Sri Baladeva Vidyabhusana - Sri Ganga Puja -Sri Gangamata Goswamini

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Sri Baladeva Vidyabhusana - Disappearance

Sri Ganga Puja

Srimati Gangamata Goswamini - Appearance

 

Attached file: the descent of the river Ganges by His Divine Grace AC

Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada.

 

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Srila Baladeva Vidyabhusana

 

Srila Baladeva Vidyabhusana was a highly renounced, pure devotee, who

had not even a fraction of desire for name or fame. He compiled many

literature’s in order to benefit mankind. However he never mentioned his

birth place or anything about his family background and therefore the

details are not known for sure.

 

Historians have estimated that he was born sometime in the eighteenth

century, most probably in Orissa (possibly near Remuna). At a very early

age, he finished his studies of grammar, poetry, rhetoric and logic and then

went on pilgrimage. During this time he spent some time with the Tattvavadis

of Madhwacarya in South India and thus became conversant with the teachings

of Sri Madhwacarya. He became a powerful exponent of this philosophy

throughout India.

 

During his travels he again came to Utkaladesa (Orissa) and met with a

grand-disciple of Sri Rasikananda Deva, Sri Radha-Damodara Deva by name,

with whom he discussed philosophy. Sri Radha-Damodara Deva explained the

conclusions of Gaudiya Vaishnava philosophy as expounded by Sri Gaursundara

and requested him to consider the unlimited mercy of Sri Caitanya

Mahaprabhu. These talks penetrated his heart and awakened divine love

within. Thus, after a few days he was initiated with Radha-Krsna mantra and

began to study the Sat sandarbha of Sri Jiva Gosvami.

 

In a very short time he became very expert in Gaudiya Vaishnava philosophy.

With the permission and blessings of his guru, he moved to Sri Vrindavana

Dhama to further study these teachings under Sri Visvanatha Cakravarti

Thakura.

 

Sri Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura was extremely pleased to see the humble

and gentle nature and the renunciation and profound mastery of the Vedas

that characterized Baladeva. He carefully instructed him in

acintya-bhedabheda-tattva. Baladeva fully accepted the Gaudiya Vaishnava

philosophy and began to preach it with great vigor.

 

Around this time, the members of the Sri sampradaya began to raise some

arguments in the court of the king at Jaipur. They complained that as the

Gaudiya Vaishnavas had no commentary on the Vedanta sutra, they were not

qualified to worship the Deity and therefore the worship should be turned

over to the Sri sampradaya. They also objected to the worship of Srimati

Radharani along with Sri Sri Govinda-Gopinatha as not being authorised

anywhere in the shastras.

 

The king, Sadacari Raja, was initiated within the Gaudiya sampradaya. Thus

he quietly sent word to Vrindavana, informing the devotees there of what had

happened. But at the same time the king was obliged to remove Radharani from

the Deity room as well as suspend the Bengali Gaudiya Vaishnava pujaris from

partaking in the Deity worship.

 

At that time Srila Viswanath Cakravartipada was very aged, so it was not

possible for him to make the journey to Jaipur. In his place he sent his

student, Sri Baladeva, who was fully conversant with the shastras and thus

able to competently face the challenge. In a great assembly he posed such

forceful arguments to the followers of Ramanuja that they could not reply to

them. He further explained to them, "The originator of the Gaudiya Vaishnava

sampradaya, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, has accepted Srimad Bhagavata as the

natural commentary on the Vedanta-sutra, as composed by Srila Vyasadeva

Himself. This is proven in the Sat-sandarbha."

 

The scholars in the assembly however, refused to accept anything other than

a direct commentary on the sutra. Having no other recourse, Baladeva

promised to present them with one.

 

Feeling very aggrieved, Sri Baladeva came to Sri Govindaji's mandira and

after offering his prostrated obeisances, informed Sri Govinda of everything

that had happened. That night the Lord appeared to him in a dream and

instructed him to write a commentary on the Vedanta-sutra. "I will dictate

to you what to write and therefore no one will be able to refuse to accept

it."

 

Having seen such a wonderful dream, Baladeva was totally enlivened and felt

renewed strength flow into his heart. Thus he began to write, and within a

few days completed the commentary which was titled 'Sri Govinda Bhasya'.

