Ganga Chalisa

Jai jai jai jag pavani, jayati devasari Ganga,
Jai Shiv jata nivasini, anupam tung taranga

Glory, glory, all glory to you, O sanctifier of the world; glory to you, O Ganga, the sacred river of the gods. Victory to you, O dweller among Siva’s locks ! Your bouncing and rippling waves (as you descend from the high Himalayas) are incomparably beautiful.

Jai jai janani harana agh khani, anand karani Ganga Maharani
Jai Bhagirath surasuri mata, kalimal mul dalani nikhyata

Glory, all glory to you, O destroyer of all accumulated sins and delight of your devotees. O Mother Ganga, you are the queen consort among the sacred streams of the world. Glory to you, O Bhagirathi; glory to you, O stream of the gods and nourisher of the world; you are renowned as the extirpator of the very roots of all defilements of this Kali age.

Jai Jai jahanu suta agh hanani, Bhishma ki mata jaga janani
Dhaval kamal dal mam tanu saje, lakhi shat sharad chandra chhavi lajai

Glory, all glory to you, O Jahnavi, destroyer of sins; you are the mother of Bhisma and source of nourishment to the world. Your beautiful body is as fair and delicate as the petals of white lotuses, beholding which the beauty of a hundred autumn moons is abashed.

Vahan makar vimal shuchi sohain, amiya kalash kar lakhi man mohain
Jadita ratna kanchan abhushan, hiya mani har, haranitam dushan

Your vehicle, the immaculate and sacred crocodile, looks elegant and he who beholds the urn filled with ambrosia in your hand is at once spell-bound. The gold ornaments you are wearing are all studded with precious gems and the diamond necklace on your bosom is absolutely spotless (without any trace of impurity).

Jag pavani traya tap nasavani, taral tarang tunga mana bhavani
Jo Ganapati ati pujya pradhana, ihun te pratham Ganga asnana

Glory to you, O purifier of the world and destroyer of sins; your flowing, leaping waves are so alluring. Ganesa, Lord of Siva’s henchmen, is said to be foremost among all the adorable gods, but bathing in the Ganga takes precedence over him.

Brahma kamandal vasini devi, Shri Prabhu pad pankaj sukh sevi
Sathi sahastra Sagar sut taryo, Ganga sagar tirth dharyo

O Goddess, you dwell in Brahma’s kamandalu, the pot made of earth or wood which he carries; but you came down to worship the lotus feet of Visnu, the feet that bestow happiness on all. You absolved all the sixty thousand sons of Sagara of their sins and made Gangasagara a place of pilgrimage.

Agam tarang uthyo man bhavan, lakhi tirth Haridvar suhavan
Tirth raj prayag Akshaiveta, dharyo matu puni kashi karvat

He who heholds the sacred scenic beauty of Haridvara is filled with an upsurge of mysterious and pleasurable sensations. (It is your sanctifying power that has turned so many cities situated on your banks into places of pilgrimage.) Among the cities sanctified by you is Prayaga, the foremost of all holy places, and its immortal banyan tree, the Aksayavata; similarly when you adopted a new course (and changed sides) Kasi became another holy place.

Dhani dhani surasari svarga ki sidhi, tarani amita pitu pad pirhi
Bhagirathi tap kiyo upara, diyo Brahma tava surasari dhara

Jaba jag jagani chalyo haharai, Shambhu jata mahon rahyo samai
Barsha paryant Ganga Maharani, rahin shambhu ke jata bhulani

O nourisher of the world, when loud thundered your crashing torrent, you entered Sambhu’s locks and, O great empress, you remained invisible there for a year.

Puni Bhagirathi shambhuhin dhyayo, taba ika band jata se payo
Tate matu bhain traya dhara, mrityu lok, nabha, aru patara

When again Bhagiratha meditated onSambhu, he received a drop of your holy water from his locks. That holy drop, O Mother, swelled into three streams – one flowing in this world of the mortals, another in that of the celestials, and the third in the nether world.

Gain patal Prabhavati, nama, Mandakini gai gagan lelama
Mrityu lok jahnavi suhavani, kalimal harani agam jag pa vani

The one flowing in the nether world is called Prabhavati; another flowing through the gorgeous heavens is known as Mandakini. In this world of mortals the third stream became the beauteous Jahnavi, who does away with the defilements of the Kali age and who mysteriously sanctifies the whole world.

