Ganga Ashtakam
Ganga Ashtakam
gaGgASTakaM
bhagavati tava tIre nIramAtrAzano'ham
vigataviSayatRSNaH kRSNamArAdhayAmi |
sakala kaluSabhaGge svargasopAnasaGge
taralatarataraGge devi gaGge prasIda || 1 ||
bhagavati bhavalIlA maulimAle tavAmbhaH
kaNamaNuparimANaM prANino ye spRzanti |
amaranagaranArI cAmara grAhiNInAM
vigata kalikalaGkAtaGkamaGke luThanti || 2 ||
brahmANDaM khaNDayantI harazirasi jaTAvallimullAsayantI
svarlokAdApatantI kanakagiriguhAgaNDazailAt skhalantI |
kSoNIpRSThe luThantI duritacayacamUrnirbharaM bhartsayantI
pAthodhiM pUrayantI suranagarasaritpAvanI naH punAtu || 3 ||
majjanmAtaGga kumbhacyuta madamadirAmodamattAlijAlaM
snAnaiH siddhAGganAnAM kucayuga vilasatkuGkumAsaGgapiGgam |
sAyaM prAtarmunInAM kuzakusumacayaizchinnatIrasthanIraM
pAyAnno gAGgamambhaH karikalabha karAkrAnta raGgastaraGgam || 4 ||
AdAvAdi pitAmahasya niyama vyApAra pAtre jalaM
pazcAtpannagazAyino bhagavataH pAdodakaM pAvanam |
bhUyaH zambhujaTAvibhUSaNa maNirjahnormaharSeriyaM
kanyA kalmaSanAzinI bhagavatI bhAgIrathI dRzyate || 5 ||
zailendrAdavatAriNI nijajale majjajjanottAriNI
pArAvAravihAriNI bhavabhayazreNI samutsAriNI |
zeSAGgairanukAriNI harazirovallIdalAkAriNI
kAzIprAntavihAriNI vijayate gaGgA manohAriNI || 6 ||
kuto vIcirvIcistava yadi gatA locanapathaM
tvamApItA pItAmbarapuravAsaM vitarasi |
tvadutsaGge gaGge patati yadi kAyastanubhRtAM
tadA mAtaH zAntakratavapadalAbho'pyatilaghuH || 7 ||
gaGge trailokyasAre sakalasuravadhUdhautavistIrNatoye
pUrNabrahmasvarUpe haricaraNarajohAriNi svargamArge |
prAyazcitaM yadi syAttava jalakaNikA brahmahatyAdi pApe
kastvAM stotuM samarthaH trijagadaghahare devi gaGge prasIda || 8 ||
mAtarjAhnavI zambhusaGgamilite maulau nidhAyAJjaliM
tvattIre vapuSo'vasAnasamaye nArAyaNAGghridvayam |
sAnandaM smarato bhaviSyati mama prANaprayANotsave
bhUyAdbhaktiravicyutA hariharAdvaitAtmikA zAzvatI || 9 ||
gaGgASTakamidaM puNyaM yaH paThetprayato naraH |
sarvapApavinirmukto viSNulokaM sa gacchati || 10 ||
About This Stotram
Overview
The Ganga Ashtakam is a Sanskrit hymn of eight verses dedicated to the sacred river Ganga, who is worshipped as a goddess in Hinduism. The text praises Ganga's celestial origin, her role in purifying sins, and her association with liberation (moksha). It belongs to the tradition of Ganga Mahatmya (glorification of Ganga) literature found across Puranic and independent devotional sources.
What are the benefits of chanting Ganga Ashtakam?
- Purification of sins (papa shamana)
- Spiritual merit equivalent to performing great austerities
- Liberation from afflictions of worldly existence
- Divine grace of Goddess Ganga
When is the best time to recite this?
Morning and evening recitation is appropriate, especially at riverbanks or during Ganga-related festivals such as Ganga Dashahara. It is also recited during pilgrimages to the holy river and at times of seeking purification.
What is the historical and traditional background?
The veneration of the Ganga as a divine entity has Vedic origins, and the tradition of composing stotrams in her praise expanded substantially through the Puranic period and the Bhakti movement. Ganga Mahatmya passages appear in multiple Puranas, including the Skanda Purana, Padma Purana, and Vamana Purana. This specific ashtakam is not attributed to a known author or a single scripture; it belongs to the independent devotional hymn tradition. Multiple Ganga ashtakams exist in the literature, and this text represents one strand of that ongoing devotional composition.
Available scripts
This text is available in 14 scripts: devanagari, tamil, telugu, kannada, malayalam, gujarati, bengali, iast, gurmukhi, oriya, assamese, sinhala, itrans, hk. Use the script selector above to switch between them.
Related Texts
- Ganga Stotram — a longer Sanskrit stotram praising Ganga's divine qualities
- Ganga Chalisa — a Hindi devotional hymn in the chalisa format dedicated to Ganga Mata