When Ganga followed Bhagiratha, she flowed with enormous force creating an immense turbulence which led to a flood which destroyed the hut and the fields of Sage Jahnu. Sage Jahnu was greatly angered by this act of Ganga and drank up and swallowed Ganga completely as a revenge.
One frequent answer is, the sage who drank Ganga is Sage Jahnu. The story of Rishi Jahnu who drank all the water of Ganga in anger appears in the story of Ganga and king Bhagiratha, who performed tapas to bring the Ganga River to the earth. When the Ganga came to the earth after being released from Lord Shiva’s matted locks, her torrential waters wreaked havoc earth.
Why did Rishi Jahnu drink the whole river Ganga?
When Ganga was descending to Bhu-Loka (Earth), she was dancing gleefully and her rushing water created turbulence, making a lot of noise. This disturbs the sadhana (spiritual practice) of the sage named Jahnu. Rishi Jahnu got annoyed and drank the whole river up.
What is the other name of Ganga?
Another name that Ganga is known by is Jahanvi , story has it that once Ganga came down to Earth, on her way to Bhagiratha, her rushing waters created turbulence and destroyed the fields and the sadhana of a sage called Jahnu. He was angered by this and drank up all of Ganga’s waters.
Sage Jahnu was greatly angered by this act of Ganga and drank up and swallowed Ganga completely as a revenge. The gods prayed along with Bhagiratha to the Sage Jahnu. The Sage calmed after a while and thus released Ganga and thus she continued following Bhagiratha . Due to this, Ganga is also known as Jahnavi.
What is the story behind the holy river Ganga?
One of the incarnations of Vishnu was Vamana , a dwarf, which he took to end the atrocities of the demon Bali who acquired enough power to defeat the gods and throw them out of heaven.
One common answer is, since time immemorial, the Ganga River has been considered the holiest of all rivers by Hindus . Ganga is also personified as a goddess and worshipped as Goddess Ganga.
Ganga Ma: A Pilgrimage to the Source a documentary that follows the Ganges from the mouth to its source in the Himalayas.