Individual verses with meanings
Hari Om.
Let us begin the fortysecond sarga of the bAlakAnDam with offering our prostrations at the lotus feet of SrIrAma and our sathguru.
Three generations of the ikshvAku kings – anSumAn, dilIpa and bhagIratha make committed efforts for the descent of ganga from the heavens. Finally bhagiratha secures the approval for release of waters of the ganga to the earth… We are pretty used to hearing herculean task in English. In the local languages in India tough tasks are likened to the effort of bhagiratha as bhagiratha prayatna! Read on to appreciate why…
viSwAmitra continues the narration of how the sacred river ganga descended to the earth – O rAma, after the passing away of sagara, anSumAn was installed as the king. He excelled as a great king. He had a famous son by name dilIpa. Having vested the kingdom in the hands of dilIpa, anSumAn went to the high peaks of himavAn and performed intense penance for thirty two thousand years! However he attained the heavens resplendent with penance but without achieving the objective of the descent of ganga.
His son dilIpa ruled the kingdom righteously performing many yajnas. Having heard the manner in which his grand fathers turned into ashes and coming to know that descent of ganga shall bring their salvation began thinking about the means of bringing the river onto the earth. But he was at his wits’ end and couldn’t conclude how to bring the waters of ganga.
dilIpa constantly reflected on the descent of ganga and salvation of his forefathers without being able to decide on the means. As he continued to reflect, he begot a son by name bhagIratha. dilIpa ruled the earth for thirty thousand years at the end of which he anointed his son bhagIratha as the king. dilIpa passed away after succumbing to illness and reached the indralOka on his own merits.
In spite of being desirous of progeny, bhagIratha didn’t opt for that but was instead determined about the descent of ganga. He was a rAjarshi – a king and sage at the same time! Early on in his rule, he gave the administrative responsibilities of the state to his ministers and himself moved to gOkarna where with upraised hands and surrounded by fire he performed rigorous penance eating only once in a month and being in complete sense control. As he continued with his terrific penance for a thousand years in that manner, the lord brahma was pleased and appeared before him.
Surrounded by gods, lord brahma fondly addressed bhagIratha and showing his pleasant approval of his discipline and rigorous penance offered him a boon. With folded hands the brilliant bhagIratha gratefully prayed to the lord that if indeed He was pleased with his penance and he is worthy of a boon, then He may kindly grant to perform the funeral rites of his great grandfathers with the waters of ganga. He said – “as ganga flows over the heaps of ashes the sagara kumAras will ascend to the heavens”. Further he additionally prayed to lord brahma that may the ikshvAku dynasty be never bereft of progeny. May the race be perpetuated and not terminate with him.
lord brahma was mighty pleased at this request. He addressed him as the prolonger of the ikshvAku dynasty (thus giving his second boon!) and further said – “This is indeed a great desire. So be it. Prosperity to you. However the earth won’t be able to withstand the descent of ganga. I see that we will have to take lord Siva’s help. Other than That trident wielder Siva, I don’t see anyone else fit for this task of receiving the ganga in its descent from the heavens”. With these boons, lord brahma blessed bhagIratha and went heavenwards along with other gods.
Here we conclude the fortysecond sarga of the bAlakAnDam of SrImath vAlmiKi rAmAyaNam and humbly offer it at the lotus feet of SrIrAma. Hari: Om!
jAi SrIrAma.
Next: bAla kANDam, 43rd sarga
Previous: bAla kANDam, 41st sarga
rAmabhaktisAmrAjyam 
