Om! Gam! Ganapathaye! Namaha! Om! Sri Raghavendraya Namaha! Om! Namo! Bhagavathe ! Vaasudevaya! Om! Ham! Hanumathe!

Sri Rama Doothaya Namaha! Glory & Significance of Ganga Ganges the River of India Rivers are an integral part of Indian economy, civilization and culture that has grown and spread along the banks of these rivers and they have become a livelih ood for the people living in the country. Agriculture the back bone of Indian Ec onomy is very much depending upon these rivers. They have played an important ro le in the pilgrimage of India as several sacred pilgrim centers have come up and thrived on the banks of these sacred rivers and contributed a lot to the growth of tourism industry. They have also played a significant role in the religious, philosophical and spiritual heritage of India which is known as Hindu religion or Hindu Dharma. These rivers are Natures gift to the mankind as water is one of the most essential elements for all the living beings. These rivers are standing as a living witness to the historical and pouranic happenings in India where se veral dynasties have risen and fallen along the banks of these sacred rivers. Si nce time immemorial Hindu civilization has flourished along the banks of these r ivers. Bharatha Desa the Indian sub-continent is a land of perennial rivers and is the origin for several sacred rivers that have taken birth on this land with a divine background and purpose. Prominent among them are Ganga (Ganges), Yamuna , Saraswathi, Sindhu (Indus), Godavari, Narmada, Krishna, Kaveri, Tungabhadra et c Rivers in India are gazed not only as a source of water but are also revered as Divine Goddesses who play an important role in several religious and spiritual rites 1

that are performed across the banks of these rivers. River worship in India is p revalent since time immemorial and rivers in India are adored on several occasio ns in the Hindu religious and spiritual calendar like Kumbh Mela, Pushkaram etc. Prominent among the sacred rivers is the Ganga (Ganges) which is considered as unparallel in terms of its spirituality and religious significance. Incidentally this year it is going to be Ganga Pushkara year starting from 8th of May when D eva Guru Jupiter (Brihaspathi) enters into Mesha (Aries) in the zodiac. On this occasion let us try to know the glory and significance of sacred river Ganga, to begin with its origin and descent on Earth. Gangaavatharana (Origin & Descent of Ganga) Origin in Heaven Sri Vamana Avathara was fifth in the line of Dasavatharas of Lord Sri Maha Vishn u. This avathara took place during Treta Yuga before Sri Parashurama Avathara. L ord Maha Vishnu took this avathara in order to suppress the arrogance, vanity an d pride of Emperor Bali (Bali Chakravarthi) and to restore the glory, power and authority of Lord Indra over the Heaven who had lost his power and kingdom (Swar ga) to King Bali. Lord Vamana went to King Maha Bali and asks for three steps of land measured by his foot as charity. Initially Bali hesitated to donate just t hree paces of land as it is a disgrace to his status and was guilty to give such charity. But later agreed upon insisting by Lord Vamana and promised to give th ree paces of land as charity measured by Sri Vamanas foot. When Maha Bali complet ed the ritual process of donating the land, Lord Vamana assumed his cosmic form (Trivikrama), measured the entire Earth including the nether worlds by his first step. With his second step He measured the entire upper worlds. When his foot r eached the zenith it reached the Sathya Loka where Lord Brahma stays. At that ti me sacred waters emanated from the lotus foot of the Supreme Lord Sri Maha Vishn u, and Lord Brahma washed the Lords foot with that water and collected it in His Kamandalu. 2

The water that has emerged out of Lord Sri ManNarayanas foot came to be revered a s Goddess Ganga (Vishnu Paadodbhavi) who thenceforth started living in the Heave n as Swarga Ganga assuming the form of a river. Origin/Descent on Earth There are several legends behind the origin and descent of Ganga River on the Ea rth but, prominent among them we find as spelled out in Srimad Bhagavatham, Nava ma Skandha (9th canto). It is said that Sage Sri Viswamithra had narrated this s tory of Gangaavatharana to Lord Sri Rama. As per the legend in brief, there was an Emperor by name Sagara Chakravarthi of Ikshvaku dynasty (in which Lord Sri Ra ma was born) ruling Ayodhya, who had two wives Keshini and Sumathi. By virtue of divine blessing, Keshini gave birth to only one son named Asamanjasa whereas Su mathi was blessed with 60000 sons. 3

