Rishi Jahnu
Rishi Jahnu appears in the story of
Ganga and
Bhagiratha. When Ganga came to earth after being released from lord
Shiva's locks, her torrential waters wreaked havoc with Jahnu's fields and penance. Angered by this, the great sage drank up all of Ganga's waters to punish her. Seeing this, the Gods prayed to the sage to release Ganga, so that she could proceed on her mission to release the souls of the ancestors of Bhagiratha. Jahnu relented and he released Ganga from his ear. For this, the
Ganga river is also known as Jahnvi or Jahnavi, meaning "daughter of Jahnu".
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Jahnu
[Hindu] A saint in Hindu mythology. According to the legend, when the celestial Ganga flowed to the earth from heaven, the hermitages of Jahnu and other saints were flooded and washed away by the flood of the river. Enraged at this, Jahnu drank the entire river waters by using his yogic power. At the request of gods and saints, he later released the river through his ear and told that Ganga would hereafter be known as his daughter. Thus, the river Ganga (the Ganges) came to be known as 'Jahnavi' (daughter of Jahnu).