Why is the River Ganges Sacred? And what is her story?

The Ganges, Ganga Maa, or Mother Ganga, is a Hindu Goddess & sacred river in Northern India.  Beginning in the Gangotri Glacier in the western Himalayas she flows over 2500km through the top of India into the Bay of Bengal in Bangladesh.  One of the most well-known rivers of the world she holds deep spiritual meaning for Hindus and is essential to everyday life for millions of Indians. The waters of The Ganges are blessed with Divine energy and offer purity, atonement, blessings, and spiritual virtues to those who worship her. Her waters are believed to bless everything they touch. Pilgrims from all over India (and the world) travel to her banks to bathe and immerse in her holy boons, and small pots filled her grace can be found in the alters of most Hindu homes.

Mother Ganga nourishes the land and crops, cities and the people of India. It is common to see locals bathing in her waters, praying on her banks, and offering her devotional gifts (flowers, diya lamps, fruits) and in return she offers them Divine grace.

The chanting of mantras & holy scriptures activates the purifying effects of her waters, while devotees sit immersed for hours as a form of penance and spiritual practice to elevate cosmic consciousness.

It is the prayer of every devotee to bathe (Ganga Snan) in the River Ganges at least once in their lifetime, whilst cremation on her Ghats (steps) ensures moksha or liberation from the cycle of life and death.

The Ghats along her banks also host daily sadhana, worship and rituals, hold ceremonies and festivals, her banks are the pilgrimage site for the largest gathering of faith in the world (Maha Kumbh Mela), and her waters embody the infinite path of spiritual practice for sadhus & renunciants.

Reverence to Ganga Mata is written in the Rig Veda and other ancient holy scriptures, and as she meanders her way through myth and mantra, she imbeds her wisdom in Hindu faith.

(Rig Veda 3.58.6 – “Your ancient home, your auspicious friendship, O Heroes, your wealth is on the banks of the Jahnavi” [another name for Ganga]).

To watch the trailer to a great documentary about the Ganges today “Holy (un)Holy River” go HERE

map of the river Ganges India

Goddess Ganga

As a Goddess, beautiful Ganga Devi is worshipped for forgiveness & purification. Daughter of the Mountain God, Goddess Ganga, once married to Lord Vishnu alongside Saraswati and Lakshmi, was cursed to become a river by Saraswati during an argument between the three wives. She then flowed through the heavens, in the abode of Lord Brahma.

Ganga Stotram by Adi Shankaracharya

O Goddess Ganga! You are the divine river from heaven, you are the saviour of all the three worlds, you are pure and restless, you adorn Lord Shiva’s head. O Mother! may my mind always rest at your lotus feet.

O Mother Bhagirathi! You give happiness to everyone. The significance of your holy waters is sung in the Vedas. I am ignorant and am not capable to comprehend your importance. O Devi! you are full of mercy. Please protect me.

O Devi! Your waters are as sacred as “Charanamriti” of Sri Hari. Your waves are white like snow, moon and pearls. Please wash away all my sins and help me cross this ocean of samsara.

O Mother! those who partake of your pure waters, definitely attain the highest state. O Mother Ganga! Yama, the lord of death cannot harm your devotees.

O Jahnavi! your waters flowing through the Himalayas make you even more beautiful. You are Bhishma’s mother and sage Jahnu’s daughter. You are savior of the people fallen from their path, and so you are revered in all three worlds.

O Mother! You fulfill all the desires of the ones devoted to you. Those who bow down to you do not have to grieve. O Ganga! You are restless to merge with the ocean, just like a young lady anxious to meet her beloved.

O Mother! those who bathe in your waters do not have to take birth again. O Jahnavi! You are held in the highest esteem. You destroy your devotee’s sins and save them from hell.

O Jahnavi! You are full of compassion. You purify your devotees with your holy waters. Your feet are adorned with the gems of Indra’s crown. Those who seek refuge in you are blessed with happiness.

O Bhagavati! Take away my diseases, sorrows, difficulties, sins and wrong attitudes. You are the essence of the three worlds and you are like a necklace around the Earth. O Devi! You alone are my refuge in this Samsara.

