Ganga

The river Ganga, known in the Western world as the Ganges, is one of the most important rivers in India. The history, geography, ecology, food production, and economic fortunes of India have all been closely connected to the river, and millions of Hindus hold it to be sacred. Culturally, it is a symbol, standing for Mother India, a synecdoche for home, and for Hindu religious traditions. It is closely associated with the many North Indian towns and cities on its banks, especially Haridwar, Allahabad, and Banaras. The river flows south from the Himalayas and enters the plains at Haridwar and then flows east to Bengal in parallel with the Himalayan mountain chain. In Prayag (Allahabad), it joins the river Yamuna and, according to tradition, the mythical Sarasvati River, to form a sacred confluence of three rivers (triveni sangama). Banaras, whose traditional name is Kasi, or the “city of light,” is also on the banks of this river and is a holy place for Hindus. Millions of Hindus bathe in the river every year, with special crowds making the pilgrimage on holy days, such as Makara Sankaranti (in mid-January), or during festivals such as the Kumbh Mela. Hindus are given waters from the river Ganga on their deathbeds. Most Hindus are cremated at death, and sometimes families immerse the ashes of the dead in the Ganga River.

Ganga is a goddess, a celestial and earthly river. She is said to have been in the heavens and at the prayers of the legendary king, Bhagiratha, came down to earth. Since the force of the descent to earth would have been more than the planet could bear, it is said that the Hindu god Shiva caught the river in his head to break her fall; he eventually let a drop out to flow as the river in India. Ganga is also a beloved consort of Shiva in some traditions; ninth-century inscriptions in Cambodia refer to Shiva as the husband of Uma (Parvati) and Ganga. Headless images found in the temple of Bakong, Hariharalya, the ninth-century capital of the Angkorian kingdom, are said to be of Shiva with his arms around Parvati and Ganga. Sculptures of the personified rivers Ganga and Yamuna are found outside Hindu temples, including in Singapore.

Water from the river Ganga is used in rituals. It is now commercially packed and sold in stores that sell Indian groceries around the world. While bathing in the river is said to purify one of all sins, the waters, in whatever measure, are considered to be ritually purifying. The packaged water is thus used for domestic rituals, especially death rites. Temples use larger quantities, mixed with waters from other rivers of India and the country where the [Page 428]ritual is to take place, to consecrate new towers or to bathe the deity.

While the waters drawn from the river Ganga are used in rituals, many Hindus believe that the celestial Ganga can be invoked in or be present in almost any waters around the world. People from South India, for instance, believe that the Ganga is present in all waters on the sacred festival day of Divali, the festival of lights that is celebrated on the new moon that comes between November and December. The traditional greeting for Divali in South India is “Have you bathed in the Ganga today?”

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