On one occasion Sagara performed Aswamedha Yaga and as a part of the Yaga ritual the sacrificial Horse was released to wander in the nearby kingdoms. In order t o spoil and stop the Aswamedha Yaga, Indra captures the sacrificial horse and le aves it in the Ashram of Sage Kapila Maha Muni in the Netherworld (Pathala Loka) . Frustrated, King Sagara then sends his 60000 sons in search of the sacrificial Horse. After searching in vain finally Sagaras sons finds the Horse tied in the Sage Kapila Maha Munis Ashram in Pathala Loka. Assuming Sage Kapila as the culpri t, Sagara Puthras in a fit of anger disturb the revered Sage from his deep penan ce. Enraged at being disturbed the Sage Kapila opens his eyes resulting in 60000 Sagara Puthras instantly getting converted into ash from the furious fire that emanated from the Sages eyes. Worried, Sagara then sends his grand son Anshumanth a (son of Asamanjasa) to find out the whereabouts of his 60000 sons and also the sacrificial Horse. Anshumantha finally reaches Pathala Loka where he finds the sacrificial horse and also heaps of ash. Nearby he finds Sage Kapila who advises him to take the horse back to his grand father Sagara Chakravarthi. As a remedy the Sage advices that, only Ganges the Ganga can wash off the sins of his uncle s if it is flown over the heaps of ash. As time passes Sagara leaves this world and the generation of Anshumantha and his son Dileepa also ends without any succ ess of bringing the Ganga down to the Earth. Finally King Bhagiratha son of Dile epa Chakravarthi took up the stupendous task of providing salvation to his foref athers. He performs a severe penance to bring the Ganga down to the Earth. Pleas ed with his penance Goddess Ganga appears before him and agrees to descent on ea rth. But, Ganga advises Bhagiratha to pray Lord Shiva to be a platform for her d escent on the earth as He only has the capacity to withstand her gigantic force to avoid a catastrophe. Accordingly, Bhagiratha prays Lord Shiva who, pleased wi th the penance of Bhagiratha readily agrees to bore Vishnu Paadodbhavi Ganga on his head before releasing it on to the earth. Lord Shiva, spread his matted lock s and trapped the waters of the river in them, softened her flow and controlled her force so that she slides down on the Earth quietly as a peaceful and life gi ving river. Thus Goddess Ganga descended from Heaven on to the matted hair of Lo rd Shiva and from there on to the Earth. Since Lord Shiva bore the Ganga on his head, thenceforth came to be known as Gangadhara. 4

Ganga at this spot came to be known as Bhagirathi named after Bhagiratha due to whose stupendous efforts Ganga descended on to the Earth. Goddess Ganga (Ganga River) followed Bhagiratha to the Nether worlds to purify t he souls of Sagara Puthras lying in the form of an ash in the ashrama of Kapila Maha Muni. On the way the waters of Ganga submerged the Asrama of Sage Jahnu who gets annoyed and drinks the entire Ganga waters. Again Bhagiratha and others pr ays the Sage who gets pleased and for the welfare of mankind releases Ganga from his ear. Thenceforth Ganga also came to be known as Jaahnavi. Finally, Ganga re ached Sage Kapilas ashram in Pathala loka and submerged the heaps of ash of 60000 Sagara Puthras and thus helped them in getting salvation. King Bhagiratha put h is heart and soul in the descent of Ganga, a no mean feat that became an icon to the world which came to be known as Bhagiratha Prayatnam. 5

Glossary of Ganga River Origin and birth place: Gaumukha - Gangothri Glacier in Himalayas in Indian SubContinent In Bay of Bengal at Gangasagar near Hooghly (West Bengal) Bhagirathi, Alaknanda, Mandakini, Dhauliganga Nandakini and Pindar. India, Bangladesh Uttara khand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand & West Bengal 1550 miles (2500 km) Kanpur , Allahabad, Varanasi, Patna & Kolkata Kedarnath, Badrinath, Devaprayag, Rishike sh, Haridwar, Bithoor (Near Kanpur), Kasi (Varanasi) & Prayaga (Sangam) Merging with Sea: Six major head streams: Ganga Path: Countries: States covered (India): Length of the River: Major cities covered: Major Pilgrim Centers: Pancha Prayag Kshetras (Five confluences of Ganga): Vishnu Prayag (Dhauliganga j oins Alaknanda), Nandaprayag (Nandakini joins), Karnaprayag (Pindar joins), Rudr a Prayag (Mandakini joins) and Devaprayag (Where Bhagirathi joins Alaknanda to f orm Ganga or the Ganges River) Major Tributaries: Gomati, Ghaghara, Gandaki, Kos i, Yamuna, Son and Damodar. Ganga joins Yamuna at Triveni Sangam (Allahabad) 6

