Bhāgīrathī

1. Bhāgīrathī. A name for the Ganges (E.g., J.v.93, 255; Ap.ii.436). The river was so called because the sage Bhagīratha filled up the ocean with the Ganges whom he made his daughter (Mahābhārata, iii. 107, 9961; v.178, 7096). It may also be the name of a separate river flowing from the Himālaya and forming one of the chief sources of the Ganges. The river flowed past Hamsavatī (E.g., Ap.i.51; ii.343). v.l. Bhagīrasī, Bhagīrathī.

2. Bhāgīrathī. A channel, branching off from the Anotatta-vāpī in Ceylon, and forming part of the irrigation scheme of Parakkamabāhu I. Cv.lxxix.49.

Dictionary of Pali Proper Names, G P Malalasekera (1899-1973), which is available as printed version from

bhāgīrathī : [f.] the ganges.

A.P. Buddhadatta Mahathera, Concise Pali-English and English-Pali Dictionary [available as digital version from Metta Net, Sri Lanka]