 

Vidya rupam bhusanam me pradaya kyatim nitya tena yo mamudarah

Sri Govinda svapna nirdista bhaso radha bandhubandhurangah sa jiyat:

 

"May He Who so mercifully and munificently was kind towards me, and bestowed

his favour by ordering me in a dream to write down His own commentary, which

He would compose, and which attained such renown amongst the learned circles

that they bestowed upon me the title 'Vidyabhusana'; may that dear friend of

Srimati Radharani, who holds Him dearer than Her own life, be glorified. May

that Sri Govinda be glorified."

 

Bringing the commentary with him, Sri Baladeva again came to the assembly of

the Ramanandi scholars. After reading the commentary they were simply

speechless. Thus the victory of the Gaudiya sampradaya was announced far and

wide and the king, as well as the other devotees, began to float in the

ocean of bliss. The scholars then bestowed upon Sri Baladeva the title

'Vidyabhusana'.

 

This assembly took place in the year 1628 Sakabda, at Golta near the present

city of Jaipur. Baladeva Vidyabhusana installed the Deity of Vijaya Gopala

there at Golta Mandira, but the whereabouts of this Deity are at present not

known. From this day the Maharaja of Jaipur announced that Sri Govinda's

arati would be performed first and then the other temples could perform

their aratis.

 

After accepting defeat, the Ramanandi scholars expressed their desire to

accept initiation from Sri Baladeva Vidyabhusana. However, he declined their

request by stating that amongst the four authorised sampradayas, the Sri

sampradaya was highly respectable and the foremost adherent of dasya-bhakti

(devotion in servitorship). If there was any cause of loss of respect to the

sampradaya this might be considered an offense.

 

Returning from Jaipur to Vrindavana, Sri Baladeva presented the certificate

of victory to Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura and narrated all of the

events that had transpired. All of the devotees were in great ecstasy to

receive this news and Cakravartipada bestowed his full blessings on Sri

Baladeva. At this time, Sri Baladeva Vidyabhusana began to write a

commentary on Srila Jiva Gosvami's Sat sandarbha.

 

Sri Jaya and Sri Vijaya Govinda, residing at Gokulananda Mandira in

Vrindavana, were worshipped by Baladeva Vidyabhusana personally. According

to the opinion of some devotees, the Deities of Syamananda Prabhu, Sri Sri

Radha-Syamasundara, were installed by Sri Baladeva Vidybhusana.

 

After Sri Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura finished his pastimes in this world,

Sri Baladeva Vidyabhusana became the next acarya of the Gaudiya Vaishnava

sampradaya.

 

At the end of Vedanta syamantaka, Sri Baladeva Vidyabhusana acknowledges his

spiritual master thusly: "I have been sent here to Vrindavana by one

brahmana guru, Sri Radha-Damodar Deva, to present a composition named

Vedanta syamantaka, composed by his mercy for the pleasure of Srimati

Radharani."

 

Srila Baladeva Vidybhusana became known later as Sri Govinda dasa. He had

two well known disciples: Sri Vidya dasa and Sri Nandan Misra.

 

He is the compiler of the following books: (although there's a lot more than

this: Bhasya pithaka, commentaries on Gopala Campu, Krsna bhavanamrta,

Samsaya satini, etc.etc.) Sri Govinda bhasya, Siddhanta ratnam, Sahitya

kaumudi, Vedanta syamantaka, Prameya ratnavali, Siddhanta darpana, Kavya

kaustubha, Vyakarana kaumudi, Pada kaustubha, Isadi upanisad bhasya,

Gitabhusana bhasya, Sri Visnunamasahasra bhasya, Sanksepa bhagavatamrta

tippani saranga rangada, Tattva sandarbha tika, Stava mala vibhusana bhasya,

Nataka candrika tika, Candraloka tika, Sahitya kaumudi tika, Krsna nandini,

Srimad Bhagavata tika, Vaishnava nandini, Govinda bhasya siksma tika,

Siddhanta ratna tika, Stava mala tika.

 

CHANT HARE KRISHNA HARE KRISHNA KRISHNA KRISHNA HARE HARE

HARE RAMA HARE RAMA RAMA RAMA HARE HARE AND BE HAPPY

 

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SRI GANGAMATA GOSWAMINI

 

Sriyuta Naresh Narayana was the king of Puntiya, which was located in the

district of Rajshahi, part of the present country of Bangladesh. His only

daughter was named Saci, and she was very devoted to God from her very

childhood. In a very short time she became quite proficient in her studies,

especially in grammar and poetry. As she grew up everyone became stunned by

her blossoming youthful beauty. However, Saci was not attracted by any

earthly good-looking, well-to-do young men. She was only interested in Sri

Madana Gopala.

