Dilipa placed his son Bhagiratha on the throne. He entrusted to him the mission that was beyond his grasp, namely, bringing the Ganga down. Soon after, Dileepa left the earth.
(Bhagiratha praying to Shiva)
Bhagiratha, bright with spiritual splendour, vowed that he must succeed in the task allotted to him by his father. Though he ruled the kingdom very satisfactorily, he was sad that he had no children to maintain the line. This, as well as the supreme task of getting the Ganga, forced him to hand over the reins of government to the ministers and retire into the silence of the famous Gokarna Kshetra. He stood there practising austere penance like bearing the heat of the sun and taking food only once a month! At last appreciating his austerity, God appeared before him and said, ‘Son! Bhagiratha! Ask any boon you wish for, it shall be granted.’
Bhagiratha had the Vision of the One with the brilliance of a thousand Suns. He fell prostrate, overwhelmed with gratitude and devotion. He prayed, ‘Lord! Cause the Celestial Ganga to flow on earth, so that my great-grandfathers might be saved from perdition, and be restored to Heaven. And favour me with children, so that the Ikshvaku Royal Line might not be rendered extinct, with me as its last representative. May the dynasty continue and flourish.’ He held fast the Feet of the Lord and submitted his supplication.
The Lord replied, ‘Son! The first of your wishes is very hard to fulfil. Nevertheless, I shall grant you that one. The boon for the royal line? Yes you will have a noble son and your dynasty will continue and flourish. Arise!’ At this, Bhagiratha rose and the Lord continued, ‘Bhagiratha! Ganga is swollen and swift. When it falls from heaven, the earth will not be able to bear the impact. So, as Ruler of the Earth, you have to ponder over the problem and discover means by which dire disaster can be avoided. When the Ganga descends upon the earth, the effect will be calamitous. So, the river must be made to fall first on the head of Shiva. From there, the waters may be led on to earth with lessened impact. This is the best course, from the point of view of the inhabitants of the earth. Consider this well.’ After saying this, the Lord withdrew.
From thence, Bhagiratha began austerities to propitiate Shiva and at last, he succeeded in winning His favour and His consent to receive Ganga direct on His Head, when it descends from Heaven. And so it happened that the Ganga fell on Shiva and flowed down from His Head onto the earth, in seven distinct streams—Hladini, Nalini and Pavani flowed east, Subhikshu, Sita and Sindhu flowed west, and the seventh stream followed the footsteps of Bhagiratha to where he led it, namely, the place where the ashes of his great-grandfathers lay in heaps, awaiting rescue from hell.
It flowed along the route that Bhagiratha took and all along the route; men benefited from the sacred stream and sanctified themselves. They were released from the effects of the sins, by the cleansing influence of the celestial Ganga. The great-grandfathers too were redeemed by the performance of obsequies on the bank of the thrice-holy stream, and with its waters.
Since Bhagiratha brought the Ganga to earth, the river got the name, Bhagirathi! After the ceremonies for the manes were over, Bhagiratha returned to Ayodhya. Happy that he could fulfil through Divine Grace the keenest wishes of his father and grandfather, he ruled over the empire for many years, receiving the spontaneous homage of his contented subjects. At last, he too left the body. (RKRV Part I, pp. 140-143)