"The story of Holy Mother’s decent to earth has been recounted in numerous oral traditions, as well as in the Epic and Puranic literature. Through the single minded austerities of the pious King Bhagiratha, Lord Brahma granted a boon that Ganga Ma would descend upon the earth so she might carry sixty thousand of his cursed ancestors to the netherworld. Her fall was broken by Shiva’s matted locks, which prevented the earth from being destroyed by her impact, and locks channeled her downward flow from the Himalayas. Once upon the plains, Ganga Ma sought out King Bhagiratha in Banaras, who led her to the remains of his ancestors in Bengal, where she swept them along to the other world."