Ākāśagaṅgā Tīrtha (Veṅkaṭācala)

Ākāśagaṅgā Tīrtha is one of the six most sacred tīrthas on Veṅkaṭādri (Veṅkaṭācala) that give moksha (liberation) directly. It lies on the mountain above the temple. Its best bathing time is Mesha saṃkrānti (the day the sun enters Aries), when all tīrthas come together here, together with the Caitra paurṇamī (full moon) and Citrā nakshatra (star). This is the strongest meeting of times on the mountain.

The brahmin Rāmānuja did hard pañcāgni tapas here for many years. Bhagavān Vishṇu appeared before him on Garuḍa and taught him the more than forty qualities of the true Bhāgavata. Añjanā also did her thousand-year tapas at this tīrtha. Vāyu appeared to her and gave her the vara (boon) of Hanumān as her son.

Where it lies and what it is

Ākāśagaṅgā Tīrtha is on Veṅkaṭādri, above Svāmi Pushkariṇī. Chapter 27 of the Māhātmya lists six tīrthas on Veṅkaṭādri that give moksha directly: Svāmi Pushkariṇī, Ākāśagaṅgā, Pāpavināśana, Pāṇḍu Tīrtha, Kumāradhārikā and Tumburu (Ghoṇa) Tīrtha. Each has its own best time, when the tīrthas of all three worlds come together in it.

For Ākāśagaṅgā that time is Mesha saṃkrānti together with the Caitra paurṇamī and Citrā nakshatra, that is, the full moon of the month of Caitra under the star Citrā. Bathing here at that time gives the merit (puṇya) of one hundred yāgas (fire rituals). (Skanda Mahā Purāṇa, Vaishṇava Khaṇḍa, Veṅkaṭācala Māhātmya, Chapter 27)

The tapas of the brahmin Rāmānuja

In the twenty-first adhyāya (chapter) of the Veṅkaṭācala Māhātmya, a brahmin named Rāmānuja did very hard tapas (austerity) at Ākāśagaṅgā Tīrtha over a long time. He followed the pañcāgni vrata (vow of the five fires):

• In summer he sat among five fires, with the sun blazing above him.
• In the rainy season he stayed out of doors in the downpour.
• In winter he stood in the cold water of the sarovara (lake).
• Through all of it he lived on air and water only (āśu-vāyu bhakshaṇa).

After this hard discipline, Bhagavān Vishṇu appeared before him on Garuḍa, with Śrīdevī and Bhūdevī.

Bhagavān Vishṇu then taught Rāmānuja the lakshaṇas (marks) of the true Bhāgavata. This teaching gives more than forty qualities that make up the whole nature of a true devotee. It builds on the pañca-saṃskāra teaching that Padmāvatī gave in Chapter 6. The same adhyāya also holds a full stotra (hymn of praise) that Rāmānuja spoke when he received the darśana of Bhagavān Vishṇu. (Chapter 21)

The release of Puṇyaśīla

In the twenty-second adhyāya, Puṇyaśīla, a brahmin, had a donkey’s face as the result of an old pāpa (sin). He bathed at Ākāśagaṅgā Tīrtha. By the power of the tīrtha, his ugly form was taken away and he got back his own shape. This shows the direct power of the tīrtha to cleanse both body and karma. (Chapter 22)

The thousand-year tapas of Añjanā

In the thirty-ninth adhyāya, the ṛshi Mataṅga told Añjanā, who wanted a son, to go to Veṅkaṭādri. He told her to:

1. Bathe in Svāmi Pushkariṇī.
2. Bow to Varāha Svāmī on the west bank.
3. Offer namaskāra to Śrīnivāsa.
4. Go to the tīrtha called Viyaddhaṅga (Ākāśagaṅgā), north of the temple.
5. Sip the water there, face the tīrtha, and do tapas aimed at Vāyu.

Añjanā did exactly as told. She climbed the mountain with her husband Kesarī, bathed in Svāmi Pushkariṇī, saw Varāha Svāmī and Śrīnivāsa, and went on to Ākāśagaṅgā. She drank its pure water and began her tapas. Step by step she lived on fruits, then on water, then on nothing at all, with her gaze fixed on the tip of her nose. She went on like this for one thousand years.

At the end of the tapas, Vāyu appeared and said: “On the day the sun enters Mesha, on the Caitra paurṇamī, I shall grant your wish.” When Añjanā asked for a son, Vāyu said: “I myself shall be born as your son and bring you glory.”

At that moment Brahmā, Śiva, Indra, the saptaṛshis (seven ṛshis), Vyāsa, all the devagaṇas (hosts of devas) with their families, and Bhagavān Jagannātha himself with Lakshmī came together in the sky to see this great event. Vyāsa then blessed Añjanā. He said that on this day, when Mesha saṃkrānti and the Caitra paurṇamī fall together, all tīrthas come together at this spot. This makes it the best bathing time on Veṅkaṭādri. (Chapters 39–40)

The best bathing times

Chapter 27 gives the best time for each of the six tīrthas that give moksha:

For Ākāśagaṅgā, the Caitra paurṇamī with Citrā is the most praised time. It is the time that Vyāsa’s own teaching to Añjanā confirms, and the Ākāśagaṅgā Māhātmya of Chapter 21 confirms it too.

Sources

• Skanda Mahā Purāṇa, Vaishṇava Khaṇḍa, Veṅkaṭācala Māhātmya, Chapters 21, 22, 27, 39–40