The Hindu festival of Ganga Dussehra celebrates Ganga’s descent to earth. It is also called Gangavathara or Jeth ka Dussehra. Hindus in India celebrate it with great fanfare. Ganga Dussehra 2022 falls on June 9. It is celebrated on the 10th day of Shukla Paksha of Jyeshtha month and the day before Nirjala Ekadashi. But on some years, it may coincide with Nirjala Ekadashi.
As per mythology, on this day, the Ganga came down to earth to free the souls of King Bhagiratha’s ancestors from a curse. It is not the same as Ganga Jayanthi, which celebrates the day of her rebirth. Before Ganga’s descent to earth, she lived in heaven.
It is a 10-day festival, and the last day is Ganga Dussehra. It is an important festival in states like west Bengal, Uttarakhand, Bihar, and Uttar Pradesh, as cities like Varanasi, Haridwar, Rishikesh, Patna, Garhmukteshwar, and Prayagraj lie on the banks of the Ganges. The Ganga is also important to farmers as it helps irrigate crops. The waters of the Ganges are believed to be pure and holy, and people use the water during auspicious occasions. Ganga is depicted as a Goddess, and her mount is Makara (crocodile).
The Story of Ganga’s Birth
The Bhagavata Purana tells the story of Ganga’s birth. Lord Vishnu, as Vamana, stretched his left foot to touch the end point of the universe when he was measuring it. When he pressed his big toe to make a hole, divine Brahm-water, or the Causal ocean, sprung from it and flowed to the universe as the Ganges river. Because the river touched the feet of Lord Vishnu first, it has the names, Vishnupadi or Bhagavat padi. Ganga reached Brahma Loka or Brahmaputra (Lord Brahma’s abode) and remained there until it descended to earth.
Myth behind Ganga Dussehra
King Sagar, who ruled Ayodhya, was an ancestor of Lord Rama. He belonged to the Suryavanshi dynasty and performed the Aswamedha Sacrifice 99 times to establish his supremacy. The horse that he sent around the earth always returned to Ayodhya unchallenged. But during the 100th sacrifice, Lord Indra, the king of the demigods, kidnapped the horse and hid it in Sage Kapila’s ashram. The reason for it was jealousy.
King Sagar’s 60, 000 sons came to the ashram of Kapila looking for the horse, and, seeing it there, felt that Kapila was the abductor and attacked him. A furious Kapila burnt all the princes to ashes. As no final rites were performed for them, their souls were forced to wander as ghosts.
On hearing what had happened to his father and uncles, one of Sagar’s grandchildren, Anshuman, approached the sage and sought a solution for the problem. The sage told him that the waters of the Ganga would restore the dead princes to life. Anshuman, and later his son, Dilip, prayed to Lord Brahma to allow Ganga to descend to earth and liberate the souls of their ancestors. But it did not happen during their lifetimes.
King Bhagiratha, the son of Dilip, continued the efforts to bring the Ganga to earth from the heavens. This would purify the ashes of his forefathers and restore them to life. He did severe penance to make it happen. As a result, the Ganges descended to earth. But she was not happy about it and felt insulted. She decided to descend to earth in full force and destroy the earth. Fearing the catastrophe, Bhagirata prayed to Lord Shiva. The latter trapped the river in his matted locks of hair and thus softened the impact of her descent. Since then, Ganga became a part of Lord Shiva. This form of Shiva is Gangadhara.
Bhagiratha then led the river to the sea from the Himalayas. But he could not locate the exact spot where his forefathers’ ashes lay, so he told Ganga to follow her own course. So the Ganga divided herself into a hundred mouths in Bengal and formed the Ganges delta. One of these streams purified the ashes, and thus, the souls of Bhagiratha’s departed ancestors attained Moksha (salvation).
The island on which this incident supposedly happened is called Sagar island. Hindus bathe at the confluence of the river and the sea on Makara Sankranti, as it is holy.
Bhagiratha’s penance and the descent of the Ganges can be seen carved in stone at the Pallava heritage site, Mahabalipuram, near Chennai in Tamil Nadu.
Pooja Timing:
Ganga Dussehra is celebrated on the Dashami Tithi of Jyeshtha Shukla Paksha. According to the Hindu calendar, Drik Panchang, in 2022, Dashami Tithi will start at 8:21 PM on June 9 and will end at 7:25 AM on June 10.
Ganga Dussehra Rituals
Devotees begin the day by taking a holy dip in the Ganges. They believe that such a bath and donating money to charity can help them receive the blessings of Goddess Ganga and cleanse the soul of all sins. It is also believed that it can cure diseases. Hindus from all over India flock to the ghats of Haridwar, Prayagraj/Allahabad, Rishikesh, Garhmukteshwar, and Varanasi on Ganga Dussehra. They also do Pooja to Ganga and take part in Ganga aarti.
Bathing in the Ganges on all 10 days of the festival can supposedly cleanse the sins of 10 lifetimes. Devotees also light diyas and set them afloat on the river, which presents a beautiful sight, especially at night.
