Markandeya Purana — Adhyaya 56, Shloka 11
Adhyaya 56 — The Descent and Fourfold Course of the Ganga; Jambudvipa’s Varshas and Their Conditions
भगहीरथेनोपवासैः स्तुत्या चाराधितो विभुः ।
तत्र मुक्ताऽऽ च शर्वेण सप्तधा दक्षिणोदधिम् ॥
bhagīrathenopavāsaiḥ stutyā cārādhito vibhuḥ | tatra muktā ca śarveṇa saptadhā dakṣiṇodadhim ||
主神（湿婆 Śiva）受婆伽罗他（Bhagīratha）以斋戒与赞颂圣歌而礼敬，便在彼处释放了她；而当她为舍婆（Śarva）所解脱时，遂分为七道水流，奔向南方大海。
{ "primaryRasa": "bhakti", "secondaryRasa": "adbhuta", "rasaIntensity": 0, "emotionalArcPosition": "", "moodDescriptors": [] }
FAQs
The verse emphasizes that sustained austerity (upavāsa/tapas) and sincere praise (stuti) can “open” divine grace—here represented by Śiva’s releasing of Gaṅgā—showing the Purāṇic ethic that devotion and discipline yield world-benefiting outcomes.
Primarily Bhūgola/vaṃśānucarita-adjacent material within Purāṇic cosmography; it supports the Purāṇic characteristic of describing the world’s structure (including rivers, regions, and sacred flows), rather than sarga/pratisarga proper.
Gaṅgā’s “sevenfold” branching can be read as sacred energy distributing into multiple channels for sustaining the world—an outward cosmographic image mirroring inner ‘nāḍī’-like distribution of life-force in later symbolic readings.