I
Sanskrit Wording:
English Wording:
(A Hymn to Ganga)
jai jai jai jaga pavani, jayati devasari Ganga I
jai siva jata nivasini, anupama tumga taramga II
Hindi Meaning:
English Meaning:
Glory, glory, all glory to you, O sanctifier of the world; glory to you, O Ganga, the sacred river of the gods. Victory to you, O dweller among Siva?s locks ! Your bouncing and rippling waves (as you descend from the high Himalayas) are incomparably beautiful.
II
Sanskrit Wording:
English Wording:
jai jai janani harana agha khani I ananda karani Ganga maharani II
jai bhagirathi surasari mata I kali mala mula dalani vikhyata II
Hindi Meaning:
English Meaning:
Glory, all glory to you, O destroyer of all accumulated sins and delight of your devotees. O Mother Ganga, you are the queen consort among the sacred streams of the world. Glory to you, O Bhagirathi; glory to you, O stream of the gods and nourisher of the world; you are renowned as the extirpator of the very roots of all defilements of this Kali age.
III
Sanskrit Wording:
English Wording:
jai jai jahnu suta agha harani I bhisma ki mata jaga janani II
dhavala kamala dala sama tanu sajai I lakhi sata sarada candra chavi lajai II
Hindi Meaning:
English Meaning:
Glory, all glory to you, O Jahnavi, destroyer of sins; you are the mother of Bhisma and source of nourishment to the world. Your beautiful body is as fair and delicate as the petals of white lotuses, beholding which the beauty of a hundred autumn moons is abashed.
IV
Sanskrit Wording:
English Wording:
vahana makara vimala suci sohaim I amiya kalasa kara lakhi mana mohaim II
jaRita ratna kamcana abhusana I hiya mani hara harani tama dusana II
Hindi Meaning:
English Meaning:
Your vehicle, the immaculate and sacred crocodile, looks elegant and he who beholds the urn filled with ambrosia in your hand is at once spell-bound. The gold ornaments you are wearing are all studded with precious gems and the diamond necklace on your bosom is absolutely spotless (without any trace of impurity).
V
Sanskrit Wording:
English Wording:
jaga pavani traya tapa nasavani I tarala taramga tumga mana bhavani II
jo ganapati ati pujya pradhana I tihum te prathama Ganga snana II
Hindi Meaning:
English Meaning:
Glory to you, O purifier of the world and destroyer of sins; your flowing, leaping waves are so alluring. Ganesa, Lord of Siva?s henchmen, is said to be foremost among all the adorable gods, but bathing in the Ganga takes precedence over him.
VI
Sanskrit Wording:
English Wording:
brahma kamandala vasini devi I sri prabhu pada pamkaja sukha sevi II
sathi sahasra sagara suta taryoI Gangasagara tirtha dharyo II
Hindi Meaning:
English Meaning:
O Goddess, you dwell in Brahma?s kamandalu, the pot made of earth or wood which he carries; but you came down to worship the lotus feet of Visnu, the feet that bestow happiness on all. You absolved all the sixty thousand sons of Sagara of their sins and made Gangasagara a place of pilgrimage.
VII
Sanskrit Wording:
English Wording:
agama taramga uthyo mana bhavana I lakhi tirtha haridvara suhavana II
tirtha raja prayaga aksayavata I dharyo matu puni kasi karavata II
Hindi Meaning:
English Meaning:
He who heholds the sacred scenic beauty of Haridvara is filled with an upsurge of mysterious and pleasurable sensations. (It is your sanctifying power that has turned so many cities situated on your banks into places of pilgrimage.) Among the cities sanctified by you is Prayaga, the foremost of all holy places, and its immortal banyan tree, the Aksayavata; similarly when you adopted a new course (and changed sides) Kasi became another holy place.
VIII
Sanskrit Wording:
English Wording:
dhani dhani surasari svarga ki siRhi I tarani amita pitu pada piRhi II
bhagiratha tapa kiyo apara I diyo brahma taba surasari dhara II
Hindi Meaning:
English Meaning:
Blessed, all blessed are you, O stream of gods, you are a leader to heaven and the redeemer of countless generation of our manes. O Bhagirathi, when Bhagiratha performed the most rigorous penances known to the world, Brahma was pleased to bless him with the celestial stream.
IX
Sanskrit Wording:
English Wording:
jaba jaga janani calyo haharai I sambhu jata maham rahyo samai II
barsa paryanta Ganga maharani I rahi sambhu ke jata bhulani II
Hindi Meaning:
English Meaning:
O nourisher of the world, when loud thundered your crashing torrent, you entered Sambhu?s locks and, O great empress, you remained invisible there for a year.
X
Sanskrit Wording:
English Wording:
puni bhagiratha sambhuhim dhyayo I taba ika bunda jata se payo II
tate matu bham traya dhara I mrtyuloka nabha aru patara II
Hindi Meaning:
English Meaning:
When again Bhagiratha meditated onSambhu, he received a drop of your holy water from his locks. That holy drop, O Mother, swelled into three streams ? one flowing in this world of the mortals, another in that of the celestials, and the third in the nether world.
XI
Sanskrit Wording:
English Wording:
gam patala prabhavati nama I mandakini gaim gagana lalama II
mrtyu loka jahnavi suhavani I kali mala harani agama jaga pavani II
Hindi Meaning:
English Meaning:
The one flowing in the nether world is called Prabhavati; another flowing through the gorgeous heavens is known as Mandakini. In this world of mortals the third stream became the beauteous Jahnavi, who does away with the defilements of the Kali age and who mysteriously sanctifies the whole world.
