Srimad Bhagavatam — Panchama Skandha, Shloka 1
Viṣṇupadī Gaṅgā: Descent, Cosmic Pathways, and Śiva’s Praise of Saṅkarṣaṇa
श्रीशुक उवाच तत्र भगवत: साक्षाद्यज्ञलिङ्गस्य विष्णोर्विक्रमतो वामपादाङ्गुष्ठनखनिर्भिन्नोर्ध्वाण्डकटाहविवरेणान्त:प्रविष्टा या बाह्यजलधारा तच्चरणपङ्कजावनेजनारुणकिञ्जल्कोपरञ्जिताखिलजगदघमलापहोपस्पर्शनामला साक्षाद्भगवत्पदीत्यनुपलक्षितवचोऽभिधीयमानातिमहता कालेन युगसहस्रोपलक्षणेन दिवो मूर्धन्यवततार यत्तद्विष्णुपदमाहु: ॥ १ ॥
śrī-śuka uvāca tatra bhagavataḥ sākṣād yajña-liṅgasya viṣṇor vikramato vāma-pādāṅguṣṭha-nakha-nirbhinnordhvāṇḍa-kaṭāha-vivareṇāntaḥ-praviṣṭā yā bāhya-jala-dhārā tac-caraṇa-paṅkajāvanejanāruṇa-kiñjalkoparañjitākhila-jagad-agha-malāpahopasparśanāmalā sākṣād bhagavat-padīty anupalakṣita-vaco ’bhidhīyamānāti-mahatā kālena yuga-sahasropalakṣaṇena divo mūrdhany avatatāra yat tad viṣṇu-padam āhuḥ.
舒迦提婆·高斯瓦弥说道：大王啊，在巴利·摩诃罗阇的祭场中，作为一切祭祀之本相的至上主毗湿奴亲自以侏儒化身（婆摩那）显现。祂伸展左足至宇宙尽头，以大脚趾之甲刺破宇宙外壳，穿出一孔。因果海的清净水流由此孔进入此宇宙，化现为恒河。恒河先洗濯主的莲花足；因主足上带有微红的神圣尘粉，河水遂呈现殊妙的粉红光泽。众生但触此超越之水，便能立刻涤除罪垢，而恒河自身却永恒清净；故称“毗湿奴足生”（Viṣṇupadī）。又经极长久的时日——以千个瑜伽为量——恒河降至德鲁瓦界；因此贤圣宣说德鲁瓦界即“毗湿奴足处”（Viṣṇupada）。
In this verse, Śukadeva Gosvāmī describes the glories of the Ganges River. The water of the Ganges is called patita-pāvanī, the deliverer of all sinful living beings. It is a proven fact that a person who regularly bathes in the Ganges is purified both externally and internally. Externally his body becomes immune to all kinds of disease, and internally he gradually develops a devotional attitude toward the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Throughout India, many thousands of people live on the banks of the Ganges, and by regularly bathing in her waters, they are undoubtedly being purified both spiritually and materially. Many sages, including Śaṅkarācārya, have composed prayers in praise of the Ganges, and the land of India itself has become glorious because such rivers as the Ganges, Yamunā, Godāvarī, Kāverī, Kṛṣṇā and Narmadā flow there. Anyone living on the land adjacent to these rivers is naturally advanced in spiritual consciousness. Śrīla Madhvācārya says:
FAQs
This verse explains that the Ganga is the sacred water that entered the universe through an opening in the cosmic shell, made when Lord Viṣṇu’s toenail pierced it during His cosmic stride, and it became supremely purifying by washing His lotus feet.
Viṣṇu-pada is described here as the heavenly point where that foot-born sacred current descends—connected directly to the Lord’s lotus feet—making it a spiritually significant locus of purity and divine contact.
The verse highlights purification through contact with what is connected to Bhagavān—encouraging devotees today to seek inner cleansing through devotion, remembrance of Viṣṇu, and association with sacred practices and teachings.