Book 6 · Nirvāṇa I निर्वाण · chapters 74–76 · 3 chapters
King Bhagiratha; his guru, the sage Tritala; narrated by Vasishtha to Rama
Rama asks Vasishtha how King Bhagiratha brought the Ganga down to earth through the power of his mind. Vasishtha tells of Bhagiratha, a righteous and generous king who, even in his youth, grew troubled by the emptiness and repetition of worldly life. He approached the sage Tritala and asked how one is freed from old age, death, and delusion. Tritala taught him that steady knowledge of the pure, unchanging self dissolves suffering and doubt, and that the ego is worn away by effort, detachment, and freedom from desire. Bhagiratha then renounced everything: he performed a sacrifice, gave away all his wealth to Brahmins and kinsmen within three days, and handed his weakened kingdom to a border guard. He wandered unrecognized as a beggar, even returning by chance to his own conquered city, where the citizens begged him to rule again; he refused and left. He later settled with another self-contented sage, living without desire for pleasure or wealth. Afterward, when a neighboring kingdom lost its king, the people found Bhagiratha wandering and made him their ruler. Learning that the ancestors' souls could not be freed without the water of the heavenly Ganga, he undertook a vow and, through prolonged penance uniting Brahma, Shiva, and the sage Jahnu, brought the Ganga down from the sky to earth in three streams, sustaining the world from then on.
श्रीराम उवाच | यथा चित्तचमत्कृत्या राज्ञो गङ्गावतारणम् | भगीरथस्य संपन्नं तन्मे कथय भो प्रभो || १ ||
Shri Rama said: Please tell me, O Lord, how the descent of the Ganga was accomplished by King Bhagiratha through the wonder of his mind.
श्री राम ने कहा: हे प्रभो, कृपया मुझे बताएं कि राजा भगीरथ के मन के चमत्कार से गंगा का अवतरण कैसे हुआ।
दिवसत्रयमात्रेण सर्वमेव परित्यजन् | असुमात्रावशेषोऽसावासीद्राजा भगीरथः || ४ ||
Within just three days, having renounced everything, King Bhagiratha was left with only his life.
केवल तीन दिनों में, सब कुछ त्यागकर, राजा भगीरथ के पास केवल उसकी जिंदगी ही बची।
तत्र वर्षसहस्रैश्च समाराध्य पुनःपुनःब्रह्माणं शंकरं जह्नुं भुवि गङ्गामयोजयत् || १५ ||
There, by worshipping for thousands of years repeatedly, he united the Ganges with Brahma, Shankara, and Jahnu on earth.
वहाँ, हजारों वर्षों तक बार-बार पूजा करके, उन्होंने पृथ्वी पर ब्रह्मा, शंकर और जह्नु के साथ गंगा को जोड़ा।
The story occupies chapters 74–76 of Book 6. Each link opens that chapter complete — Sanskrit in Devanagari and IAST, with a plain English and Hindi translation of every verse. The number under each link is its verse count.