Dhani maiya tab mahima bhari, dharma dhuri kali kalush kuthari
Matu Prabhavati Dhani Mandakini, dhani sur sarith sakal bhainasini

Blessed and abundantly illustrious are you, O Mother, the very pivot of righteousness and an axe to destroy the defilements of the Kali age. Blessed, all blressed are all the three streams–Prabhavai, Mandakini, and the divine river Ganga – which dispel all dread.

Pan karat nirmal Ganga jal, pavat man ichchhit anant phal
Purva janma punya jaba jagat, tabahin dhyan Ganga mahan lagat

He who sips the holy water of Ganga inall its unpolluted (elemental) purity is rewarded with increasing success in all his endeavours and with the fulfilment of all his desire. But only with the fruition of the virtuous deeds done in the previous births can one turn one’s mind to Ganga.

Jai pagu sursari hetu uthavahi, tai jagi ashva megha phal pavahi
Maha patit jin kahu na tare, tin tare ik nam tihare

As soon as a person steps out towards the holy river (to bathe in it, to sipits liberating portion, or to worship it), he is rewarded with the fruit of a horse-sacrifice. Your name delivered even the most damned and fallen of men whom none else could ever liberate.

Shat yojanahun se jo dhyavahin, nishchai vishnu lok pad pavahin
Nam bhajat aganit agh na shai, vimal gyan bal budhi prakashai

Even those who remember you from a distance of a hundred yojanas – a yojana being equal to nine miles – doubtless obtain a place in the realm of Lord Visnu. As soon as one repeats your name, one is absolved of countless sins and is blessed with the radiance of unsullied knowledge, valiance, and wit.

Jimi dhan mula dharma aru dana, dharma mula Ganga jal pana
Taba gun gunan karat dukh bhajat, griha griha smapati sumati virajat

Just as the original source of all affluence is religious observance and charity, so is a drink of holy water taken from Ganga the very source of dharma, righteousness. Tribulations flee and homes are filled with the radiance of affluence and good moral sense when, O Mother, your praises are sung.

Gangahi nem sahit nit dhyavat, duraj nahun sajjan pad pavat
Buddihin vidhya bal pavai, rogi rog mukta hvai javai

He who regularly remembers the holy stream and observes the stringent rules of such a worship attains to the status of a noble person even if he is wicked. Even witless dunces acquire the power of knowledge and the sick are cured of all infirmities.

Ganga Ganga jo nara kahahin, bhukha nanga kabhuhuh na rahahi
Niksat hi mukh Ganga mahi, shravana dabi Yama chalahin parai

He who chants the name of Ganga never starves nor remains naked. As soon as he utters the name of Ganga, Yama, the god of death, hides his face in embarrassment flees at once.

Mahan aghin adhman kahan tare, bhae narka ke bande kivaren
Jo nar japai Ganga shat nama, sakal siddhi puran hvai kama

Ever since you delivered many a great sinner, the doorways to hell have been closed for them. He who repeats your hundred names finds his desires fulfilled and attains to prosperity.

Sab sukh bhog param pad pavahir, avagaman rahit hvai javahin
Dhani maiya surasari sukhdaini, dhani dhani tirath raj Tniveni

Having enjoyed all the blessings of life he attains to the supreme state and is delivered from the cycle of birth and death. Blessed are you, O Mother, the celestial stream, the source of all happiness; blessed, all blessed is the confluence of the three rivers, triveni, at Prayaga, the holiest of the holy.

Kakara gram rishi Durvasa, Sundardas Gang kar dasa
Jo yah padhe Ganga chalisa, milai bhakti aviral vagisa

This hymn has been composed by a devotee of Ganga, Sundaradas, in the hermitage of the high sage Durvasa of the village Kakara. He who reads this hymn to Ganga becomes a recipient of uninterrupted devotion and consummate eloquence.

DOHA

Nit nay sukh sampati Iahain, dharen ganga ka dhyan
Anta samai sur pur basal, sadar baithi viman

Meditation on Ganga yields ever-new happiness and prosperity and an abode in the city of the celestials, to which he is carried in an aerial car after death.