स कदा चिन् मृगं विद्ध्वा गङ्गाम् अनुसरन् नदीम् ॥
भागीरथीम् अल्पजलां शंतनुर् दृष्टवान् नृपः ॥
तां दृष्ट्वा चिन्तयाम् आस शंतनुः पुरुषर्षभः ॥
स्यन्दते किं न्व् इयं नाद्य सरिच्छ्रेष्ठा यथा पुरा ॥
ततो निमित्तम् अन्विच्छन् ददर्श स महामनाः ॥
कुमारं रूपसंपन्नं बृहन्तं चारुदर्शनम् ॥
दिव्यम् अस्त्रं विकुर्वाणं यथा देवं पुरंदरम् ॥
कृत्स्नां गङ्गां समावृत्य शरैस् तीक्ष्णैर् अवस्थितम् ॥
तां शरैर् आवृतां दृष्ट्वा नदीं गङ्गां तदन्तिके ॥
अभवद् विस्मितो राजा कर्म दृष्ट्वातिमानुषम् ॥
जातमात्रं पुरा दृष्टं तं पुत्रं शंतनुस् तदा ॥
नोपलेभे स्मृतिं धीमान् अभिज्ञातुं तम् आत्मजम् ॥
स तु तं पितरं दृष्ट्वा मोहयाम् आस मायया ॥
संमोह्य तु ततः क्षिप्रं तत्रैवान्तरधीयत ॥
तद् अद्भुतं तदा दृष्ट्वा तत्र राजा स शंतनुः ॥
शङ्कमानः सुतं गङ्गाम् अब्रवीद् दर्शयेति ह ॥
दर्शयाम् आस तं गङ्गा बिभ्रती रूपम् उत्तमम् ॥
गृहीत्वा दक्षिणे पाणौ तं कुमारम् अलंकृतम् ॥
अलंकृताम् आभरणैर् अरजोम्बरधारिणीम् ॥
दृष्टपूर्वाम् अपि सतीं नाभ्यजानात् स शंतनुः ॥
sa kadā cin mṛgaṃ viddhvā gaṅgām anusaran nadīm ||
bhāgīrathīm alpajalāṃ śaṃtanur dṛṣṭavān nṛpaḥ ||
tāṃ dṛṣṭvā cintayām āsa śaṃtanuḥ puruṣarṣabhaḥ ||
syandate kiṃ nv iyaṃ nādya saricchreṣṭhā yathā purā ||
tato nimittam anvicchan dadarśa sa mahāmanāḥ ||
kumāraṃ rūpasaṃpannaṃ bṛhantaṃ cārudarśanam ||
divyam astraṃ vikurvāṇaṃ yathā devaṃ puraṃdaram ||
kṛtsnāṃ gaṅgāṃ samāvṛtya śarais tīkṣṇair avasthitam ||
tāṃ śarair āvṛtāṃ dṛṣṭvā nadīṃ gaṅgāṃ tadantike ||
abhavad vismito rājā karma dṛṣṭvātimānuṣam ||
jātamātraṃ purā dṛṣṭaṃ taṃ putraṃ śaṃtanus tadā ||
nopalebhe smṛtiṃ dhīmān abhijñātuṃ tam ātmajam ||
sa tu taṃ pitaraṃ dṛṣṭvā mohayām āsa māyayā ||
saṃmohya tu tataḥ kṣipraṃ tatraivāntaradhīyata ||
tad adbhutaṃ tadā dṛṣṭvā tatra rājā sa śaṃtanuḥ ||
śaṅkamānaḥ sutaṃ gaṅgām abravīd darśayeti ha ||
darśayām āsa taṃ gaṅgā bibhratī rūpam uttamam ||
gṛhītvā dakṣiṇe pāṇau taṃ kumāram alaṃkṛtam ||
alaṃkṛtām ābharaṇair arajombaradhāriṇīm ||
dṛṣṭapūrvām api satīṃ nābhyajānāt sa śaṃtanuḥ ||
'Once, having pierced a deer with an arrow and following along the river Ganga, king Shantanu saw the Bhagirathi with little water. Seeing her, Shantanu, bull among men, pondered: "Why does this best of rivers not flow today as before?" Then, seeking the cause, that great-souled one saw a youth endowed with beauty, tall, fair to behold, displaying divine weapons like the god Purandara, standing there having dammed the whole Ganga with sharp arrows. Seeing that river Ganga blocked with arrows close by him, the king was astonished, beholding a superhuman deed. That son, seen once only as a newborn, Shantanu, wise though he was, could not now recall so as to recognize him as his own offspring. But he, seeing that father, bewildered him with his magic; and having bewildered him, at once vanished right there. Having seen that wonder, king Shantanu, suspecting the youth was his son, said to Ganga: "Reveal him." Ganga revealed him, bearing a supreme form, taking that adorned youth by the right hand. Adorned with ornaments, clad in spotless garments, though seen before, Shantanu did not at once recognize her.'
b00779922a72 · publicado 12 jul 2026, 16:16:46 UTC
Disponible enRUENPasa de verso en verso con
Here Shantanu meets Ganga again and gains his son. It is notable that the prince dammed the whole Ganga with arrows, revealing a superhuman power. Here is a sign: one born of a goddess and himself the embodied Vasu is no ordinary mortal; his valor surpasses the human from birth. Notable too is that the father did not recognize the son, seen only as an infant, and did not even recognize Ganga at once: time and separation efface the features, and recognition is restored only by a sign from above. Here is an image of how the soul in forgetfulness recognizes neither its own origin nor its own kin, until the higher will reveals the truth. And the reunion itself is touching: Ganga, holding her son by the right hand, returns to the father what she had taken — having fulfilled her duty to raise and educate the prince. Thus the scripture shows that even separation ordained by a higher design is temporary, and what is given by God returns in its own time transformed and perfected.