The king, Naresh Narayan began to think about his daughter's marriage. When

she came to know of this she told her father that she wouldn't marry anyone

who was subject to death. The king and queen put their hands to their heads

and sat down - their only daughter refused to marry! Thus they passed on

from this world, having no further work to do here. The responsibility for

governing the people now fell on Saci. For some days she attended to her

duties and then, after appointing her representatives she set out to visit

the holy places of pilgrimage. But she didn't feel satisfied within herself

anywhere. Thus she began to search out a guru. She eventually came to

Jagannath Puri, and after having darsana of Lord Jagannatha there for a few

days, she set out for Sri Vraja Dham. It was here that the benediction moon

of her good fortune rose. Seeing the spiritual prowess and renunciation of

Sri Haridasa Pandita Gosvami, who was a staunch follower of Sri Sri

Nitai-Gaura, she became very happy within herself and thought, "After so

many days I have finally found shelter." After falling at his lotus feet and

offering her obeisances, with folded hands she prayed for his mercy. "Ananta

Acarya was the disciple of Sri Gadadhar Pandit Gosvami. He was extremely

munificent in distributing love of Krsna. Who can discribe his glories. His

very dear disciple was Pandit Haridasa." [C.C. Adi] Sri Haridasa Pandita

Gosvami, in order to test Saci, told her that it wouldn't be possible for

the daughter of a king to practice the renunciation that she required in

order to serve the Lord in Vraja. Saci, however, could understand that this

was simply a pretense. Thus she began her service in total indifference to

the material world. Gradually she completely gave up wearing any ornaments

or fine cloth. One day Sri Haridasa told her, "If you can give up shyness,

pride and fear and beg from door to door then you'll be qualified to receive

my mercy. Hearing this Saci became very happy and covering her body with one

soiled cloth she went from door to door of the residents of Braja, to beg

something to eat. Her body became very thin and pale. But the Vrajabasis

could understand that she was not an ordinary woman because of her bodily

effulgence. The Vaisnavas were astonished by her great austerities. Though

she became quite thin, she took no notice of that and continued to regularly

bath in the Yamuna, clean the temple of the Lord, go on parikrama, attend

the arati ceremonies and hear discussions about Krsna. Seeing her intense

renunciation, Haridasa became eager to reward her. He called her and told

her, "Though you are the daughter of a king, the exertion with which you

have worshipped Sri Krsna and the degree of renunciation you have shown have

pleased me very much. Now be pleased to accept the divine mantra."

Thereafter on the thirteenth day of the bright fortnight of the month of

Caitra, Sri Saci was initiated in Radha-Krsna mantra by Sri Haridasa Pandita

Gosvami. Having received the eighteen syllable mantra, Saci became

completely imbued with love of Krsna. Though she was very destitute, she

began to serve Sri Guru and Govinda with intense devotion. Every day she

would listen to her guru explain the sastras. Within a short time she became

quite conversant in the literatures of the Gosvamis, and this was very

pleasing to everyone. Around this time, one other lady disciple of Haridasa

named Laksmipriya, who had a very pleasant demeanor, came to Vrindavana.

Laxmipriya used to chant three lakhas of Holy Names every day. Haridasa

instructed her to take Saci with her to Radha Kunda and worship the Lord

there. Thus the two of them came there and began to circumambulate

Govardhana hill every day. All at once Sri Haridasa Pandita called Saci back

and instructed her to go to Puri to preach the message of Lod Gaurasundara

to the pious people there. At this time almost all of the associates of

Mahaprabhu had given up their earthly pastimes in Puri. In accordance with

the order of her guru, Saci came there and took up residence in the house of

Sarvabhauma Bhattacarya. As no one had lived there for so many days, the

place was very run down. Only the Damodara sila that Sarvabhauma Bhattacarya

used to worship was remaining there. Saci resumed the regular worship of the

Lord and recite the Srimad Bhagavatam daily. Many people were very impressed

to hear her conclusive explanations of the sastras and thus they used to

congregate there. Saci's fame as an accomplished lecturer on the sastras

began to spread far and wide. One day, the king Mukunda Deva came to hear

her class. He was very pleased to hear such authoritative conclusions coming

from the mouth of this saintly mataji, so in his mind he wished to present

something to her. That very night he had a dream in which Lord Jagannatha

told him, "You should offer the place known as Sweta Ganga to Saci." Early

the next morning, the king came to see her, and Saci very meekly offered him

a seated and inquired as to the purpose of the visit. The king thus related

to her the order of Lord Jagannatha and requested her to accept the piece of

land adjacent to Sweta Ganga. Saci, however, was not interested in acquiring

property. She declined the offer. But the king insisted she accept this

royal grant of land, and finally she agreed after considering that it was

after all the order of Lord Jagannatha. Most pleased he could render her

some service, the king presented her with the deed to the parcel of land.

