The Ganga Dussehra Festival

“My bones are destined to make corals in the Ganga” – Swami Vivekananda

  

The river Ganga isn’t something that needs introduction, being the most sacred river to Hindus across the world. People from far and wide come here to expiate their sins in the holy water. The Ganga Aarti on the banks of the river is truly a sight to behold! The Ganga originates in the Himalayas in Uttarakhand, and flows down across North India and Bangladesh, finally ending its journey in the Bay of Bengal.

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Ganga Dussehra is a festival that celebrates the descent of the Ganga onto earth, and is celebrated along the major cities on the banks of the river like Allahabad, Haridwar and Rishikesh, although the epicenter of the festival is at Varanasi, also called Benares. It is celebrated on the tenth day of Jyeshtha, a month on the Hindu calendar. According to the Gregorian calendar, it falls somewhere in May-June. This festival is not to be confused with Ganga Jayanti, which celebrates the birth of the Goddess Ganga. Read on to know more about how this festival came to be.

The Story

The story of the Ganga river begins with the king Kapila whose meditation was disturbed by the king Sagara’s sixty thousand sons. Irritated beyond words, Kapila focused his burning stare on Sagara’s sons, reducing them to ashes and banishing them to the netherworld. Their only chance of escape was water from the Holy Ganga, who then resided in Heaven.

The task of freeing Sagara’s trapped sons was undertaken by one of his descendants, the king Bhagiratha. He meditates for years and is finally granted his wish. The Goddess Ganga agrees to descend to earth, but she warns him that her immense strength might destroy everything on earth. Bhagiratha pleads with Lord Shiva to help, and he finally agrees to let Ganga flow down to earth through the coils of his hair. It is this descent of the Ganga or ‘Ganga Avataran’ that is celebrated as the Ganga Dussehra festival.

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The Religious Significance

Due to the main characters in the story of Ganga’s descent, they are also the most worshipped during this festival – King Bhagiratha, Lord Shiva and Goddess Ganga. Ganga Dussehra is also called Ganga Dashami, and several rituals are held across the river banks, dedicated to these three main deities.

 

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The descent of Ganga is said to coincide with ten Vedic astrologic landmarks or Yogas. The combination of these yogas is said to absorb man’s sins when he takes a dip in the holy water. Dussehra is a mix of ‘Dus’ meaning ten and ‘hara’ meaning defeat. Thus this festival is also an occasion for destroying one’s sins, the belief being that you can attain salvation from ten of your sins – 3 physical, 4 verbal and 5 mental.

The Celebration

On Ganga Dussehra, idols of the Goddess Ganga is dressed in white clothes and decorated with white flowers and a pooja is conducted to worship her. Ideally, one should bathe in the river itself for salvation, but if it isn’t possible, it is recommended to bathe in regular water to which a little Ganga jal or holy water has been added. Many devotees fast for the whole day, abstaining from food and water and breaking their fast only after the moon rises. A bath in the Ganges is followed by eating fruit to break the day-long fast.

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The Ganga is a beautiful sight during this festival. Women float flowers, leaf boats and oil lamps in the river, filling the air with a lovely fragrance and the soothing sounds of temple chants and hymns. There are also large fairs to be seen, as well as donation centres, since it is considered auspicious to donate anything in numbers of ten, especially edibles and things that offer protection in summer, like shoes, clothes and umbrellas.

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Today, the festival of Ganga Dussehra is also an occasion to think about preserving the river and fighting pollution. The religious nature of the Ganga river attracts devotees from across the world, and several awareness campaign have begun to ensure that devotees keep the river clean and safe for other people as well as for the rich flora and fauna for whom the river Ganga is home as well. To quote Swami Vivekananda again, “See what an atmosphere of holiness is here -- the pure air of the Ganga -- what an assemblage of Sadhus -- will you find anywhere a place like this!”