River Ganges

This sightseeing attraction is related to the countries:IndiaBangladesh

The Ganges River is one of the largest rivers in South Asia and the third fullest river on the planet. The Ganges originates in the Western Himalayas from the Gangotri Glacier in the state of Uttarakhand, flows southeast across the Indo-Gangetic Plain in northern India, and flows into the Bay of Bengal, forming with the Brahmaputra and Meghna rivers a delta mainly in Bangladesh, part of which is covered by the Sundarban forests. The river basin covers an area of 1,060,000 km².

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Video: Gateway to the Ganges

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Highlights

Hindus consider the Ganges to be a divine celestial river that descended from the heavens. This is partly due to the importance of the Ganges in the lives of the people of India and Bangladesh. The Ganges delta is the largest on the planet, and the river basin is one of the most densely populated areas on Earth, and the river water provides a home for hundreds of millions of people.

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Apart from its direct economic importance, the Ganges epitomizes the complex system of religious beliefs of the peoples of North India. Hindus make pilgrimages to the river, perform ritual ablutions, and scatter the ashes of the dead in the water. On the Ganges there are three sacred cities – Allahabad, Varanasi, Haridwar. However, virtually the entire length of the river is centered on countless Hindu places of worship. Even the headwaters of the Bhagirathi River at an altitude of 3,700 meters is a major pilgrimage center.

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The Ganges cities of Kanpur, Patna, Kolkata, Khulna and others are rich in myriad architectural monuments, among which examples of European architecture figure prominently.

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Channel and direction of flow

For most of its course, the Ganges is a typical plains river with a slow and calm flow, although it originates high in the Himalayas, fed by numerous tributaries that also flow from the mountains. The Indo-Gangetic plain, which accounts for most of the river’s course, is extremely flat. The difference in elevation between Delhi, located on the Jamna River, and the Bay of Bengal, 1,600 km apart, is only 210 meters. The gradient of the Ganges between Haridwar and Allahabad is 0.22 meters per kilometer and from Allahabad to Kolkata 0.05 meters per kilometer. The channel itself is winding, forming numerous arms, many rolls, islands, straits between arms, and shoals.

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The direction of flow of the Ganges changes several times: from the source of the river flows to the southwest, at Haridwar turns to the southeast and flows in this direction to Allahabad, then, almost to the confluence with its tributary Koshi – directly to the east, and from the confluence of Koshi – in a southeastern direction. Thus the main channel and some of the arms of the Ganges flow in a south-easterly direction and then return southward as far as the Bay of Bengal, while others, such as the Bhagirathi and Jalangi, go immediately southward. Some of the arms merge with the Brahmaputra and Meghna arms and flow into the Bay with them. The width of the river in its middle, widest part varies from 800 to 1,500 meters. In its lower reaches, the river diverges into numerous branches, forming a 300 km long and about 350 km wide delta in common with the Brahmaputra.

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Catchment area and water regime

The Ganges basin is the largest in terms of area in South Asia. Although smaller in length than the Indus and Brahmaputra, the Ganges surpasses them in the size of its basin, which covers an area of 1,060,000 km², and together with the basin of the Brahmaputra, with which the Ganges forms a common delta, 1,643,000 km².

Part of the river’s supply is rain-fed, due to moisture brought by the southwest monsoon and tropical cyclones (downstream) from July to October, and part is snow-fed, due to the Himalayan snows that melt from April to June. The river basin receives very little precipitation in December-January. On average, precipitation in the basin ranges from 760 mm/year in the western part of the basin to over 2,300 mm/year in the east. In most of the river proper, except in the delta, precipitation ranges from 760-1,500 mm/year. The delta often experiences heavy cyclonic downpours both during and after the monsoon season, i.e. from March to October.

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As a result of the variable rainfall regime, the river is subject to annual flooding, although not as periodic or prolonged as the known flooding of the Nile. The two main wet seasons are April through June (as a result of snowmelt) and July through September (as a result of the monsoon). Thus, during the monsoon season, the water in the area around the cities of Varanasi and Allahabad can rise by 15-16 meters. In winter, the water level in the river drops to a minimum.

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The total water mass of the river is very large, for example near Varanasi, at a distance of 1,224 km from the mouth of the Hooghly branch, even in the dry season the Ganges is 430-440 m wide and up to 12 meters deep, and during the rainy season it is 900-950 m wide and up to 20 meters deep. The average amount of water carried by the river into the Bay of Bengal is estimated at 12,000 m³/s (for comparison, the Ganges’ flow is about eight times that of the Dnieper).

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The river is characterized by very turbid water throughout the year due to the large amount of sediment in suspension. About 180 million m³ of sediment is deposited in the delta every year and this determines the change in the color of the water in the Bay of Bengal, which is noticeable as early as 150 km from the coast. When the river returns to its banks after seasonal overflows, it leaves behind a huge amount of silt, which provides extreme fertility to the soils of the plain.

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Geography

The Ganges is conventionally divided into three parts:

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  • the upper reaches (about 800 km, from the source to the city of Kanpur),
  • middle (from Kanpur to the India-Bangladesh border, about 1,500 kilometers in a straight line),
  • lower (from the Bangladesh borders to the mouth, about 300 kilometers).
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Upper reaches

The main source of the river is the Bhagirathi (not to be confused with the Bhagirathi branch of the Ganges of the same name), originating in the Gaumukh region (the name of the lower part of the Gangotri Glacier) in the Himalayas in the Indian state of Uttarakhand, at an altitude of 7,756 meters above sea level. Near the spring is the village of Gangotri, the same name as the glacier, a sacred place of residence of the goddess Ganga and an important Hindu pilgrimage center.

