Indra, the king of the gods, spoke to the blessed Sumana, assuring her, “I shall do as you wish; if separation ever occurs, it will not be by your doing. Whenever you truly desire to perform this action, you may go, and you will return quickly, O beautiful one.” With tears streaming from her eyes, her body wet with sorrow, Sumana was embraced tenderly by Shakra, who said, “Go, dear one.” By his command, the virtuous woman departed for the realm of action. In her next birth, Sumana entered the womb of an elephant, becoming twice-born, yet retaining the memory of her previous story. Remembering her past, after a few days, she made her way to the banks of the Jahnavi, the sacred Ganges, having been born among elephants. She bathed in the holy river, adorning herself with its mud, and uttered, “Ganga, Ganga,” before entering the deep waters. In that pool, the elephant, mountain-like in form, entered as well. Recalling her own birth, Sumana passed again into death. Witnessing the elephant’s boldness, all the gods rejoiced and showered her with excellent flowers, such as pārijāta. Then Śakra, surrounded by the hosts of gods, swiftly brought Sumana forth. After a long separation, she was reunited with the dark-skinned Puṣpaketā. Upon seeing her divine form, the lord of the gods spoke of his own sorrows and returned to his abode. Pulomajā, Rambhā, Pramlocā, and Urvaśī, along with other beautiful young women, joyfully departed from her presence. That excellent woman inspired courage in Śakra’s heart. Sumana remained in Purandara’s city, fortunate and beloved. As long as her bones rested in the Ganges, she stayed in the abode of the gods for hundreds of millions of families. The kings who, through the power of austerity, attained the realms of the gods, found in her a ground of affection. Such is the fruit, O Jaimini, of immersing bones in the Ganga. The fruit of abandoning the body in the Ganges cannot be described. As long as the bones remain in the sacred river, for hundreds of millions of aeons, that soul dwells in the abode of the gods. When a dead body in the Ganga is carried away by the currents, listen, O Jaimini: in heaven, celestial maidens, frightened yet charming, fan that soul with delightful chowries. He lies asleep, delighted, upon a golden couch, fanned by their gentle hands. If his dead body is seen upon the sandbank of the Jahnavi, his family is purified by the rays of the sun, and his entire body is anointed with divine fragrant sandalwood. He always sports in heaven with divine maidens. But even if his body is devoured by crows, vultures, jackals, and terrifying birds, and is seen torn apart, the result is this: in heaven, embraced by beautiful, full-breasted divine maidens, he sleeps always on a couch. Though surrounded by ants, insects, and flies, whose bones are seen fallen in the Ganges, listen, O Brahmin, to the inexhaustible fruit: he is saluted by the hosts of gods, adorned with jeweled crowns, and the dust from his feet is scattered in heaven. He becomes like Śakra for a long time. Even if a person’s body falls into the Ganga against their will, that person is freed from all sins and becomes one with Narayana. Wherever embers are seen in the Ganga, carried by the waters, a person remains in heaven for hundreds of aeons equal to the number of those embers. All merits may at times come to an end, but when a body falls into the Ganga, its merit is never exhausted. What more need be said? The settled truth is declared: the greatness of one who gives up the body in the Ganga cannot be fully known. Whoever, even once on earth, touches the waters of the Ganga with devotion and feeling—waters that destroy heaps of terrible sins—crosses over the dreadful ocean of worldly existence and reaches the far shore of supreme satisfaction, as if by a boat. Jaimini, eager to hear more, asked, “Once again, O teacher, tell me of the supreme glory of the Ganga. The nectar of the Ganga’s story is so sweet, I wish to drink it again.” Vyasa replied, “Therefore I will tell you again, for you are devoted to the Ganga. The feet of those who walk along the banks of Jahnavi are truly blessed among people. Those ears that hear the roar of the Ganga’s waves, that tongue which knows the sweet taste of her water—these are truly blessed. Those eyes that behold the beautiful waves of Jahnavi, that forehead which bears the mark of Ganga’s sacred water—these are praised. Those hands which worship Hari on the banks of Jahnavi, that body purified in her clear waters—these are truly fruitful. O best of twice-born, the body that falls there grants the fruits of the four aims of life. All ancestors dwelling in heaven come to the bank of Jahnavi. Seeing this, they rejoice and say, ‘We performed this merit in the past to attain a good destination. This will become inexhaustible, for our son is such as this; by these Ganga waters we are now satisfied. We shall attain the supreme abode, which even the gods find hard to reach, by whatever offerings our son gives us in the Ganga.