Lovers' Quarrel

After smiling insightfully at you, Ganga reaches a hand down into the river beneath you, teasing the currents in swirling torrents with her fingertips. For a moment, her hand seems to fade from view as if her skin and flesh melted away beneath the rippling waves. Looking back to you from the flow, Ganga laughs lightly and addresses you once more.

“I wasn’t born a river, you know. I was born a devi like so many others. In those days, I was Vishnu’s consort along with Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth and good fortune ,and Sarasvati, the goddess of knowledge, music, and wisdom. In general we got along quite well. Unfortunately, Sarasvati and I had competitive souls.”

Ganga’s gaze seems to pierce through your own now as she leans forward within half a foot of your face.

“I don’t suppose you have any experience with romantic competition?”

She sits back impatiently, waving her hand in a dismissive gesture at her own question.

“Regardless, this is the story of my jealous throes, not yours. I just wondered if you might relate to the seething rage of having someone tell you that your beloved favors them over you.”

Blood colors Ganga’s cheeks, and for a moment, puffs of steam rise from the river at the sides of your boat.

“Sarasvati was constantly trying to prove Vishnu’s preference for her over myself. She could prove NO such thing, of course!”

She seems to recall your presence and gather her composure hastily, the river and her cheeks returning to their original heat and hue. Momentarily flustered, Ganga returns to her tale.

“When Sarasvati could not prove that Vishnu preferred her, she began tormenting me when our husband was on Earth for business.”

You hear her scoff and see her toss long black locks of hair over her shoulder as her arms fold neatly across her.

“Naturally, I retaliated. As if I would allow her to disrespect me in such a manner. We used every form of magic and curse to ruin each other’s lives as the conflict escalated. Lakshmi begged us to stop before it was too late to fix the damages we inflicted on each other.”

Ganga’s left eyebrow raises slightly as she gazes down at the floor of the boat and sighs.

“Poor Lakshmi couldn’t stop us before we cursed each other to become rivers and bear men’s sins in our bodies by way of washing. Who, I ask you, is the more revered of us, though? Either way, we are now what we are.”

Ganga now seems to access a memory of true, painful shame. Her voice lowers.

“Vishnu was furious. He sent us both away to marry other gods. Sarasvati and I finally found common ground as we wailed and mourned and wept for our loss. Fortunately Vishnu is just. He allowed us to return to him. He forgave us.”

She sighs.

“Even his power could not undo our curses, though. We were both forced to become rivers and would eventually flow into the mortal realm by our separate ways. He was able to allow us the gift of taking on forms other than those you see here.”

She gestures down at her waters and smiles warmly again.

“I’ve come to love what I am. I’ve had enough time to enjoy its perks and learn how beautiful it is to see people living their lives, short though they are. Why else would I have taken such an interest in one of you marveling at me?”

As a sly smile tugs at the corners of her lips, you realize that you had been somewhat mesmerized by her tales. Looking around to try and determine your whereabouts, you notice that the seat no longer rocks beneath you. You sit on a stone bench in the city where Ganga found you.

Shocked and somewhat terrified, you turn around quickly to ask her how you came to be here, but Ganga the woman is nowhere to be found. You’re looking, instead, to the wide expanse of the Ganges river before you, bustling once again with activity in the mid-afternoon sun.

Uncertain of how to proceed, you approach the river tentatively, noting every detail of its movement as if for some sign that you didn’t imagine this encounter. As you near the river, you gaze into its depths and wonder at the history behind them, and from those depths, you hear a bubbling chuckle.

You get the sense that Ganga enjoyed your company and that you will likely not see her again. She’s told you all she wished to tell. Now it’s time for you to go create your own stories.

Bibliography: Wikipedia on the Ganges

Author’s Note: I chose to include the story about how Ganga was turned into a river because I wanted the story to have a sense of being very full circle. In addition to the fact that you end the story exactly where you began, looking at the Ganges, Ganga ends her tale with the beginning of her story. There’s a beautiful symmetry in the idea that rivers don’t distinctly end in one moment, and neither does the goddess’s story. I chose specifically to cover the story of Ganga and Sarasvati’s rivalry because I felt that it would neatly tie together the thread I’ve been building that although the river is generally a blessing and a good omen, she is a natural force and can be destructive and wild if not respected. Ganga genuinely seems to care about her devotees and people in general, but she also can’t be easily predicted or controlled. Her moods switch quickly, and as they do the river changes. I wrote in little details because I really did want the reader to be able to make inferences and assumptions about Ganga for themselves. I wanted you to get to explore the intricacies of such a complicated being at their own pace. In any case, I hope you all enjoyed the tales of Ganga!