The Gautamī Meets the Sea and the Tīrthas at Her Mouth

Gaṅgā-sāgara-saṅgama · gaṅgā-sāgara-saṅgama, “the confluence of the Gaṅgā with the sea”

Manu has other meanings too: see all meanings of Manu. Pippala has other meanings too: see all meanings of Pippala.

The Gautamī meets the sea is the account that closes the Gautamī Māhātmya of the Brahma Purāṇa, in its Chapter 104. The Gautamī Gaṅgā joined the eastern sea, followed by all the devas and praised by the great ṛshis, and as they gazed on the confluence, Bhagavān Śiva and Bhagavān Vishṇu revealed themselves. Brahmā then names the tīrthas at her mouth: Gautameśvara, where Mādhava dwells with Ramā; Brahmeśvara, installed by Brahmā himself; Cakrapāṇi; Aindra or Hayamūrdhaka; Somatīrtha, where the Soma was won for Indra; Āgneya; Āditya, where Sūrya comes at midday in disguise; Bārhaspatya; and Adri. He closes by saying that no one can tell the Gautamī’s glory in full, and bows to her.

The ṛshis at the confluence

Brahmā tells Nārada that the Gautamī, honoured even by the devas, joined the eastern sea. All the devas followed her, and she was praised by the Maruts and the ṛshis: Vasishṭha, Jābāli, Yājñavalkya, Kratu, Aṅgiras, Daksha, Marīci and the Vaishṇavas, the devotees of Vishṇu; Śātātapa, Śaunaka, Devarāta, Bhṛgu, Agniveśya, Atri, Marīci, Daksha, Manu, Gautama and others, with Kauśika, Tumburu and Parvata, whose pāpas were wholly destroyed; and Agastya, Mārkaṇḍa and others devoted to yoga, with Gālava, Pippala, Vāmadeva, and the Āṅgirasas and Bhārgavas, learned in the smṛtis and the Vedas. All these, versed in the Purāṇas, began to pray with mantras and lovely Vedic passages, content and glad at heart.

Source: Brahma Purāṇa, Gautamī Māhātmya, Chapter 104

The darśana of Hari and Hara

Seeing the river joined with the sea, Bhagavān Śiva and Bhagavān Vishṇu revealed themselves to the ṛshis. The devas began to praise Bhagavān Vishṇu and Bhagavān Śiva, who take away the distress of all, while the pitṛs looked on with reverence; the Ādityas, Vasus, Rudras, Maruts and the guardians of the quarters joined their palms and prayed to Hari and Śaṅkara. “O Nārada,” Brahmā says, “Bhagavān Śiva and Bhagavān Vishṇu dwell for ever at the seven well-known confluences and at the meeting of the ocean and the Gaṅgā.”

Source: Brahma Purāṇa, Gautamī Māhātmya, Chapter 104

The tīrthas at the mouth

  • Gautameśvara: there Bhagavān Maheśvara is called Gautameśvara, and Mādhava is ever present with Ramā.
  • Brahmeśvara: Bhagavān Śiva known as Brahmeśvara, installed there by Brahmā for the good of all people and for his own reasons.
  • Cakrapāṇi: Bhagavān Vishṇu known as Cakrapāṇi, who holds the cakra, praised there by Brahmā with the devas; Bhagavān Vishṇu dwells there with the devas and the hosts of Maruts.
  • Aindra-tīrtha, also called Hayamūrdhaka: Bhagavān Vishṇu is installed there as Hayamūrdhan, the horse-headed, and the devas too dwell there.
  • Somatīrtha: where Bhagavān Śiva is called Someśvara. For Indra‘s sake the devas and ṛshis praised Soma with the Ṛk mantras that end in the refrain indrāyendo parisrava, “O Indu, flow forth on every side for Indra”, asking Soma to protect them, praising King Soma as the master and protector of the creepers. By that praise the Soma was won for Indra, the wielder of the vajra, and by offering it Indra completed his hundred yajñas; hence the name Somatīrtha.
  • Āgneya-tīrtha: next to it. Agni performed great yajñas there and, pleasing Brahmā, gained what he desired. Brahmā says: “I stay there for ever for the good of the world,” and so do Vishṇu and Śiva.
  • Āditya-tīrtha: beyond it. Sūrya, full of the Vedic mantras, comes there every day for pūjā; at midday he comes in some other guise to see Brahmā, Śaṅkara and Hari. So at midday every person present there is to be bowed to, for no one knows in what guise Savitṛ comes.
  • Bārhaspatya-tīrtha: there the devas worshipped Bṛhaspati, and he performed many yajñas. Merely remembering it pacifies the troubling grahas.
  • Adri-tīrtha: on the great mountain Indragopa, where for some reason the great liṅga was installed by Himālaya, the king of mountains. Snāna and dāna there give auspicious results and fulfil every desire.

Source: Brahma Purāṇa, Gautamī Māhātmya, Chapter 104

Brahmā’s closing namaskāra

So the Gautamī Gaṅgā rises from Brahmādri, the mountain of Brahmā, and goes to the ocean. “A few of her tīrthas I have named,” Brahmā says, “auspicious and holy secrets. O Nārada, who has the power to tell in full that mighty Gautamī, famed in the Vedas and Purāṇas, revered by the ṛshis and by all people? There is no fault if one who speaks from bhakti falls short. Perhaps Bhagavān Vishṇu, the husband of Lakshmī, and Bhagavān Śiva Someśvara could tell her power in every tīrtha. Some tīrthas become holy only in their time; but the Gautamī is holy to men everywhere and always. Who can tell all her good qualities? So it is fitting to bow to her.”

Source: Brahma Purāṇa, Gautamī Māhātmya, Chapter 104

Sources

  • Brahma Purāṇa, Gautamī Māhātmya, Chapter 104