The River Ganges or Gaṅgā - XV

It is said that during the struggle between the gods and the demons for ultimate supremacy, the demons had an advantage by hiding in the oceans of the earth during day and coming out to attack only during the night, when they were naturally more powerful. This frustrated the efforts of the gods and thus they requested sage Agastya to solve their problem. The renowned sage Agastya, with the power of his asceticism, drank up the oceans of the earth and thus the demons had no place to hide during the daytime. A fierce battle took place between the gods and the demons and finally the gods won the battle. Afterwards, they requested sage Agastya to release the ocean waters, but he was unable to do so, as he had digested it. Perplexed, the gods approached Lord Viṣṇu, who told them that the earth will soon receive the heavenly Gaṅgā, as she was destined to come to earth to give salvation to the sixty thousand souls of the sons of Sāgara, the King of Ayodhyā.