gaṅgāṣṭakaṃ

O Divine Mother Ganga, living on your banks and subsisting only on your water, I renounce all worldly desires and worship Lord Krishna. O Destroyer of all sins, ladder to heaven, and bearer of dancing waves, be gracious unto me.

O Divine Mother, your water acts as a garland upon the heads of those who sport in the world. Even a tiny droplet of your water, when touched by living beings, cleanses them of all the stains of the Kali age, and they find their place in the lap of the heavenly damsels who wave the chamaras (ceremonial fans) for them.

May the river of the celestial city, which shatters the universe in its descent, rejoices in the tangled locks of Lord Shiva’s hair, falls from the heavens, cascades through the caves and boulders of the golden mountain, rolls across the surface of the earth, terrifies the army of sins, and fills the vast oceans, purify us.

May the waters of the Ganga protect us—waters made fragrant by the musk-like rut flowing from the temples of bathing elephants, turned golden by the saffron washing off the breasts of bathing celestial nymphs, covered at dawn and dusk with the flowers and kusha grass offered by sages, and dancing with ripples caused by the trunks of young elephants.

First, this water was the vessel for the rituals of the Grandfather of the Universe (Brahma); then, it became the holy wash of the feet of the Lord who reclines on the serpent (Vishnu). Later, it became the jewel adorning the matted hair of Shiva, and now, this daughter of the great sage Jahnu is seen as the divine Bhagirathi who destroys all impurities.

Descending from the King of Mountains (Himalayas), liberating those who bathe in your waters, sporting in the great ocean, dispelling the multitude of fears of worldly existence, mimicking the coils of the serpent Shesha, appearing like the vine adorning Shiva’s head, and wandering through the outskirts of Kashi, the captivating Ganga reigns supreme.

Once your ripples fall upon my sight, all other waves vanish; having drunk your waters, you grant residence in the city of the Lord who wears yellow robes (Vishnu). O Mother Ganga, if a living being casts off their body in your lap, then even the attainment of the realm of Indra seems insignificant in comparison.

O Ganga, essence of the three worlds, whose vast waters are washed by the wives of all the gods, who are the embodiment of the Infinite Brahman, who wash the dust from the feet of Hari, and who are the path to heaven; if a single drop of your water is atonement enough for sins like the killing of a Brahmin, then who is capable of truly praising you? O Goddess who removes the sins of the three worlds, be gracious unto me.

O Mother Jahnavi, who dwells with Shiva, I place my folded hands upon my head. At the time of my death on your banks, as I joyfully meditate upon the twin feet of Narayana, may I be blessed with an unwavering, eternal, and non-dual devotion to Hari and Hara.

Whoever recites this holy Gangashtakam with a focused mind becomes free from all sins and attains the realm of Lord Vishnu.