Ganga Dusshera

Ganga Dusshera

S N Rao

The Ganga Dusshera festival is celebrated on the Shukla Dashami tithi of Jyeshta month. This year it happens to be on the 21^st June 2010. It is an auspicious day to worship and perform religious rites to the river Ganga.

The festival is celebrated in North India. The devotees visit the holy river Ganga to offer their prayers and perform pooja. Aartis are performed at twilight and a large number of devotees meditate on the serene banks of the river Ganga.

According to the legends, Gangavataran or the descent of the Ganga, happened at this time. Ganga Dussehra celebrates the birth of the descent of river Ganges to earth. The river Ganga is the known as the Mother Ganges - Ganga Ma as it is known in Vedic scriptures is the most sacred river in India and Dussehra is the 10th tithi (the 10^th day after the new moon) this festival is celebrated. The festivities begin on the new Moon on 12 June  and culminate on the 10th tithi on June 21. Devotees throng to the major pilgrimage sites along the River Ganga and perform Punya  snan. Punya means virtue, ethics, good karma and snan is bathing. This is a ritual bathing in order to gain punya and let go of the negative karmas.  They also offer pujas( prayer) and aratis (worship with lighted oil lamps) to Goddess Ganga. Usually devotes create a small offering with a lighted lamp and flow it in the river gangas. As thousands of these lights flow- it is a beautiful sight to behold.

According to the Agni Purana and Padma Purana, the Ganga descended to the earth on Ganga Dussehra day and a bath in the holy river on this day is said to purify 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 river Ganga holds a uniquely significant place in Indian life and consciousness. It rises at Gangotri, high in the snow-clad Himalayas. Cascading down mighty boulders, it flows into the hot plains of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and finally meets the waters of the sea in the Bay of Bengal. At Allahabad, the Ganga merges with the river Yamuna and the mythical river Saraswati. The confluence of these rivers, known as Prayag, is considered one of the most sacred spots on earth.

During this festival and especially on Ganga Dussehra, the devotees take a dip in the holy rivers of Ganga to purify them of all sins. If they are unable to do so, they purify themselves by sprinkling of Ganga Jal (water of the Ganges) that is kept in most Hindu homes. If you want to something special for Ganga Dussehra and are not near the Ganges or have access to the holy Ganges water. You can use pure water either from your tap or a good bottled type. Chant the purification Mantra to purfiy this water and sprinkle on your head three times and then over the home and family. You could chant the mantras for Ganga or visualize the beauty of Ganges and meditate of letting go of your past and clearing of the negativity.

During this festival ten days of the month are devoted to the worship of Holy River Ganga venerated by the Hindus as a mother as well as a goddess. Places such as Rishikesh, Haridwar, Garh-Mukteswar, Prayag, Varanasi etc where Ganga flows hold special significance on this day. Devotees flock to these places and Varanasi with its numerous ghats situated on the west bank of the Ganga, to touch the river water, bathe in it and take the river clay home to venerate. In Haridwar, 'aratis' are performed at twilight and a large number of devotees meditate on riverbanks. In Hardwar, at the foothills of the Himalayas, where the Ganga reaches the plains, aratis are performed each evening.