Jahnu

In Hindu mythology, an ascetic who has
amassed great power by performing
harsh physical asceticism (tapas). One
day while Jahnu is deep in meditation,
his belongings are picked up and carried
away by the river Ganges (believed by
Hindus to be the physical form of the
goddess Ganga), who has recently come
down from heaven and is being led to
the sea by the sage Bhagirath. Jahnu is
enraged at this disrespect; to punish
Ganga, he drinks all of the water in the
river. When the gods realize what has
happened, they are very concerned.
They somehow manage to placate
Jahnu, and the sage agrees to release
her. The problem then is how to release
the Ganges in a way that will not defile
her, since vomiting her up or voiding her
as urine are both unacceptable. In the
end, Jahnu bypasses this dilemma by
releasing her through his ear. She continues on her way to the sea and
acquires the name Jahnavi by virtue of
being “born” from Jahnu.