SRI VADIRAJA VIRACHITA “TEERTHA PRABHANDA” ಶ್ರೀ ವಾದಿರಾಜ ವಿರಚಿತ “ತೀರ್ಥ ಪ್ರಬಂಧ”

SRI VADIRAJA VIRACHITA “TEERTHA PRABHANDA”

ಶ್ರೀ ವಾದಿರಾಜ ವಿರಚಿತ “ತೀರ್ಥ ಪ್ರಬಂಧ”     

Sri Godavari River/ಶ್ರೀ ಗೋದಾವರೀ ನದಿ

ವಿಪ್ರರ್ಷಿದೇವಕುಲಸಂಕುಲತೀರಯುಗ್ಮಾ ವಿದ್ರಾವಿತಾಘತೃಣರೇಣುಕಣಾ ಸ್ವವಾತೈಃ|

ಸ್ವಾದೂದಕಪ್ರಶಮಿತಾಖಿಲಲೋಕಶೋಕಾ ಗೋದಾವರೀ ಶುಭಕರೀ ಸರಿದುದ್ಧರೇನ್ನಃ||9||

ViprarShidEvakulasankulateerayugmA

vidrAvitAGhatruNarENukaNA swavAtaihi|

SwAdUdakaprashamitAKhilalOkashOkA

GOdAvaree shuBhakaree saridudDharEnnaha||9||

SUMMARY: Brahmins and Rishis are densely living on both sides of Godavari River. Moreover, several deities and shrines adore the two banks of Godavari. The breeze that blows across the river carries away the dust, grass and tiny pieces of gravel, which appears as though the river is driving away the sins of those having a holy dip in the river water. When the people drink the sweet water of Godavari, the sins inside their mind or body and the ones committed externally get eradicated. May this holy river relieve us from the family life.

ORIGIN: Godavari River originates from Mount Tryambaka, which is about 17 miles from Nasik Road Railway station on Mumbai-Delhi track. This river flows up to about 900 miles and joins the sea near Rajamahendri.

The story of the origin of this river is mentioned in Skanda Purana.

Earlier, at the time of the end of Dwapara Yuga, a twelve-year-long severe draught occurred. Several Munis and Rishis took shelter in the Ashram of Gauthama. Due to the power of his penance, sumptuous rains occurred and adequate quantity of grains was produced. Brahmins and Rishis lived happily. As the years passed by, the draught condition vanished and those Munis and Rishis, who had taken shelter in the hermitage of Gauthama expressed their desire to return their homes. But, Sage Gauthama did not permit them to return. The reason was that Gauthama did not want to lose the opportunity of attracting positive energy by feeding Brahmins and Rishis. Meanwhile, Goddess Parvathi, who was jealous of Goddess Ganga staying on the head of her husband Lord Shiva, wanted to somehow dislocate Ganga from the head of Shiva. She wanted to utilize this opportunity of Gauthama not permitting his guests return home to achieve her goal of removing Ganga from the head of Shiva. She assigned this task to her son Sri Ganesha. Being attached to his mother and very clever, Lord Ganesha assumed the form of a Brahmachari, reached the hermitage of Gauthama and told the Brahmins and Rishis there: “By consuming the food offered by Gauthama, you are losing the positive energy you have secured so far. Therefore, you try to escape from this place under some pretext. I will suggest a plan for you in this regard. Please create a cow from the power of your penance. It should be very lean, week and pale. It should be in such a state that it might die with a touch. It should be grazing on the way of Gauthama returning from bath. With the intention of driving it away, Gauthama might sprinkle some water on it and the cow would instantly die. You should then argue that you would not eat the food offered by a person who had killed a cow. The Brahmins, due to their bad time and the manner in which Lord Ganesha had preached, agreed and did as advised by Ganesha. Gauthama could easily understand why they had acted in such a way with his power of penance. He cursed the Brahmins to lose all their positive energy and did penance to impress upon Lord Shiva to revive the life of the dead cow. When Lord Shiva appeared, Gauthama requested Lord Shiva to release Ganga from his head and make her flow on the carcass of the cow. Accordingly, Lord Shiva released Ganga from his head on the carcass of the cow, which became alive. Since then, the river came to be known as Godavari, where “Go” means cow in Sanskrit. The name Godavari means a river that retrieved the life of a dead cow.

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