Extent, limit and myth

What is the extent of determination and hard labour?

We often attribute a great effort to be BHAGIRATHI effort. Because the magnitude of effort and determination shown by the king Bhagirath is unparalleled till date. The story goes like this.

Once upon a time in India there was a great king named sagar (to be pronounced as s-a-gar not sa-a-gar). But unfortunately he didn’t have any child, the royal priest advised him to go to the jungle and start praying lord shiv as he could only grant him a child. After 5 years of rigorous prayer without food and water lord shiv appeared before him and asked him his wish. As he didn’t have any child so in due course of time the king was so obsessed with child that he asked the lord to give him 1000 children. Soon he was blessed with 1000 children. But managing those 1000 children was very difficult. It was becoming impossible to teach them anything. So they all grew indiscipline and always caused nuisance to everybody they encountered.

They were sent to the great hermit named Agastya. He accepted to teach them. But he asked them not to disturb them during hours, he was busy praying god. But they overheard him and started troubling him after tolerating for a few months he was so disturbed by them that he cursed all of them to die at once. Hearing that king Sagar came running to him and asked him to revoke the curse but the damage was already done. But the hermit told him that the wife of one of his son was pregnant and that his son would have the quality of all of 1000 put together.

He was named Bhagirath. When he became young, he heard about the sad demise of his father and his uncles. He came to know that the spirits of all of them were lurking at the place they died, so he wanted to work for the salvation of their souls. He came to know that only maa ganga had the power to do that and at that time ganga was residing in the hair of lord shiv. So after grand father it was his turn to pray the lord. He could please the god after 20 years of determined tapasya. He was also granted his wish but maa ganga wished that she should be directed to his destiny. It is said that he led maa ganga to all the places were all their uncles and father died and after that led her to the Bay of Bengal.

So what i seriously feel that if we seriously have a desire for a particular thing, no matter how hard it be, nobody can stop us achieving it. We only have to give our heart and soul to it.