After the royal grant of land became known to the public, gossip that Saci

was previously the daughter of a king began to circulate around Puri. Once,

shortly before Mahavaruni (a day very auspicious for bathing in the Ganga),

Saci thought to herself how very much she would like to leave Puri and make

a pilgrimage to the Ganga for this occasion. But after considering that it

was her guru's order to remain in Sri Ksetra, she decided to abandon the

idea. But that night, Lord Jagannath spoke to her in a dream: "Saci!

Don't worry. On the day of Mahavaruni you should bathe in the Sweta Ganga.

Ganga Devi herself will personally come to join you there." Having seen this

dream, Saci was very jubilant. When the day of the Varuni bath arrived, in

the middle of the night Saci went to the Sweta Ganga alone. As she entered

into the water, a strong current suddenly gripped her and carried her inside

the Jagannatha Mandira, which was now flooded, much to her amazement, by the

sacred waters of the Ganges. There she saw thousands and thousands of the

residents of Sri Ksetra taking their baths. A great uproar resounded in all

directions from the recitation of prayers and hymns. In the midst of these

festivities, Saci very religiously performed the Varuni bath in the water of

the Ganga. Hearing the sound of what seemed to be a large crowd of people

within the temple, the watchmen outside hurried to the temple superintendent

who in turn informed the king. The king ordered them to enter the temple to

investigate. To the astonishment of everyone, they found Sri Saci Devi, the

reciter of the Bhagavatam, standing there alone. The priests of the temple

surmised that she must have smuggled herself into the building in order to

steal the ornaments of Lord Jagannatha. But others present felt it was

impossible for her to have done this. "There must be some mystery behind it

all," they said. So it was decided to confine her for trial and judgement.

Sacidevi didn't mind and very blissfully continued to chant the Holy Name.

Meanwhile, the King had a dream in which Lord Jagannatha very angrily told

him, "You should immediately release Saci. I personally caused the Ganga to

flow from My own foot; it was this that brought her into the temple so that

she could take bath on this auspicious day. If you are concerned for the

welfare of your subjects and your own good fortune, then along with the

temple priests you had better go and beg forgiveness at her feet and request

to become her disciples." After seeing this dream, the king awoke in very

worried state. He quickly completed his morning bath and immediately called

for the priests. They went to the place of Saci's confinement. The king

opened the door and fell down at her lotus feet to offer his obeisances. He

very humbly begged her forgiveness and submitted Lord Jagannatha's

instruction that he become her disciple.

Seeing the wonderful behavior of the king, she placed her hand on his head

that he might be benedicted. On the next auspicious day she initiated the

king with Radha-Krsna mantra. Many of the priests also accepted the shelter

of her lotus feet at this time. From that day she became known as Sri Ganga

Mata Gosvamini. The king wanted to donate some land to Sri Ganga Mata as

guru- daksina, but she declined, saying that she only wanted the king should

attain loving devotion to Lord Krsna's lotus feet. "I am not qualified to

accept anything more then this," she told him. But the king repeatedly

entreated her to accept something from him as guru daksina. Finally - for

the purpose of serving the Vaisnavas - she agreed. Thereafter, daily two

pots of Mahaprasad, one pot of vegetables, one remnant of Lord Jagannatha's

cloth and one hundred sixty kauris (small conchshells) were sent to the

asrama each day. That service is still observed to this day, the articles

are offered first to her samadhi. On one occasion a pandita of the name

Mahidhara Sarma came to the banks of the Sweta Ganga to offer oblations to

his forefathers. He happened to hear of the wonderful qualities of Sri Ganga

Mata and thus was inspired to have darsana of her lotus feet. He approached

her and in turn Ganga Mata very respectfully received him, offered him a

seat and inquired as to the purpose of his visit. This brahmana, though a

pandita, was a very simple and straightforward man, so he honestly stated

that he'd come to have her darsana and to receive spiritual knowledge from

her. She was very pleased with his simplicity and mercifully began to speak

the philosophy of the Srimad Bhagavatam to him. The panditji listened very

intently to her wonderful elucidation and thereafter accepted shelter at her

lotus feet. On an auspicious day she initiated him with Radha Krsna mantra.

