THE RIVER GANGA

It drains into the Bay of Bengal through its vast delta in the Sunderbans.

The Ganga is a major Indian river flowing through the plains of Northern India into Bangladesh.

The 2510km[1557m] long river begins at the Gangotri Glacier in the central Himalayas.

COURSE

The Ganga originates in the Himalayas after the confluence of six rivers.The streams are fed by the melting snow and ice from the glaciers.It emerges from the Himalayas at the pilgrimage town of Haridwar.

The Ganga which till this point flows in a South-Western

direction now begins to flow in a South-Eastern direction.It is joined by the River Yamuna at a point called Sangamam,

a scared place in Hinduism.

It flows through the plains and enters Bangladesh.

It fans out into the 350km wide Ganga Delta.

It empties into the Bay of Bengal.

The Story Of The Descent Of The Story Of The Descent Of GangaGanga

• King Bagiratha through his penance was responsible for the descent of Ganga from Heaven to Earth

• As the might of the river was too much for Earth to withstand, he prayed to Lord Shiva who caught the river in his matted hair.

HISTORY

Megasthanese was the first Westerner to mention Ganga in his work Indika.

Jawarharlal Nehru in his book ‘ Discovery of India’ says

The story of the Ganges from her source to the sea

is the story of India’s civilization and culture, of the

rise and fall of empires ,of great and proud cities,

of adventures of man…..

In Rome’s Piazza Navona, there is a fountain of four Rivers–

The Ganges, The Nile, The Daunbe and The Rio De La Plata.

This is the architectural creation of Bermin in 1651.

RELIGIOUS SIGNIFICANCE

The Ganga is mentioned in the Rig-Veda, the earliest Hindu scriptures.

Ancient scriptures mention that The Ganges

carries the blessings of Lord Vishnu’s feet

and hence the name ‘Vishnupadi’ meaning

‘Emanating from the lotus feet of the Supreme Lord Vishnu’.

The Ganga is worshipped by the Hindus

and personified as a Goddess.

The reverence accorded to rivers is a gesture of acknowledgement of their life sustaining abilities.

The Indian system of beliefs is based on an intimate relationship with Nature.

BELIEFSBELIEFS

Hindu belief holds that

bathing in the River

causes

forgiveness of sins and

helps attain salvation.

The immersion of ashes of people is believed to send the soul to Heaven.

Drinking the water of The Ganga is believed to purify the soul.

ECONOMYECONOMY

• The Ganga basin with its fertile soil is instrumental to the agricultural economy of India.

• The Ganga with its tributaries provides a perennial source of irrigation for crops.

The two main dams at Haridwar and

Farakka are a source of power generation.

The three towns holy to Hinduism – Haridwar,

Varanasi and Allahabad attract thousands of

pilgrims to its waters.

The rapids of the Ganga are popular river rafting area, attracting hundreds of adventure seekers in the summer months.

ECOLOGYECOLOGY

• The Ganga collects large amounts of human pollutants as it flows through highly populous areas, carrying high health risk of infection.

• The Ganga Action Plan has been set up under the Indian government and is attempting to build waste treatment facilities.

The Lakshman Jula is a 450feet long suspension bridge built at Rishikesh

The Ganga Arthi at Haridwar at 7pm each

night showing people offering flowers

and lamps to the River Goddess.