Other names of Ganga: Vishnu Paadodbhavi: Originated from the foot of Lord Sri Maha Vishnu Ganga in th e Heaven Stream of Gods Descended on Earth due to the efforts of King Bhagiratha Released by Sage Jahnu from his ear Swarga Ganga: Surasarita: Bhagirathi: Jaahnavi: Thripathagamini or Thripathaga: One who flows in all the three worlds, Heaven, B hoo Loka (Earth) and Nether Worlds - In Heaven it is known as Mandakini, on the Earth known as Ganga (Ganges) and in the Netherworlds as Bhogavathi. Alaknanda: One of the main head streams of Ganga near Badrinath Name by which Ganga is call ed in Bangladesh Padma: Festivals of Ganga River Ganga Jayanthi or Bhagirathi Jayanthi - First ten days of Jyesta masam known as Dasahara is dedicated to the worship of Goddess Ganga. Goddess Ganga is believed to have descended on to the Earth on the 10th day (Dasami) of Jyesta Masa sukla paksha which is celebrated as Ganga Jayanthi or Bhagirathi Jayanthi. Gangotpatt i - Seventh day in Vaisakha masam (Sapthami) is known as Gangotpatti the day on which Ganga came out of Sage Jahnus ear and came to be known as Jaahnavi. Kumbha Mela is held on the banks of river Ganga at Haridwar and Prayaga once in twelve years. It is also held at Ujjain and Nasik. Ganga Pushkara - that occurs once in twelve years when Jupiter (Brihaspathi) enters into Mesha (Aries) raasi in the zodiac. First twelve days and last twelve days are celebrated as Ganga Pushkara festival. Incidentally this year starting from May 8th it is Ganga Pushkara. 7

Pouranic reference to Ganga River It is said that a mention of Ganga was made in Rig-Veda that appears in the Nadi -Sookta. Various sacred texts like Bhagavatha, Ramayana, Maha Bharatha, Bhagawad geeta, Agni Purana, Padma Purana, Brahma Purana etc. have made reference to Gang a River. The Epic Mahabharatha took a turning point with the entry of Goddess Ga nga (due to a curse from Lord Brahma) who, as a mortal woman married the Kuru Ki ng Shantanu. She gave birth to eight sons who were Ashta Vasus in their embodime nt and the 8th child was the hero of Maha Bharatha, Bheeshma Pithamaha. He was a lso known as Gaangeya or Ganga-Puthra. In Mahabharata Bheeshma explains the glor y and significance of Ganga to Pandavas lying on the bed of arrows. In the epic Mahabharatha we find Arjuna extracting water from Pathala Ganga with his arrow t o quench the thirst of Bheeshma Pithamaha. Several great Sages used to have thei r hermitage on the banks of Ganga River. Even now many Sadhus live on the banks of Ganga River. Sage Valmiki had his ashram on the banks of river Ganga that was known as Brahmavarta where Lord Brahma said to have performed Ashwamedha Yaga. In the Epic Ramayana, Goddess Sita Devi was said to have lived in the Ashram of Sage Valmiki on the banks of river Ganga. Several sacred and divine pilgrim cent ers like Badrinath, Kedarnath, Rishikesh, Haridwar, Kashi, Prayaga, Bithoor etc. are all located on the banks of river Ganga. BinduSar near Gangothri is referred to as the spot where Bhagiratha is believed to have performed his penance for t he descent of Ganga. Famous temple of Badrinath is on the banks of river Alaknan da one of the six head streams of Ganga. The place where Ganga meets Yamuna has become a famous pilgrim center Prayaga. Gangasagar the island at the mouth of ri ver Ganga is said to be the location of Sage Kapila Mahamunis hermitage which is associated with the penance of Bhagiratha and the descent of river Ganga. Kapila Muni was an incarnation of Lord Vishnu. Symbolism of Goddess Ganga As per Dharma Sindhu, Goddess Ganga is depicted as Chaturbhuja (four hands) with Water Pot (Kalasha) in one hand and Lotus in the other. With the other two hand s portrayed with Varada mudra and Abhaya mudra. 8

