Ganga Ashtakam
Ganga Ashtakam
Ganga Ashtakam
gaṅgāṣṭakaṃ
bhagavati tava tīre nīramātrāśano'ham
vigataviṣayatṛṣṇaḥ kṛṣṇamārādhayāmi |
sakala kaluṣabhaṅge svargasopānasaṅge
taralatarataraṅge devi gaṅge prasīda || 1 ||
bhagavati bhavalīlā maulimāle tavāmbhaḥ
kaṇamaṇuparimāṇaṃ prāṇino ye spṛśanti |
amaranagaranārī cāmara grāhiṇīnāṃ
vigata kalikalaṅkātaṅkamaṅke luṭhanti || 2 ||
brahmāṇḍaṃ khaṇḍayantī haraśirasi jaṭāvallimullāsayantī
svarlokādāpatantī kanakagiriguhāgaṇḍaśailāt skhalantī |
kṣoṇīpṛṣṭhe luṭhantī duritacayacamūrnirbharaṃ bhartsayantī
pāthodhiṃ pūrayantī suranagarasaritpāvanī naḥ punātu || 3 ||
majjanmātaṅga kumbhacyuta madamadirāmodamattālijālaṃ
snānaiḥ siddhāṅganānāṃ kucayuga vilasatkuṅkumāsaṅgapiṅgam |
sāyaṃ prātarmunīnāṃ kuśakusumacayaiśchinnatīrasthanīraṃ
pāyānno gāṅgamambhaḥ karikalabha karākrānta raṅgastaraṅgam || 4 ||
ādāvādi pitāmahasya niyama vyāpāra pātre jalaṃ
paścātpannagaśāyino bhagavataḥ pādodakaṃ pāvanam |
bhūyaḥ śambhujaṭāvibhūṣaṇa maṇirjahnormaharṣeriyaṃ
kanyā kalmaṣanāśinī bhagavatī bhāgīrathī dṛśyate || 5 ||
śailendrādavatāriṇī nijajale majjajjanottāriṇī
pārāvāravihāriṇī bhavabhayaśreṇī samutsāriṇī |
śeṣāṅgairanukāriṇī haraśirovallīdalākāriṇī
kāśīprāntavihāriṇī vijayate gaṅgā manohāriṇī || 6 ||
kuto vīcirvīcistava yadi gatā locanapathaṃ
tvamāpītā pītāmbarapuravāsaṃ vitarasi |
tvadutsaṅge gaṅge patati yadi kāyastanubhṛtāṃ
tadā mātaḥ śāntakratavapadalābho'pyatilaghuḥ || 7 ||
gaṅge trailokyasāre sakalasuravadhūdhautavistīrṇatoye
pūrṇabrahmasvarūpe haricaraṇarajohāriṇi svargamārge |
prāyaścitaṃ yadi syāttava jalakaṇikā brahmahatyādi pāpe
kastvāṃ stotuṃ samarthaḥ trijagadaghahare devi gaṅge prasīda || 8 ||
mātarjāhnavī śambhusaṅgamilite maulau nidhāyāñjaliṃ
tvattīre vapuṣo'vasānasamaye nārāyaṇāṅghridvayam |
sānandaṃ smarato bhaviṣyati mama prāṇaprayāṇotsave
bhūyādbhaktiravicyutā hariharādvaitātmikā śāśvatī || 9 ||
gaṅgāṣṭakamidaṃ puṇyaṃ yaḥ paṭhetprayato naraḥ |
sarvapāpavinirmukto viṣṇulokaṃ 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