Ganga Dasahara

[Guest guest]

Dear Family,

 

Namaste!

 

The next important festival on the Devi Mandir Calendar is Ganga Dasahara or Sri Ganga

Puja. This falls on Jyeshtha Maase, Shukla Pakshe, Dashami Tithau. That is June 6th.

 

Do you know why we celebrate Ganga Dasahara?

 

with love and prayers,

srini

[Guest guest]

Because Ganga Mata Rocks!

 

Jai Maa!

 

Surya

-

srini_sadhu

Thursday, May 25, 2006 3:38 PM

Ganga Dasahara

 

 

Dear Family,

 

Namaste!

 

The next important festival on the Devi Mandir Calendar is Ganga Dasahara or Sri Ganga

Puja. This falls on Jyeshtha Maase, Shukla Pakshe, Dashami Tithau. That is June 6th.

 

Do you know why we celebrate Ganga Dasahara?

 

with love and prayers,

srini

[Guest guest]

Srini said:

 

> Do you know why we celebrate Ganga Dasahara?

 

Namaste Srini and all,

 

I am not sure of the answer to the above question, but I would venture a

guess that it is to honor Mother Ganga, who, as Suryaji said, ROCKS !

 

I would like to share here the story of the origin of Ganga.

Acknowledgement and thanks to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ganges

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ganges>

 

===============================================

 

There are several legends that give various versions of the birth of

Ganga. According to one version, the sacred water in Brahmas Kamandalu

(water-vessal) became personified as a maiden, Ganga. According to

another (Vaishnavite) legend, Brahma had reverently washed the feet of

Vishnu and collected this water in his Kamandalu. According to yet a

third version, Ganga was the daughter of Himavan, king of the mountains,

and his consort Mena; she was thus a sister of the goddess Parvati.

Every version declares that she was raised in the heavens, under the

tutelage of Brahma.

 

Several years later, a king named Sagara magically acquired sixty

thousand sons. One day, King Sagara performed a ritual of worship for

the good of the kingdom. One of the integral parts of the ritual was a

horse, which was stolen by the jealous Indra. Sagara sent all his sons

all over the earth to search for the horse. They found it in the

nether-world (or Underworld) next to a meditating sage Kapila. Believing

that the sage had stolen the horse, they hurled insults at him and

caused his penance to be disturbed. The sage opened his eyes for the

first time in several years, and looked at the sons of Sagara. With this

glance, all sixty thousand were burnt to death.

 

The souls of the sons of Sagara wandered as ghosts since their final

rites had not been performed. When Bhagiratha, one of the descendants of

Sagara, son of Dilip, learnt of this fate, he vowed to bring Ganga down

to Earth so that her waters could cleanse their souls and release them

to heaven.

 

Bhagiratha prayed to Brahma that Ganga come down to Earth. Brahma

agreed, and he ordered Ganga to go down to the Earth and then on to the

nether regions so that the souls of Bhagiratha's ancestors would be able

to go to heaven. The vain Ganga felt that this was insulting and decided

to sweep the whole earth away as she fell from the heavens. Alarmed,

Bhagiratha prayed to Shiva that he break up Ganga's descent.

 

Ganga arrogantly fell on Shiva's head. But Shiva calmly trapped her in

his hair and let her out in small streams. The touch of Shiva further

sanctified Ganga. As Ganga travelled to the nether-worlds, she created a

different stream to remain on Earth to help purify unfortunate souls

there.

 

Because of Bhagiratha's efforts Ganga descended on to earth and hence

the river is also known as Bhagirathi, and the term "Bhagirath prayatna"

is used to describe valiant efforts or difficult achievements.

 

Another name that Ganga is known by is Jahnavi. Story has it that once

Ganga came down to earth, on her way to Bhagiratha, her rushing waters

created turbulence and destroyed the fields and the sadhana of a sage

called Jahnu. He was angered by this and drank up all of Ganga's waters.

Upon this, the Gods prayed to Jahnu to release Ganga so that she could

proceed on her mission. Pleased with their prayers, Jahnu released Ganga

(her waters) from his ears. Hence the name "Jahnavi" (daughter of Jahnu)

for Ganga.

 

It is sometime believed that the river will finally dry up at the end of

Kali Yug (the era of darkness, the current era) just as with the

Sarasvati river, and this era will end. Next in (cyclic) order will be

the SatYug or the era of Truth.

 

According to the Hindu scriptures, the goddess Ganga is foster-mother to

Karttikeya (Murugan), who was actually a son of Shiva and Parvati.

 

==============================

 

Jai Maa

Nanda <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ganges>

[Guest guest]

Dear all,

 

to Nandaji's valuable information I'd like to add from Swami Purana:

 

"Then Brahma said to Ganga, "Everything is arranged. You will marry

Shiva, as Narayana has spoken. Also you will have to go down to earth

and wash away the sins of men, according to the curse of Sarasvati.

Then you will unite with Sagar, the ocean, and together you will

purify and nourish the earth."

"But," objected Ganga, "if I go down to earth to wash away the sins

of men, then my waters will become polluted. Certainly I will become

foul and an object of hatred and scorn for all. If I purify the sins

of men, who will purify me?"

