Relief to ancestors

The river Ganga – one of the pillars of Indian Vedic culture is also known as "Bhaagirathi". This name came from Raja Bhagirath who is said to be reason why Ganga had to leave her heavenly abode and descend to flow on Earth. It is said that once there was a great king Sagar of the Surya dynasty. He was a Suryavanshi and a forefather of Lord Rama. Once he performed an Ashwamegha yagna in which his army follows the yagna horse. All the area that the horse travels upon then belongs to the king who performs the yagna. If anyone resists, he shall face the king's army. Unfortunately, Sagar lost his horse and then he ordered his 60,000 sons to find the same. They went all over the place uprooting life and burning forests to look for the horse. Finally they reached the ashram of Sage Kapila and found the horse tied in a corner. Enraged, they thought the meditating sage was the thief and disrupted Sage's meditation and tried to burn the ashram down. Horrified at the accusation and the enemity of the princes, the sage cursed the princes and turned them to ashes. Prince Bhagirath, one of the surviving descendants of King Sagar, approached Sage Kapila to forgive his forefathers and allow them to move to the next world by freeing their souls. He learnt that if the Ganga flows through the land where the ashes of his forefathers lay and the holy water carries the ashes, they shall be absolved of their sin. Bhagirath then worshipped Indra, Brahma, Shiva and Ganga to make her flow through the land.

Sage Agastya had a dream and saw his ancestors hanging upside down in darkness above the river Vaitarni. Upon inquiring the state of his ancestors, they responded that their condition is due to Agastya's celibacy and his refraining from producing offsprings. They told him to allow the nature to grow and help them pass on to the next world. Sage Agastya then married and had children. He found his ancestors happy then.

One of the sages held his desires close, practiced celibacy and thought of controlling nature through the power thus achieved. As a result, all women, animals, land around him became barren. The land around him started to experience draughts as there was no rain or water. In his attempts to control nature, the cycle of nature was stopped. To allow the nature to take its course, the sage had to enter matrimony and lead a the life of a household. This was Sage Rishyashranga – husband to Shanta – Lord Rama's elder sister.

In the chapter 1 of Srimad Bhagwat Geeta, Arjun examines the Kaurava army and then lays down his weapons in grief and tells Sri Krishna that he cannot fight. The most populist reason we all have heard is that how could he harm or kill he loved ones and relatives. But on detailed reading, he explains that through this war the Kauravas and their sons along with the sons of many others would die in the battle. This would destroy the families and finish off the family tree. Per his explanation, the sin of killing descendantss and one's family tree is more than not fighting in the battle.

All of the stories emphasize on the cycle of the nature. And another important aspect – when the next generation is born, the previous moves on to the next world. The cycle repeats itself. There are multiple rituals that take place during the course of this cycle. In my previous article, we saw some of the reasons for the pind daan ritual. This article emphasizes the role we play in the afterlife of our ancestors.