O Ganga! those who seek happiness worship you. You are the source of happiness for Alkapuri and source of eternal bliss. Those who reside on your banks are as privileged as those living in Vaikunta.

O Devi ! It is better to live in your waters as turtle or fish, or live on your banks as poor chandal rather than to live away from you as a wealthy king.

O Godess of Universe! You purify us. O daughter of muni Jahnu! one who recites this Ganga Stotram everyday, definitely achieves success.

Beautiful Goddess Ganga rides a makara – crocodile like creature

The Story of Lord Vishnu and The Rive Ganges

While there are many stories regarding the birth and life of the Goddess Ganga, one main story of her birth relates to the story of the dwarf Vamana, the fifth incarnation of Lord Vishnu.

There once was an evil king called Bali. In a plan to end his tyranny Vamana went to Bali and asked him for three steps of land. Bali arrogantly agreed, thinking it only to be the three small steps of a dwarf. However, Vamana then took on his cosmic form of Lord Vishnu and placed one foot on the earth, one foot in the heavens, and one foot on Bali’s head.

A little reminder just here that are usually many different versions of these myths. Another popular version ends as Lord Vishnu took a step into heaven When He stepped into heaven, Lord Brahma reverently washed Vishnu’s feet. The water fell from Vishnu’s feet into Brahma’s pot, and out of this water Ganga was born

Or watch a 50min documentary on the River Ganges on you tube go HERE

 Story of Lord Shiva and The River Ganges

How the goddess Ganga came from the heavens to the earth is another story in the Hindu tradition, and it is this story that forms the basis of the Hindu belief that Ganga is a purifier of sins.

There was once a king named Sagara who had sixty thousand sons. One day, King Sagara decided to perform a ritual ceremony where a horse is set free  on the land to roam, and where ever he roams, those lands become  then belong to the king.

However, Lord Indra was jealous of Sagara and decided to steal and hide the horse in the underworld.

King Sagara, upset, sent his sixty thousand sons to find the horse and after searching the entire earth, they found it next to the meditating sage, Kapila. Believing Kapila to be the thief, the 60 thousand sons began to hurl insults at the great sage and disturbed his practices. Kapila opened his eyes – eyes which had not been opened for years – and by his spiritual power burned all sixty thousand sons to ashes.

Upon death, there were many long and intricate rituals that must be performed, including the immersion of ashes. However, as these sixty thousand sons were deep in the underworld, no one was able to perform their funeral rites, and they were left to  wander as ghosts for years.

For generations, the descendants of King Sagara tried, unsuccessfully, to coax Goddess Ganga to come to earth and purify the sixty thousand sons. Until one day a descendent performed intense penance and Brahma ordered Goddess Ganga to flow down to the earth.

However, Goddess Ganga was full of powerful shakti, Divine energy. And as she began her descent to earth, she swept away everything in her path. The only one strong enough to control Goddess Ganga was Lord Shiva.  So as Ganga poured from the heavens, he caught her in is long dreadlocks. Ganga was blessed through the touch of Shiva and flowed in calm streams to earth down the slopes of the Himalayas, as the River Ganges.

To listen to a beautifully told traditional story of Goddess Ganga’s decent (50mins) go  HERE

Lord shiva masters the shakti power of Goddess Ganga as the flows from the cosmic sky to the Himalayas

Sacred meaning of Ganga Maa

The River Ganges is believed to be the purest water because it originates in the sky and flows through the powerful Himalayas. The stories reveal powerful messages and metaphors of humility, compassion, protection and purification.  The life of the Ganges is a reminder of the power of devotion, determination, and of the divine forces that flow and shape the world. She reminds us that faith in the Divine can help us overcome any challenge or obstacle in life with grace, and acts as a sacred symbol of the interconnectedness of life, death, and the Divine

The deep bonds of faith people share with the Goddess – the River Ganga, go beyond the rational. They represent the ancient traditions and beliefs, the timeless pursuit of spiritual freedom & the intimate emotional connections that help heal the world by transforming human consciousness.

To join me travels to sacred Hindu lands go HERE