tain length of time obtained the favour of that worker
of blessings (Siva). And, O protector of men! that same best of men, in
order that his forefathers might have a place in heaven secured to them,
received from that very Siva the fulfilment of his wish, namely the wish
that the descending Ganga might be sustained.'"

SECTION CIX

"Lomasa said, 'The blessed God having heard what Bhagiratha had said, and
with a view to doing what was agreeable to the residents of heaven,
replied to the king, saying, 'So let it be. O most righteous of the
protectors of men, O (prince) of a powerful arm! For thy sake I shall
sustain the river of the gods, when she will take her descent from the
sky, she who is pure and blessed and divine, O (king) of a mighty arm!'
Saying this, he came to the snowy mountain, surrounded by his attendants,
of awful mien, and with uplifted weapons of diverse forms. And standing
there, he said to Bhagiratha, the most praiseworthy of men, 'O (prince)
of a powerful arm! do thou pray to the river, the daughter of the king of
mountains. I shall sustain that most praiseworthy of rivers when she
falls down from the third region of the world (heaven).' Having heard
these words uttered by Siva, the king became devout (in heart), made
obesiance and directed his thoughts towards Ganga. Then the delightful
(river), of pure water in being so thought of by the king, and seeing
that the great lord (Siva) was standing (to receive her fall), came down
all of a sudden from the sky. And seeing that she had taken her leap from
the sky, the gods, together with the mighty saints, the Gandharvas, the
snakes, and the Yakshas, assembled there as spectators. Then came down
from the sky Ganga, the daughter of the snowy mountain. And her
whirlpools were raging, and she was teeming with fishes and sharks. O
king! she directing her course towards the sea, separated herself, into
three streams; and her water was bestrewn with piles of froth, which
looked like so many rows of (white) ganders. And crooked and tortuous in
the movement of her body, at places; and at others stumbling at it were;
and covered with foam as with a robe: she went forward like a woman
drunk. And elsewhere, by virtue of the roar of her waters, she uttered
loud sounds. Thus assuming very many different aspects, when she fell
from the sky, and reached the surface of the earth, she said to
Bhagiratha, 'O great king! show me the path that I shall have to take. O
lo