What is the importance of the Ganges river?
What is the importance of the Ganges river?
Today, the river flows through well-populated regions of India, providing freshwater to the millions of people living in these regions. The river is also used for fishing, irrigation, and bathing, and it is worshiped in the Hindu religion as the Mother Ganga.
Why is the Ganges River important to Hinduism?
The River Ganges is important in its own right. Some Hindus believe that it flowed from heaven to purify humans. Many Hindus believe water (known as ‘Gangaa jal’) from anywhere on the River Ganges is purifying and holy.
What diseases can you get from the Ganges River?
Water in the Ganges has been correlated to contracting dysentery, cholera, hepatitis, as well as severe diarrhoea which continues to be one of the leading causes of death of children in India.
Why is Ganga so sacred?
Winding 1,560 miles across northern India, from the Himalaya Mountains to the Indian Ocean, the Ganges River is not a sacred place: it is a sacred entity. Known as Ganga Ma—Mother Ganges—the river is revered as a goddess whose purity cleanses the sins of the faithful and aids the dead on their path toward heaven.
Is the Ganges river safe to drink?
HIGHLIGHTS. The Ganga river water is absolutely unfit for “direct drinking” and only seven spots from where it passes can be consumed after disinfection, the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) has said. A map released by the CPCB shows high level of coliform bacteria in the river.
Is Ganga water special?
A study commissioned by the Union Water Resources Ministry to probe the “unique properties” of the Ganga found that the river water contains a significantly higher proportion of organisms with antibacterial properties.
It is said that the river gave life to the people, and, in turn, people gave life to the river. The name of Ganga appears only twice in the Rig Veda, an early sacred Hindu text, and it was only later that Ganga assumed great importance as the goddess Ganga.
Why is the Ganges referred to as the Mother Ganga?
As a nod to the goddess, the Ganges is often referred to as Ma Ganga, or Mother Ganga. Because of the purifying nature of the river, Hindus believe that any rituals performed at the banks of the Ganges or in its water will bring fortune and wash away impurity. The waters of the Ganges are called Gangaajal, meaning literally “water of the Ganges”.
Where are the places of pilgrimage near the river Ganges?
Some Hindus visit the Gangotri Temple in the Himalayas. It is situated near the source of the River Ganges, where the water is believed to be purest. Many pilgrimage sites are situated near to the River Ganges and reflect how important it is to Hindus. Many stories in scripture feature the river.
Why did Lord Shiva release Ganga in the river Ganges?
Another myth details how Ganga was intent on wreaking havoc on the earth with her descent as a raging river seeking revenge. In order to prevent the chaos, Lord Shiva caught Ganga in the tangles of his hair, releasing her in the streams that became the source for the River Ganges.