Canto 1 - Boyhood
Bāla-kāṇḍa
Chapter 35: The History of Gaṅga
Text 1.35.19
ददौ धर्मेण हिमवांस्तनयां लोकपावनीम्।
स्वच्छन्दपथगां गङ्गां त्रैलोक्यहितकाम्यया॥
dadau dharmeṇa himavāṁs tanayāṁ loka-pāvanīm
svacchanda-pathagāṁ gaṅgāṁ trailokya-hita-kāmyayā
dadau = gave; dharmeṇa = out of religious considerations; himavān = Himavān; tanayām = his daughter; loka-pāvanīm = for she purifies the three worlds; svacchanda-pathagām = and can go on any route she desired to take; gaṅgām = Gaṅgā; trailokya-hita-kāmyayā = to benefit the three worlds.
Out of religious considerations, Himavān gave his daughter Gaṅgā to benefit the three worlds, for she purifies the three worlds and can go on any route she desires to take.
Himavān gave his daughter Gaṅgā out of religious considerations (dharmeṇa), that is, considering the Vedic injunction—yācakā na pratyākhyeyāḥ: “Beggars should not be refused.”
How can a river in the form of a stream of water go through the skies? Svacchanda-pathagām: Gaṅgā can go on any route she desires to take. It is implied that just as the water in the clouds move in the sky, it is possible for the water of river Gaṅgā to move through special pathways.