Canto 1 - Boyhood
Bāla-kāṇḍa
Chapter 42: Bhagīratha’s Austerities for Gaṅgā’s Descent
Text 1.42.13
स तपो दीर्घमातिष्ठद्गोकर्णे रघुनन्दन।
ऊर्ध्वबाहुः पञ्चतपा मासाहारो जितेन्द्रियः॥
sa tapo dīrgham ātiṣṭhad gokarṇe raghu-nandana
ūrdhva-bāhuḥ pañca-tapā māsāhāro jitendriyaḥ
saḥ = he; tapaḥ = austerities; dīrgham = for a long time; ātiṣṭhat = executed; gokarṇe = Gokarṇa; raghu-nandana = O beloved child of the Raghus; ūrdhva-bāhuḥ = with his arms raised; pañca-tapāḥ = standing among five fires; māsa-āhāraḥ = eating only once a month; jita-indriyaḥ = with his senses under control.
O beloved child of the Raghus, standing among five fires with his arms upraised, eating only once a month, with his senses under control, he executed austerities for a long time at Gokarṇa.
Gokarṇa is at the foot of the Himalayas. Bhagīratha stood amidst five fires, that is, fires on his four sides and the sun above him.