Godavari

There is a village called Triyambak near Nasik. Not far from that village, there is a hill. Rishi Gautama lived on that hill. It is called Brahmagiri. Long ago he lived there with his wife Ahalya. The rishi kept his stock of rice in a granary.

The rishi was very unhappy. He wanted to atone for the sin of killing a cow. He went away from his ashrama and did tapas to bring the Ganga waters down there. His tapas pleased God Siva. Siva, as you know, carries the river Ganga in his matted hair or jata. Siva gave him a part of his jata along with the ganga. Gautama took the jata and sprinkled the water from the Ganga on the cow. The cow came back to life. It pardoned Gautama, and went its way.

That Ganga water became river Godavari. Because it gave life to a cow, the river got the name Godavari. ‘Go’ means cow and ‘da’ means giving. Because Gautama was instrumental in bringing it, the river is also called Gautami.

At Triyambak, there is the famous temple of Triyambakeshwar. He is in the form of a Siva-Linga. The river Godavari is seen trickling from under the Siva Linga. Godavari is one of the holy rivers of India.

The other holy rivers are Ganga, Yamuna, Saraswati, Narmada, Sindhu and Kaveri. Pious people recite the names of these rivers early in the morning while bathing. The river Godavari is nearly a thousand miles long. Rising from the hill near Triyambak, it flows across the country, and falls into the sea in the east.

There are many holy places on the banks of the Godavari. The first is Triyambak. Panchavati near Nasik is another sacred place, which is also famous. Sri Rama lived there along with Sita and Lakshmana for many days during his stay in the forest.

Once in 12 years a big mela is held in Nasik. Thousands of people bathe in the Godavari at the time. Bhadrachala is another holy place on the banks of the Godavari. Sri Rama crossed the Godavari here. There is a famous temple of Rama at that place. People who bathe in the Godavari are blessed with children and happiness.