਾ—ਨਦੀਆਂ ਵਿਚੋਂ ਸ਼੍ਰੇਸ਼ਠ, ਸਭ ਪਾਪਾਂ ਦਾ ਨਾਸ ਕਰਨ ਵਾਲੀ—ਉਸੇ ਪਾਸੇ ਵਹਿ ਚਲੀ।
Ganga, famous and foremost of rivers, destroyer of all sins, flowed in the direction king Bhagiratha moved.
FAQs
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.