Ganga is the sacred river of
India. Ganga originated from the Gangotri Glacier, which is located in the
western Himalayas. It is one of the major rivers of India, which is
approximately 1557 miles long. It flows into the eastward directions and
empties into the Bay of Bengal.
The history of the Ganga River is old as
the Indian civilization. For the years Ganga has been the only spectator of all
changes that have shaped the Indian history, culture and its people. It has
seen the rise and fall of many empires. It has been the prime witness of all
the religions especially Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam, Christianity and Jainism.
There are many stories
as to how river Ganga came down from haven to earth. According to the Indian
ancient books, King Sagar had sixty thousand sons who were burnt to ashes due
to the anger of saint Kapil Muni. They blamed that the saint has stolen a horse
of the ritual yagna of King Sagar. King Sagar took suggestion from various
saints regarding the salvations of his sons. They all suggested that if the
Holy Ganga is brought from the haven and the ashes of his sons were dipped in
it, their souls will definitely achieve nirvana or moksha. King Sagar requested
his son Bhagirath to worship Lord Brahma. He does the same for many years. When
Brahmaji was pleased, he asked him to release Ganga from his Kamandal and let
it flow on the earth. Brahma told that he would do as such but the earth will
not be able to tolerate the extreme velocity of Ganga. That is the reason Lord
Shiva received Ganga on his head. Lord Shiva did so but somehow Ganga got stuck
in his hair. King again worshiped Shiva to release Ganga from his hair. Since then
Ganga has been flowing on earth and is worshiped by billions.
