Indian traditions, Nivedita and Coomaraswamy
Ganga
Ganga is described as Himalaya’s daughter and a purifier whose water can restore the fate of Sagara’s sixty thousand sons. Bringing her to earth becomes a task passed through generations before Bhagiratha succeeds. Shiva receives her torrent in his locks and later releases seven streams. One follows Bhagiratha’s car towards the ashes of his ancestors, while divine and earthly creatures gather to witness and touch the waters.
Also known as Gaṅgā · Ganges
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In the sources
Principal account
TraditionalGanga is described as Himalaya’s daughter and a purifier whose water can restore the fate of Sagara’s sixty thousand sons. Bringing her to earth becomes a task passed through generations before Bhagiratha succeeds.
Further detail
TraditionalShiva receives her torrent in his locks and later releases seven streams. One follows Bhagiratha’s car towards the ashes of his ancestors, while divine and earthly creatures gather to witness and touch the waters.
Context & interpretation
This entry concerns Ganga as a personified sacred river in the collection’s descent legend. Purification, heavenly origin and the salvation of ancestors are attributed religious claims. The account is kept distinct from a physical explanation of the river’s formation.
Original passages
Source 1
Myths of the Hindus and Buddhists
Ganga, daughter of HimalayaOpen this page in the book
Passage & edition details
Location recorded at citation review: Nivedita and Coomaraswamy, Myths of the Hindus & Buddhists (1914), active reader leaf 388
Exact passage checked against the active edition text and original-leaf mapping; whitespace and scan line breaks normalised.
- Edition
- IMJ-0109-E001
- Reader page
- IMJ-0109-E001-P0388
- Original scan leaf
- 388
- Recorded leaf number
- 388
- Current Reader position
- 379
- Reader verification
- Source-preserving update confirmed
Source 2
Myths of the Hindus and Buddhists
she fell in seven streamsOpen this page in the book
Passage & edition details
Location recorded at citation review: Nivedita and Coomaraswamy, Myths of the Hindus & Buddhists (1914), active reader leaf 391
Exact passage checked against the active edition text and original-leaf mapping; whitespace and scan line breaks normalised.
- Edition
- IMJ-0109-E001
- Reader page
- IMJ-0109-E001-P0391
- Original scan leaf
- 391
- Recorded leaf number
- 391
- Current Reader position
- 382
- Reader verification
- Source-preserving update confirmed
Illustrations
Continue exploring
Bhagiratha
The royal descendant whose persistence brings Ganga to his ancestors’ ashes.
Same subject and traditionAshvins
The twin divine physicians whose gift of youth earns a place in the gods’ offerings.
Same subject and traditionBalarama
Krishna’s brother, associated in the collection with the serpent Shesha.
Same subject and traditionBrahma
The creative aspect of the divine, distinct in the collection from the absolute Brahman.