Ganga Dussehra (Including a Movie and Beach Prayers) (The Appearance day of Mother Ganga – 20 th June 2021 ) “Though liquid in form, the Ganga dries up the ocean of material suffering; though white in colour, she is famous for refreshing blackish Krsna with her waters; though flowing on the earth, she is called by a heavenly name; and though she removes the confusion of the living entities, she is filled with whirlpools and eddies. Having attained a taste of the Lord’s lotus feet, her waves and currents becomes agitated. Taking up her residence in Navadvipa, she adds glory to that tract of land”. (Sri Navadvipa Dham Mahatmya) Shree Ganga Devi Ki Jai! Gaumukh (Starting point of the Ganga in the Himalayas) Ganga Puja Dussehra This day is the "birthday or descent of Mother Ganga". Throughout India this festival lasts ten days beginning on the Amavasya (dark moon night) and going through to the Dasami tithi (tenth phase of the Moon, the day before Pandava Nirjala Ekadashi {20th June – South Africa}. "Festivals connected with rivers are essentially bathing festivals. Ganga Dussehra is celebrated on the tenth day of Jyeshtha. Particularly people in India esp. of Uttara Pradesh, Bihar, and Bengal through which the river flows, worship River Ganga as a mother as well as a Mother Deity. On this day, if a devotee is unable to visit and bathe in the river Ganga, then Ganga jal (water) kept in most Hindu homes is used for purification. A bath in the river is said to purify the bather of all sins. The Ganga is revered all over India even in places far from its course. Initially, River Ganga flowed in the heavens. She was brought down to earth by the severe penances of the sage Bhagiratha and that is why she is also called Bhagirathi. According to the katha of the descent of the Ganga, once a number of demons were harassing the hermits by disturbing them in their ascetic duties. During the day, they would be chased into the ocean. But in the darkness of the night, they would emerge from the ocean and start harassing the hermits again. In desperation the hermits appealed to Rishi Agastya. Agastya, known for his gastronomic powers, drank all the water of the ocean. Though this was done in good faith, it resulted in depriving the world of the water needed for sustenance and the earth became parched and dry. Bhagiratha brought this drought to an end. According to the Puranas, King Sagara had two queens, Keshani and Sumati, but neither had a child. Sagara performed severe austerities before his wives could produce children. But whereas Keshani gave birth to a son called Asmajas, Sumati bore many children. King Sagara performed the Ashvamedha sacrifice to declare his authority over the neighboring kingdoms. According to the prevalent custom, the horse was let loose and allowed to wander into the neighboring kingdoms. If the horse was caught, a battle ensued and the outcome decided the winner. The many sons of Sagara were following the horse when they saw him enter a cavern where sage Kapila Muni was meditating. Not seeing the horse in the cavern, they presumed that Kapila Muni had captured it. They did not kill Kapila Muni as he was a sage but they started disturbing his meditations. Kapila Muni got angry and cursed them. There upon they all were burnt and reduced to ashes. Since neither the horse nor his soldiers returned King Sagara became anxious. He sent his grandson Anshuman to search for them. Kapila Muni told Anshuman the whole katha. Anshuman asked, “How can the sin of the king’s son’s be destroyed?” Kapila Muni answered, “They will be saved if the water of the Ganga will flow over this land.” Agastya Muni having drunk all the waters of the ocean, the country was passing through a severe drought. Anshuman tried but did not succeed in bringing down the Ganga on earth. Then his son Dilip also tried, but without success. Then Dilip’s son Bhagiratha prayed to Lord Brahma, the Creator, to end the drought. Lord Brahma asked him to pray to Lord Vishnu, the Preserver, to allow the heavenly Ganga, issuing from His big toe, to come down to earth. Lord Vishnu when prayed to by Bhagiratha agreed, but asked him to request Lord Shiva, to allow the torrential rain to fall on his head before it came to the earth as the river was very forceful and if she were allowed to come down unchecked, her fall would split the earth. Lord Shiva agreed to take the gigantic weight of the cascading Ganga on the matted hair piled high on his head. This ensnared and delayed the progress of the river, which, in meandering through the labyrinth of