Celebrating
the reincarnation of River Ganga on Earth is Ganga Dassehra which is celebrated
on the first 10 days of the ‘Jyeshtha’ month which falls in the months of May-June.
According to Hindu Mythology, Goddess Ganga descending on earth is a festival
that is observed as ‘Ganga Dassehra’, ‘Ganga Saptami’ and ‘Akshaya Tritiya’ in
different parts of India.
Upon
performing intense austerities by King Bhagirath, Goddess Ganga descended onto
earth in the form of River Ganga in order to relieve the sins of King
Bhagirath’s family. Since then it is a strong belief among Hindus that in order
to cleanse oneself of his sins he would have to take a Holy-dip in River Ganga
each year especially on Ganga Dassehra.
During
these 10 days, River Ganga is venerated by the Hindus as Goddess Ganga through
numerous pujas, prayers, rituals and ceremonies. The ‘Aarti of River Ganga’
performed by the Haridwar Priests at twilight while standing on the steps of
the Ganga Ghats – few inches away from the ever-flowing humungous river Ganga –
is a fascinating sight which is captured by millions of cameras on those days.
Lord Shiva is worshipped with special emphasis on these 10 days. On all these
10 days, River Ganga is offered sweets and flowers and small flames in
leaf-boats are set afloat on the fast-flowing river with ringing of bells and
chanting of ‘shlokas’, ‘kirtans’ and ‘bhajans’. It’s one of the most amazing
devotional experiences ever!
Places
which are located along the banks of River Ganga such as Rishikesh, Haridwar, Varanasi,
Garh-Mukteswar, Prayag, Kanpur etc. are thronged by millions of Hindus and devotees
of River Ganga to pay respects to the River as well as to take a Holy Dip in the
River and perform puja on all 10 days.
On
the days of Ganga Dassehra, it is believed to be a blessing and rewarding to
give alms to the needy so all the Hindus who participate in the festival at the
River Ganga at various places also do charity.
Facts about the Gigantic River Ganga:
1. River Ganga originates in the Himalayas in Indian State
of Uttarakhand at the confluence of River Bhagirathi and River Alaknanda and
flows through India and Bangladesh. Gangotri Glacier is the point of origin of
River Ganga. In Bangladesh, River Ganga is called River Padma.
2. River Ganga is 2525 kms long from the Himalayas right
upto the Bay of Bengal where it drains into the sea.
3. Based on the ‘Volume-Rate’ of the water flow (discharge),
River Gangs ranks among the Top 20 rivers in the world.
4. 400 million people inhabit the Ganga River basin (along
its route) which makes it the highest populated river basin in the world.
5. The first mention of River Ganga was in the Late Harappan
period in the 2nd Millennium BC. The first official mention of River
Ganga was made in the ancient Hindu scriptures – the Vedas dating back to 1500
BC. The first foreigner to have recorded River Ganga is the Greek Ethnographer –
Megasthenes (in his book called ‘Indica’) who visited India during the reign of
Chandragupta Maurya before 298 BC.
6. According to Hindu Mythology, Goddess Ganga, who is a
consort to all three Hindu deities – Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva descends to earth
in the reincarnation of River Ganga in order to purify and cleanse of sins of
all those who take a Holy Dip in this river. Hindu river-pilgrimage and river-worship
began with worshipping River Ganga in India. The ‘Maha Kumbh Mela’ is probably
the biggest gathering of people in the world as in 2001 approximately 60
million people (of which 1 million people from outside of India) had gathered
at Allahabad to worship River Ganga!
Pix courtesy: Wikipedia, Zeenews, Haridwarkumbhmela, Shunya, Geolt12.wordpress, Goldntriangleindiatours.
