Bhagirathi and Alakananda

"Bhagirathi - another name for the Ganga River. The river Ganga is a celestial river. Because this river was brought to the earth by the austerities and prayers of King Bhagiratha, she is also known as Bhagirathi. Initially, where the Ganga starts near Gangotri, she is known as the Bhagirathi. When the Bhagirathi meets the Alakananda, she becomes known as the Ganga. In West Bengal, the Ganga divides into the Padma River and the Bhagirathi. The Bhagirathi flows south through Navadvipa and on to the Bay of Bengal. Some distance south of Santipura, the Bhagirathi becomes known as the Hugli."

"Alakananda - one of the four great branches of the river Ganga (the others are the Bhagirathi, Mandakini, and Bhogavati). When the Alakananda meets the Bhagirathi in northern Uttara Pradesh, the river becomes known as the Ganga."

Among the countless transcendental qualities of the holy Bhagirathi It is predicted in the Padma-Purana, where the Supreme Personality of Godhead Himself states:

kaleh prathama-sandhyayam

gaurangotham mahi-tale

bhagirathi-tate ramye

bhavisyami saci-sutah (58)

"I shall appear on this earth [mahi-tale] in the first part of Kali-Yuga [kaleh prathama sandhyayam] in a beautiful place on the bank of the Bhagirathi [bhagirathi-tate ramye]. I shall have a golden form [gaurangah], and I shall take birth as the son of Saci [bhavisyami saci-sutah]."