Hinduism and the River Ganges

33. Why is the Ganges sacred to Hindus?

³³ We cannot speak of Hinduism’s pantheon of gods without mentioning its most sacred river​—the Ganges. Much of Hindu mythology is directly related to the river Ganges, or Ganga Ma (Mother Ganga), as devout Hindus call it. (See map, page 123.) They recite a prayer that includes 108 different names for the river. Why is the Ganges so revered by sincere Hindus? Because it is so closely associated with their daily survival and with their ancient mythology. They believe that it formerly existed in the heavens as the Milky Way. Then how did it come to be a river?

34. According to Hindu mythology, what is one explanation of how the river Ganges came to exist?

³⁴ With some variations most Hindus would explain it like this: Maharajah Sagara had 60,000 sons who were killed by the fire of Kapila, a manifestation of Vishnu. Their souls were condemned to hell unless the goddess Ganga would come down from heaven to cleanse them and release them from the curse. Bhagīratha, a great-grandson of Sagara, interceded with Brahma to allow the sacred Ganga to come down to the earth. One account continues: “Ganga replied. ‘I am so mighty a torrent I would shatter the earth’s foundations.’ So [Bhagīratha], after doing penance for a thousand years, went to the god Shiva, the greatest of all ascetics, and persuaded him to stand high above the earth amidst the rock and ice of the Himalayas. Shiva had matted hair piled on his head, and he allowed Ganga to thunder down from the skies into his locks, which absorbed gently the earth-threatening shock. Ganga then trickled softly out on to the earth and flowed down from the mountains and across the plains, bringing water and therefore life to the dry earth.”​—From the Ocean to the Sky, by Sir Edmund Hillary.

35. How do the followers of Vishnu explain the river’s existence?

³⁵ The followers of Vishnu have a somewhat different version of how the Ganges was started. According to an ancient text, the Vishnu Purana, their version is:

“From this region [the holy seat of Vishnu] proceeds the river Ganges, that removes all sins . . . She issues from the nail of the great toe of Vishnu’s left foot.”

Or as Vishnu’s followers say in Sanskrit: “Visnu-padabja-sambhuta,” which means “Born of the lotus-like foot of Vishnu.”

36. What do Hindus believe about the power of the waters of the Ganges?

³⁶ Hindus believe that the Ganges has the power to release, purify, cleanse, and cure believers. The Vishnu Purana states:

“Saints, who are purified by bathing in the waters of this river, and whose minds are devoted to Kesava [Vishnu], obtain final liberation. The sacred river, when heard of, desired, seen, touched, bathed in, or hymned, day by day purifies all beings. And those who living even at a distance . . . exclaim ‘Ganga and Ganga’ are relieved of the sins committed during the three previous existences.”

The Brahmandapurana states:

“Those who bathe devoutly once in the pure currents of the Ganga, their tribes are protected by Her from hundreds of thousands of dangers. Evils accumulated through generations are destroyed. Just by bathing in the Ganga one gets immediately purified.”

37, 38. Why do millions of Hindus flock to the Ganges?

³⁷ Indians flock to the river to perform puja, or worship, by offering flowers, chanting prayers, and receiving from a priest the tilak, the spot of red or yellow paste on the forehead. Then they wade into the waters to bathe. Many will also drink the water, even though it is heavily polluted by sewage, chemicals, and cadavers. Yet such is the spiritual attraction of the Ganges that it is the ambition of millions of Indians to bathe at least once in their ‘holy river,’ polluted or not.

³⁸ Others bring the bodies of their loved ones to be burned on pyres by the riverside, and then the ashes may be strewn in the river. They believe that this guarantees eternal bliss for the departed soul. Those too poor to pay for a funeral pyre just push the shrouded body off into the river, where it is attacked by scavenger birds or just decomposes.

[Map/​Pictures on page 123]

(For fully formatted text, see publication)

The Ganges runs over 1,500 miles from the Himalayas to Calcutta and its delta in Bangladesh

INDIA

Calcutta

Ganges River

[Pictures]

Ganga Ma, on top of Siva’s head, descends through his hair

Devout Hindus at a ghat, bathing in the Ganges at Varanasi, or Benares