XII
Sanskrit Wording:
English Wording:
dhani maiya tava mahima bhari I dharma dhuri kali kalusa kuthari II
matu prabhavati dhani mandakini I dhani dhani deva sarita bhayanasini II
Hindi Meaning:
English Meaning:
Blessed and abundantly illustrious are you, O Mother, the very pivot of righteousness and an axe to destroy the defilements of the Kali age. Blessed, all blressed are all the three streams?Prabhavai, Mandakini, and the divine river Ganga ? which dispel all dread.
XIII
Sanskrit Wording:
English Wording:
pana karata nirmala Gangajala I pavata mana icchita ananta phala II
purva janma punya jaba jagata I tabahim dhyana Ganga maham lagata II
Hindi Meaning:
English Meaning:
He who sips the holy water of Ganga inall its unpolluted (elemental) purity is rewarded with increasing success in all his endeavours and with the fulfilment of all his desire. But only with the fruition of the virtuous deeds done in the previous births can one turn one?s mind to Ganga.
XIV
Sanskrit Wording:
English Wording:
jab pagu surasari heta uthavahi I tai jagi asvamedha phala pavahi II
maha patita jina kahu na tare I tina tare ika nama tihare II
Hindi Meaning:
English Meaning:
As soon as a person steps out towards the holy river (to bathe in it, to sipits liberating portion, or to worship it), he is rewarded with the fruit of a horse-sacrifice. Your name delivered even the most damned and fallen of men whom none else could ever liberate.
XV
Sanskrit Wording:
English Wording:
sata yojanahu se jo dhyavai I niscaya visnu loka pada pavai II
nama bhajata aganita agha nasai I vimala jnana bala buddhi prakasai II
Hindi Meaning:
English Meaning:
Even those who remember you from a distance of a hundred yojanas ? a yojana being equal to nine miles ? doubtless obtain a place in the realm of Lord Visnu. As soon as one repeats your name, one is absolved of countless sins and is blessed with the radiance of unsullied knowledge, valiance, and wit.
XVI
Sanskrit Wording:
English Wording:
jimi dhana mula dharma aru dana I dharma mula Ganga jala pana II
tava gunagana karata dukha bhagata I grha grha sampati sumati virajata II
Hindi Meaning:
English Meaning:
Just as the original source of all affluence is religious observance and charity, so is a drink of holy water taken from Ganga the very source of dharma, righteousness. Tribulations flee and homes are filled with the radiance of affluence and good moral sense when, O Mother, your praises are sung.
XVII
Sanskrit Wording:
English Wording:
Gangahi nema sahita nita dhyavata I durjanahu sajjana pada pavata II
buddhi hina vidya bala pavai I rogi roga mukta hvai javai II
Hindi Meaning:
English Meaning:
He who regularly remembers the holy stream and observes the stringent rules of such a worship attains to the status of a noble person even if he is wicked. Even witless dunces acquire the power of knowledge and the sick are cured of all infirmities.
XVIII
Sanskrit Wording:
English Wording:
Ganga Ganga jo nara kahahi I bhukha namga kabahum na rahahi II
nikasata hi mukha Ganga mai I anana davi yama calahim parai II
Hindi Meaning:
English Meaning:
He who chants the name of Ganga never starves nor remains naked. As soon as he utters the name of Ganga, Yama, the god of death, hides his face in embarrassment flees at once.
XIX
Sanskrit Wording:
English Wording:
mahana aghina adhamana kaham tare I bhaye naraka ke banda kivaRe II
jo nara japai Ganga sata nama I sakala siddhi purana hvai kama II
Hindi Meaning:
English Meaning:
Ever since you delivered many a great sinner, the doorways to hell have been closed for them. He who repeats your hundred names finds his desires fulfilled and attains to prosperity.
XXX
Sanskrit Wording:
English Wording:
saba sukha bhoga parama pada pavahim I avagamana rahita hvai javahim II
dhani maiya surasari sukhadayini I dhani dhani tirtharaja triveni II
Hindi Meaning:
English Meaning:
Having enjoyed all the blessings of life he attains to the supreme state and is delivered from the cycle of birth and death. Blessed are you, O Mother, the celestial stream, the source of all happiness; blessed, all blessed is the confluence of the three rivers, triveni, at Prayaga, the holiest of the holy.
XXXI
Sanskrit Wording:
English Wording:
kakara grama rsi durvasa I sundaradasa Ganga kara dasa II
jo yaja paRhe Gangacalisa I milai bhakti avirala vagisa II
Hindi Meaning:
English Meaning:
This hymn has been composed by a devotee of Ganga, Sundaradas, in the hermitage of the high sage Durvasa of the village Kakara. He who reads this hymn to Ganga becomes a recipient of uninterrupted devotion and consummate eloquence.
Doha
I
Sanskrit Wording:
English Wording:
nita nava sukha sampati lahai, dhare Ganga ka dhyana II
amta samaya sura pura basai, sadara baithi vimana II
Hindi Meaning:
English Meaning:
Meditation on Ganga yields ever-new happiness and prosperity and an abode in the city of the celestials, to which he is carried in an aerial car after death.
II
Sanskrit Wording:
English Wording:
samvata bhuja nabha gagana disi, rama janma dina caitra I
purana calisa kiyo, hari bhaktana hita naitra II
Hindi Meaning:
English Meaning:
In the year 2010 of the Vikrama era on the ramanavami day in the month of Caitra, the poet completed this hymn to Ganga for the edification of Hari?s votaries and for none else.
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