Then Brahma thought for a moment and replied, "As many sadhus and

pure souls who come to your banks and sing the names of the Divine

Mother, or of Krshna or Rama or Shiva, or any other names of the

divine, their divine chanting will purify your waters and make them

the object of the greatest respect. In fact no puja will be complete

without the offering of your waters. No matter where worship is being

performed, your presence will be invoked."

Then Ganga was very happy, and she agreed to Brahma's arrangements."

 

(p.180f)

 

As I understand, Ganga Dasahara is a celebration of Ganga's descent to

the earthly realm, where She cleanses us, body and soul. Apart from

the actual waters flowing through India, Mother Ganges also flows

through us, taking with Her our impurities, dissolving them into the

Ocean of Love. And every time we sit down at the banks of our inner

river of consciousness to pray, we pay Her our respect and add our

prayers to Her waters, which She then carries with Her as She flows

through all beings.

 

 

(and another thing: on page 179 of Swami Purana, we find the a

beautiful hymn to Ganga, composed by Narayana himself, recited daily

by Bhagiratha for thousands of years, whereby he won the boon of Her

descent to earth. The more I read this book, the more I love it. It is

a treasure house of wisdom, and there is more to it than I initially

recognized. Highly recommended!)

 

 

 

 

, "Nanda" <chandimaakijai

wrote:

>

>

> Srini said:

>

> > Do you know why we celebrate Ganga Dasahara?

>

> Namaste Srini and all,

>

> I am not sure of the answer to the above question, but I would

venture a

> guess that it is to honor Mother Ganga, who, as Suryaji said, ROCKS

!

>

> I would like to share here the story of the origin of Ganga.

> Acknowledgement and thanks to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ganges

> <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ganges>

>

> ===============================================

>

> There are several legends that give various versions of the birth of

> Ganga. According to one version, the sacred water in Brahmas

Kamandalu

> (water-vessal) became personified as a maiden, Ganga. According to

> another (Vaishnavite) legend, Brahma had reverently washed the feet

of

> Vishnu and collected this water in his Kamandalu. According to yet a

> third version, Ganga was the daughter of Himavan, king of the

mountains,

> and his consort Mena; she was thus a sister of the goddess Parvati.

> Every version declares that she was raised in the heavens, under the

> tutelage of Brahma.

>

> Several years later, a king named Sagara magically acquired sixty

> thousand sons. One day, King Sagara performed a ritual of worship

for

> the good of the kingdom. One of the integral parts of the ritual was

a

> horse, which was stolen by the jealous Indra. Sagara sent all his

sons

> all over the earth to search for the horse. They found it in the

> nether-world (or Underworld) next to a meditating sage Kapila.

Believing

> that the sage had stolen the horse, they hurled insults at him and

> caused his penance to be disturbed. The sage opened his eyes for the

> first time in several years, and looked at the sons of Sagara. With

this

> glance, all sixty thousand were burnt to death.

>

> The souls of the sons of Sagara wandered as ghosts since their final

> rites had not been performed. When Bhagiratha, one of the

descendants of

> Sagara, son of Dilip, learnt of this fate, he vowed to bring Ganga

down

> to Earth so that her waters could cleanse their souls and release

them

> to heaven.

>

> Bhagiratha prayed to Brahma that Ganga come down to Earth. Brahma

> agreed, and he ordered Ganga to go down to the Earth and then on to

the

> nether regions so that the souls of Bhagiratha's ancestors would be

able

> to go to heaven. The vain Ganga felt that this was insulting and

decided

> to sweep the whole earth away as she fell from the heavens. Alarmed,

> Bhagiratha prayed to Shiva that he break up Ganga's descent.

>

> Ganga arrogantly fell on Shiva's head. But Shiva calmly trapped

her in

> his hair and let her out in small streams. The touch of Shiva

further

> sanctified Ganga. As Ganga travelled to the nether-worlds, she

created a

> different stream to remain on Earth to help purify unfortunate souls

> there.

>

> Because of Bhagiratha's efforts Ganga descended on to earth and

hence

> the river is also known as Bhagirathi, and the term "Bhagirath

prayatna"

> is used to describe valiant efforts or difficult achievements.

>

> Another name that Ganga is known by is Jahnavi. Story has it that

once

> Ganga came down to earth, on her way to Bhagiratha, her rushing

waters

> created turbulence and destroyed the fields and the sadhana of a

sage

> called Jahnu. He was angered by this and drank up all of Ganga's

waters.

> Upon this, the Gods prayed to Jahnu to release Ganga so that she

could

> proceed on her mission. Pleased with their prayers, Jahnu released

Ganga

> (her waters) from his ears. Hence the name "Jahnavi" (daughter of

Jahnu)

> for Ganga.

>

> It is sometime believed that the river will finally dry up at the

end of

> Kali Yug (the era of darkness, the current era) just as with the

> Sarasvati river, and this era will end. Next in (cyclic) order will

be

> the SatYug or the era of Truth.

>

> According to the Hindu scriptures, the goddess Ganga is

foster-mother to

> Karttikeya (Murugan), who was actually a son of Shiva and Parvati.