his hair, lost its force, and then gently descended to the Himalayas from whence it flowed to the plains bestowing its waters on the parched earth. And that is why the image of Mother Ganga is shown in the matted hair of Lord Shiva who is also called Gangadhara. Being born in the Himalayas, Mother Ganga is considered the elder sister of Mother Parvati, who is also a daughter of the Himalayas. For this reason the Ganga is also known as the Bhagirathi. According to the Agni and Padma Purana, Mother Ganga descended to the earth on the tenth day of Jyeshtha month and a bath in the holy river on this day purifies one of all sins. To die on the banks of the Ganga is considered most auspicious. If that is not possible, then the immersion of the ashes after cremation in the river Ganga is a must, as it then releases one from the cycles of birth and re-birth. The seven ways of worshipping Mother Ganga are:- By calling out her name, 'Oh Ganga' Having darshan of her By touching her waters By worshipping and bathing By standing in the waters of the river And by carrying clay dug out of the river. Mother Ganga is shown as a beautiful young woman standing on a crocodile and holding a water pot in her hands. Her image, with that of Mother Yamuna, another sacred river deity, is often depicted on the doors of temples and palaces. The principle centers for the worship of the Ganga are Gangotri, the source of the river; Haridwar (the Door/Gateway to Lord Hari), where she comes down to the plains; Prayag (Allahabad), where she joins the River Yamuna and the dried underground River Sarasvati; Varanasi, and Ganga Sagar is where the Ganga flows into the Bay of Bengal. If you are so fortunate as to be in a place in India (Bharat Bhumi) where the sacred Ganga flows or one of the sacred places where She appears contrary to material science, such as Mana Sarovara, Manasi Ganga (Bhubaneshwar), Madhwa Sarova (Udupi), etc., then you will be able to go down to her waters and pay your obeisances, say your prayers and take that water upon your head. Then please say a prayer to invoke the blessings of the Lord upon all of us not so fortunate as to be there with you. For most of us reading this that will not physically be possible, although certainly through Manasa puja - meditation one may still perform that worship. We should also remember that the worlds oceans is an extension of Mother Ganga as well because when she flows into the Bay of Bengal she immerses herself with the ocean water and thus all the waters become one. Just as one drop of Ganga jal in one litre of water all that water becomes Ganga jal so in the same way all the oceans of the world is also Mother Ganga. Due to lack of space on this article please do go onto this website below on the full katha of the descent of Mother Ganga from the Srimad Bhagavatam. http://www.srimadbhagavatam.org/canto5/chapter17.html To view beautiful pictures of the actual start of Mother Ganga on this planet please do go on this website. http://www.liveindia.com/ganga/gaumukh.html The snout of the Gangotri Glacier and the source of the Bhagirathi River. Pilgrims trek up to the sacred spot on foot or on ponies to take a holy dip in the ice-cold water. According to the Puranas, the heavenly Ganga flows from Lord Vishnu's toe. Mother Ganga sometimes assumed a human form. In one such appearance, she married King Shantanu (picture below) and was the mother of Bhishma, grandsire to the warring Pandava and Kaurava clans. This katha is mentioned in two places in the Srimad Bhagavatam 9th canto chapter 22 and the Mahabharata. Below is the katha from the Mahabharata. Mahabharata - Adi Parva Chapter One. (Maharaja Shantanu Marries the Celestial Ganga) Maharaja Shantanu took his birth in the solar (sun) dynasty. Once when Maharaja Shantanu, was wandering in the forest, he came upon a place frequented by the Siddhas and Charanas (a class of heavenly devas). There he saw a lady who appeared like the goddess of fortune herself. In truth, she was the personification of the river Ganga. She was glancing at the monarch with her youthful longing eyes, and Maharaja Shantanu became attracted to her. He then approached her inquiring, O beautiful woman, are you from the race of the Gandharvas, Apsaras, Yakshas, Nagas or the human race? As yet I have no queen, and your birth appears divine. Whatever your origin, O celestial beauty, I request you to become my wife. The beautiful Apsara (celestial maiden) then smilingly replied, O King, I shall become your wife and obey your commands, but there are certain conditions.