Mahindhara Sarma's birthplace was Dhananjaypur. On the order of Sri Ganga

Mata he preached the glories of Sri Sri Nitai-Gaura at various localities in

the district of Ganjam. In the town of Jaipur within Rajasthan lived one

devoted and religious minded brahmana of the name Sri Candra Sarma. In his

house was a deity of Krsna called Sri Rasika Raya. The brahmana however,

was very poor and thus could not offer foodstuffs properly to the Deity. One

night Lord Jagannath appeared to the brahmana in a dream and told him, "The

swervice of Sri Rasika Raya, Who is present in your house is not being

conducted properly. You should straightaway bring Him here to Sri Ksetra and

deliver Him to Sri Ganga Mata, who resides on the banks of Sweta Ganga.

Otherwise some misfortune will befall you." Having received this order from

Lord Jagannatha, the brahmana didn't delay but immediately set cut for Sri

Ksetra. Arriving there, he inquired as to the whereabouts of Sri Ganga Mata

and thus presented himself before her. Seeing the Deity of Sri Krsna, Ganga

Mata became very happy. But when the brahmana explained to her the reason

why he had come she replied, "But I am simply a beggar. I eat by begging at

a few houses each day. How will I be able to serve this Deity? You had

better take your Deity with you. Please don't make me an offender." The

brahman didn't know what to do. He thought deeply about it and finally saw

no other recourse for him than to place the Deity of Sri Rasika Raya in the

tulasi garden of Sri Ganga Mata and flee away. Sri Rasika Raya appeared that

night in a dream to Ganga Mata and informed her, "I have come here to accept

your service. That brahmana put Me in your tulasi garden and then left this

place. I haven't eaten anything for a whole day. Please feed Me." Sri Ganga

Mata was struck with wonder. "The Supreme Lord Hari Himself is asking me to

feed Him." Meditating on this, she became filled with ecstatic love. The

hairs on her body stood on end. She quickly took bath and entered into the

tulasi garden. There she saw Sri Rasika Raya, shining in His own effulgence.

With her eyes full of tears, she fell down and offered her prostrated

obeisances. "Here He is," she thought joyfully, "still hungry." She picked

Him up and carried Him into her room, feeling very doubtful as to what she

should do. Finally she bathed him and made a simple offering of foodstuffs.

Sri Rasika Raya immediately ate everything. Ganga Mata was floating in an

ocean of happiness. She spread out a new piece of cloth and laid Him down to

rest. In the morning, when the devotees came to Ganga Mata's house, they

were astonished to see Sri Rasika Raya. When they heard the details of what

had happened they all cheered and chanted "Hari! Hari!" Every day, Sri Ganga

Mata would lovingly prepare many varieties of vegetables and cakes to offer

to Sri Rasika Raya. She would spend at least twelve hours every day serving

her Deity. For some days she served Sri Rasika Raya by begging at peoples'

houses but as she got on in years this became somewhat difficult for her.

Noting this, Sri Rasika Raya by some trick or other would collect the

necessary ingredients and paraphernalia from some rich merchants. But when

Ganga Mata saw that there were many deficiencies in the worship due to her

advanced age, she went before Sri Rasika Raya to pray for His forgiveness

and to inform Him that she was unable to serve Him nicely now. For this

reason she didn't want to remain alive any longer. Sri Rasika Raya told her

in a dream: "I am very pleased with your service. You shouldn't lament. For

a few more days you should continue to serve Me." Some days passed, but

again she told Him that she didn't want to remain any longer.

Her only request was that she might leave this world while chanting His Holy

Name. Sri Rasika Raya replied: "All right, don't worry any more. After

handing over My service to one of your qualified disciples, you should come

join Me in My eternal abode." Thereafter, she entrusted the worship of Sri

Rasika Raya to one very peaceful and self-controlled disciple of hers called

Vanamali Dasa. At the age of one hundred and twenty years, in the Christian

year 1721, on the eleventh day of the bright fortnight of the month of

Aswin, Sri Ganga Mata Gosvamini, while while seeing the graceful three fold

bending form of Sri Rasika Raya and meditating upon His lotus feet, entered

into His eternal pastimes. Her appearance was in the Christian year 1601.

The Deity of Sri Rasika Raya is still present in the house of Sarvabhauma

Bhatacarya, next to the Sweta Ganga.

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Gangapujan Dashahara or Dussehra

 

This is literally the "birthday or descent of mother Ganges - Ganga Ma".

