শ্রী গংগা জী কী আরতী (জয গংগা মৈযা)

One of two Hindi āratīs to the Ganges kept here, opening 'Jaya Gaṅgā maiyā, mā jaya Surasari maiyā' and calling her a very firm boat for the crossing of the sea of becoming. It is the more learned of the two, and works by naming her origins one after another in a single sweep: sprung from the lotus feet of Hari, a stream of spotless water; the liquid form of brahman, Bhāgīrathī, a pure storehouse of merit; she who sports in Śaṅkara's matted hair and carries off the three torments; who ferried across the sons of Sagara and takes away every sin. Its closing couplet asks for the one thing the rest has been building toward — mother, full of compassion, show mercy on this poor person; join me to the lotus feet of the Lord and take away this illusion.