>

> ==============================

>

> Jai Maa

> Nanda <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ganges>

>

[Guest guest]

This is nectarous!

 

There is a beautiful book by Harish Johari called "The Birth of Ganga". It tells the story in a sweet way that is easy for a child to understand and follow. The whole book is cover to cover with beautiful paintings of all the scenes from the story, including the ones mentioned below. I highly recommend it. My oldest daughter loved it and I am sure my younger one will too when She is old enough.

 

Here is one link to it on Amazon:

 

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0892816902/ref=sr_11_1/103-0985910-9532625?%5Fencoding=UTF8

 

Jai Gange Mata!

-

Nanda

Thursday, May 25, 2006 9:53 PM

Re: Ganga Dasahara

 

 

Srini said:

 

> Do you know why we celebrate Ganga Dasahara?

 

Namaste Srini and all,

 

I am not sure of the answer to the above question, but I would venture a guess that it is to honor Mother Ganga, who, as Suryaji said, ROCKS !

 

I would like to share here the story of the origin of Ganga. Acknowledgement and thanks to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ganges

 

===============================================

 

There are several legends that give various versions of the birth of Ganga. According to one version, the sacred water in Brahmas Kamandalu (water-vessal) became personified as a maiden, Ganga. According to another (Vaishnavite) legend, Brahma had reverently washed the feet of Vishnu and collected this water in his Kamandalu. According to yet a third version, Ganga was the daughter of Himavan, king of the mountains, and his consort Mena; she was thus a sister of the goddess Parvati. Every version declares that she was raised in the heavens, under the tutelage of Brahma.

 

Several years later, a king named Sagara magically acquired sixty thousand sons. One day, King Sagara performed a ritual of worship for the good of the kingdom. One of the integral parts of the ritual was a horse, which was stolen by the jealous Indra. Sagara sent all his sons all over the earth to search for the horse. They found it in the nether-world (or Underworld) next to a meditating sage Kapila. Believing that the sage had stolen the horse, they hurled insults at him and caused his penance to be disturbed. The sage opened his eyes for the first time in several years, and looked at the sons of Sagara. With this glance, all sixty thousand were burnt to death.

 

The souls of the sons of Sagara wandered as ghosts since their final rites had not been performed. When Bhagiratha, one of the descendants of Sagara, son of Dilip, learnt of this fate, he vowed to bring Ganga down to Earth so that her waters could cleanse their souls and release them to heaven.

 

Bhagiratha prayed to Brahma that Ganga come down to Earth. Brahma agreed, and he ordered Ganga to go down to the Earth and then on to the nether regions so that the souls of Bhagiratha's ancestors would be able to go to heaven. The vain Ganga felt that this was insulting and decided to sweep the whole earth away as she fell from the heavens. Alarmed, Bhagiratha prayed to Shiva that he break up Ganga's descent.

 

Ganga arrogantly fell on Shiva's head. But Shiva calmly trapped her in his hair and let her out in small streams. The touch of Shiva further sanctified Ganga. As Ganga travelled to the nether-worlds, she created a different stream to remain on Earth to help purify unfortunate souls there.

 

Because of Bhagiratha's efforts Ganga descended on to earth and hence the river is also known as Bhagirathi, and the term "Bhagirath prayatna" is used to describe valiant efforts or difficult achievements.

 

Another name that Ganga is known by is Jahnavi. Story has it that once Ganga came down to earth, on her way to Bhagiratha, her rushing waters created turbulence and destroyed the fields and the sadhana of a sage called Jahnu. He was angered by this and drank up all of Ganga's waters. Upon this, the Gods prayed to Jahnu to release Ganga so that she could proceed on her mission. Pleased with their prayers, Jahnu released Ganga (her waters) from his ears. Hence the name "Jahnavi" (daughter of Jahnu) for Ganga.

 

It is sometime believed that the river will finally dry up at the end of Kali Yug (the era of darkness, the current era) just as with the Sarasvati river, and this era will end. Next in (cyclic) order will be the SatYug or the era of Truth.

 

According to the Hindu scriptures, the goddess Ganga is foster-mother to Karttikeya (Murugan), who was actually a son of Shiva and Parvati.

 

==============================

 

Jai Maa

Nanda

[Guest guest]

Dear Srini,

 

Thanks for this opportunity. To add a bit to what has already been

said, here in the Caribbean region in the island called Trinidad can

be found a river called the Aripo river which is said by Pujya Swami

Ganapati to flow from the Ganga. Swami always does puja on the river

banks and takes a bath there when he visits

http://www.dattapeetham.com/india/tours/tour99/trinidadonweb/trinidad

1.htm

The river is said to be medicine for the body and soul.

 

Kalia

 

, "srini_sadhu" <srini_sadhu

wrote:

>

> Dear Family,

>

> Namaste!

>

> The next important festival on the Devi Mandir Calendar is Ganga

Dasahara or Sri Ganga

> Puja. This falls on Jyeshtha Maase, Shukla Pakshe, Dashami Tithau.

That is June 6th.

>

> Do you know why we celebrate Ganga Dasahara?

>

> with love and prayers,

> srini

>