Mounted on a white Crocodile (Makara) as her pedestal, Ganga Devi is symbolized having three eyes (Trinethri) with Moon (Chandrakala) on the forehead, wearing w hite silk attire, with auspicious glimpse. Religious & Spiritual significance of Ganga River People in Hindu religion will be longing to have darshan of Ganga and take bath in the Divine River Ganges at least once in their life time or even die on the b anks of river Ganga which is considered as highly sacred. To pour Ganga water in the mouth of a dying person is a custom among the Hindus. We find people in Hin du religion immersing ashes (mortal remains) of the deceased in Ganga River with a belief that the deceased soul will attain salvation. It is said that the very touch of Ganga will sanctify seven generations on both sides. Taking bath in Ga nga River especially during parvakala like Uttarayana, Dakshinayana, Eclipse day s, Pushkara is highly meritorious and helps in remission of sins. Every day lakh s of people take bath in Ganga River at various places. Several millions of peop le recall Ganga in various religious ceremonies. We find invariably Hindu famili es keeping Ganga water in their houses as an auspicious symbol. Ganga water is c ollected from places like Haridwar, Rishikesh and Kashi etc. and stored in coppe r pots sealed with lid. 9

Ganga water is attributed with the quality of purity and is considered to remain pure over a period of time. It is believed that Ganga water has medicinal prope rties that cure the ill. Spiritually, taking a bath in the sacred Ganga River is said to be soul cleansing that purify one from his sins. Ganga water is conside red as extremely pious and said to contain properties of Amrutha (Divine Nectar) . Since time immemorial Hindus life is closely associated with the river Ganga i n various ways. No religious and spiritual activity in Hindu philosophy from bir th till death starts without Ganga. Several civilizations, dynasties, epics, hav e originated on the banks of Ganga River. The history of Ganga is as old as Hind u civilization. Starting from its place of origin in Gangothri right up to its m erging with the Sea at Gangasagar entire path of Ganga River is sacred to Hindus . In places like Kashi, Haridwar and Rishikesh we find devotees offering Aarati to Goddess Ganga in the evening singing devotional songs, which is a sight not t o be missed. There is also a custom among Hindus that they bring Ganga water fro m Kashi and perform Abhisheka to Lord Shiva at Rameswaram Jyotirlinga installed by Lord Sri Rama and collect the sand from the sea (Indian Ocean) at Rameswaram and immerse it with Ganga water with a belief that it is a completion of the pil grimage. Ganga worship is said to be in seven ways viz. by recalling Her name Gan ga, having darshan, by touching the water of Ganga river, by worshiping, by takin g bath, by standing in the waters of the river and by carrying clay dug out of w ater. Perhaps no other river has found as much reference as the holy Ganga in Pu ranas which is in existence since Vedic times. In piousness Ganga water is compa red with the sacred Thulasi. To count the merits of Ganga is like counting water drops in the ocean. Ganga is not just a river alone it is much more than that s acred, celestial and divine. It is the Queen of rivers, River Goddess. Mother Ga nga is highly revered in Hindu religion. Thats why even today we find people cele brating festivals relating to Ganga River viz. Ganga Dasahara, Ganga Pushkara, G angasagar Mela, Kumbha Mela and Gangotpatti (Jahnu Sapthami). Every year on the day of Makara Sankranthi, Gangasagar Mela is held at Gangasagar. These festival days are the best occasions to pay our reverence to Goddess Ganga the heritage o f Hindu philosophy and the National river of India. At the same time it is also our 10

ardent duty and responsibility to protect this national heritage from getting po lluted. Originated from the foot of the Primordial Lord Sri ManNarayana, sanctif ied as sacred water in the Kamandalu of Lord Brahma, purified with a descent on the head (matted hair) of Lord Shiva, and came out of Sage Jahnus ear, Ganga is c onsidered as the most sacred and Divine river. Lord Sri Krishna mentions in his famous preaching Bhagawadgeeta Vibhuthi Yoga (10th chapter, sloka #31) that He i s Jaahnavi (Other name of river Ganga) srotasamasmi jaahnavi"(Among the rivers I am the Ganga). Perhaps we dont need any other testimonial to testify the signific ance, spirituality and sacredness of Ganga River. Sri Krishnaarpanamasthu bharga vasarma (www.bhargavasarma.blogspot.com) 11