Throughout india this festival lasts ten days beginning on the Amavasya

(dark moon night) and going through to the dasami tithi (tenth phase of the

Moon, the day before Pandava Nirjal Ekadasi)

"Festivals connected with rivers are essentially bathing festivals. Ganga

Dussehra is celebrated on the tenth day of Jyeshtha. River Ganga is

worshipped as a mother as well as a Goddess, particularly by people of

Uttara Pradesh, Bihar, and Bengal through which the river flows. On this

day, if a devotee is unable to visit and bathe in the river Ganga, then

Ganga jal (water) kept in most Hindu homes is used for purification. A bath

in the river is said to purify the bather of all sins. The Ganga is revered

all over India even in places far from its course.

Initially, river Ganga flowed in the heavens. She was brought down to earth

by the severe penances of the sage Bhagiratha and that is why she is also

called Bhagirathi. According to the story, of the descent of the Ganga, once

a number of demons were harassing the hermits by disturbing them in their

ascetic duties. During the day, they would be chased into the ocean. But in

the darkness of the night, they would emerge from the ocean and start

harassing the hermits again. In desperation the hermits appealed to Rishi

Agastya. Agastya, known for his gastronomic powers, drank all the water of

the ocean. Though this was done in good faith, it resulted in depriving the

world of the water needed for sustenance and the earth became parched and

dry. Bhagiratha brought this drought to and end.

According to the legend, King Sagara of the Ikshvaku dynasty ruling at

Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh had two queens, Keshani and Sumati, but neither had

a child. Sagara performed severe austerities before his wives could produce

sons. But whereas Keshani gave birth to a son called Asmajas, Sumati bore

60,000 sons. Sagara performed the Ashwamedha sacrifice to declare his

suzerainty over the neighbouring kingdoms. According to the prevalent

custom, the sacrificial horse was let loose and allowed to wander into the

neighbouring kingdoms. If the horse was caught, a battle ensued and the

outcome decided the winner. The 60,000 sons of Sagara were following the

horse when they saw him enter a cavern where sage Kapila was meditating. Not

seeing the horse in the cavern, they presumed that Kapila had captured it.

They did not kill Kapila as he was a sage but they started disturbing his

meditations. Annoyed at being disturbed, Kapila with a curse burnt the

60,000 sons of Sagara. Time passed and later Bhagiratha, the great grandson

of Sagara, chanced to come across the bones of his dead ancestors. He wanted

to perform the shraddha of his ancestors but there was no water available

for the ceremony. Agastya having drunk all the waters of the ocean, the

country was passing through a severe drought. Bhagiratha prayed to Brahma,

the Creator, to end the drought. Brahma asked him to pray to Vishnu, the

Preserver, to allow the heavenly Ganga, issuing from His big toe, to come

down to earth. Vishnu when prayed to by Bhagiratha agreed, but asked him to

request Shiva, the third member of the Hindu trinity of Gods, to allow the

torrential rain to fall on his head before it came to the earth as the river

was very forceful and if she were allowed to come down unchecked, her fall

would split the earth. Shiva agreed to take the gigantic weight of the

cascading Ganga on the matted hair piled high on his head. This ensnared and

delayed the progress of the river which, in meandering through the labyrinth

of his hair, lost its force and then gently descended to the Himalayas from

whence it flowed to the plains bestowing its waters on the parched earth.

And that is why the anthropomorphic image of Ganga is shown in the matted

hair of Shiva who is also called Gangadhara. Being born in the Himalayas,

Ganga is considered the elder sister of Parvati, who is also a daughter of

the Himalayas.

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 seven ways of worshipping the Ganga are: by calling out her name, 'Oh

Ganga'; having darshan of her; by toughing her waters; by worshipping and

bathing; by standing in the waters of the river; and by carrying clay dug

out of the river. Ganga in her anthropomorphic form is shown as a beautiful

young woman standing on a crocodile and holding a waterpot in her hands. Her

image, with that of the Goddess Yamuna, another sacred river deity, is often

depicted on the doors of temples and palaces. In Gujarat, there is a legend

according to which Ganga came down to the earth on Rishi Panchami, the fifth

day of Bhadra (September) at Tarnetar. There is a sacred tank where people

congregate for a holy bath on that day (pages 82-82.) (see Tarnetar festival

106-107, 120-121. not so relevant to us - nice pictures of the fair and

bathing ghats though.) (Shakti M. Gupta. 1991. Festivals, Fairs and Fasts of

India. Clarion Books)