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Heading northwest, the Bhagirathi takes near the village of Bhairongkhati at an altitude of 2,770 meters a turbulent tributary of the Jadh Ganga (Jahnavi), which was previously considered by Europeans for the source of the Ganges. Then the river flows through the Lower Himalayas at an altitude of 2,478 meters and near the village of Devprayag, at an altitude of 636 meters, joins the clear Alaknanda, which also originates from the Himalayan glaciers. From this place, the river gets the name “Ganges.”

The combined waters of the Bhagirathi and Alaknanda flow through the Shivalik hill chain at an altitude of 403 meters near the holy city of Haridwar and, flowing through the swampy Tera plain, emerge into the vast, extremely fertile Indo-Gangetic plain. In its upper reaches, the Ganges is carried by a turbulent stream mainly in a southerly direction, and leaving the mountains behind, it becomes calmer and turns to the southeast. It is only in the plains that the river becomes navigable, although before the construction of the Ganges Canal, ships came up to what is now Rajaji Park.

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Middle reaches

In the middle reaches, the Ganges slows down as it floats southeastward into the ocean, forming numerous meanders near where the major cities of Kanpur, Allahabad, Mirzapur, Varanasi, Patna, Bhagalpur (India), Rajshahi (Bangladesh), and others are located. Though in a straight line the length of this stretch is 1,529 kilometers, but through the bends the length of the riverbed is actually 2,597 kilometers. Before reaching Kannauj, the Ganges receives a large tributary Ramganga on the left side. Further, at Allahabad, its main tributary – Jamna (Yamuna) – which together with the Ganges (according to legend also with Saraswati) form the so-called Triveni Sangam, sacred for Hindus, and with its crystal-clear waters widens the bed of the dirty yellow Ganges up to 800 meters. As a result of significant withdrawal of Ganges water, the Jamna carries on average about one and a half times more water than the Ganges before the confluence, so according to formal hydrological rules downstream the river should be called Jamna, but due to deep traditions and beliefs the question of renaming the existing name is not raised. Along the Allahabad, the Ganges is joined by the Gomti on the left, the Tamsa and the Karmanasha on the right, and just above Patna, the Ghaghra on the left, the Son on the right, and opposite Patna, near Hajipur, a large tributary of the Kali Gandaki.

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Finally, below Bhagalpur, the Ganges takes in the multi-water Koshi, descending directly from the Himalayan mountains. Reaching in its middle course a width of 1,500 meters with a depth of not more than 10 meters, the Ganges turns abruptly to the southeast, entering the flattest western part of the Indo-Gangetic plain. Here its lower course begins, where it branches into delta arms. Near Sahebganj, the huge Bhagirathi branch branches off to the left, and the main channel of the Ganges gets the name Padma from this place. After 100 km further downstream, another large branch, the Jalangi, separates from the Padma.

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Lower course and mouth of the river

After traversing the lowlands for 160 km, the Bhagirathi and Jalangi branches join to form one common branch, the Hooghly, on which the city of Kolkata is located. After joining the Damodar River near the city of Chandannagar, the Hooghly becomes accessible to naval vessels, and near Sagar Island, below Calcutta, flows into the Bay of Bengal. Having given up some of its water to the Hooghly branch, the Padma, the main branch of the Ganges, continues its movement to the south-east and, breaking up into smaller branches (Martabanga, Guru, Chundna), takes in a large tributary of the Mahananda on the left, and near the town of Rajbari joins the Jamuna, a powerful branch of another river sacred to the Bengalis, the Brahmaputra.

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The combined waters of both rivers pour into the Bay of Bengal, merging with the Meghna. From Rajbari onwards, a true delta of the Ganges and Brahmaputra is observed, the most complex and largest on the globe, subject to constant change. The stretch of land between Hooghly and Meghna is called the Sundarban. It is a labyrinth of swamps, rivers, arms and bays along the Bay of Bengal 265 km long and 350 km wide, studded with suddenly appearing and often just as quickly disappearing muddy and sandy islands covered by vast tracts of forests, partially inundated by floods and sea tides that leave layers of silt and the remains of washed away animals and plants on the islands.

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The Ganges Delta is divided into eastern (more active) and western (less active) parts. The Sundarbans, the largest mangrove forest region in the world, is part of the Ganges Delta. Farther inland from the coastline, the delta dries up very quickly after floods, forming the fertile part of Bengal. It is now almost entirely used for agriculture, and the last uninhabited areas are covered with luxuriant, almost impenetrable vegetation. Despite the risks of floods, tsunamis and tropical cyclones (more than 700,000 people were killed by these natural phenomena in 1961 and 1991), the Ganges Delta continues to be home to more than 145 million people.

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Flora and fauna

As we know from historical accounts, the Ganges and Jamna valleys were covered with dense forests, and as late as the 16th and 17th centuries, there were still significant untouched areas. These forests were home to elephants, buffaloes, rhinos, lions and tigers. The Ganges coastal zone, through its tranquil and fertile environment, attracted many varieties of waterfowl, at least 140 species of fish, 35 species of reptiles and 42 species of mammals.

Rare species of animals that are now protected are still widespread in this territory – brown bear, fox, leopard, snow leopard, several species of deer (including spotted deer), musk deer, porcupine and others. Butterflies and other insects of a variety of colors are also common here.

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Due to increasing population pressure from humans, all the fauna slowly moved from the Ganges valley to the remnants of forests. In the Indo-Gangetic plain, deer, wild boar, wild cat, wolf, and many species of foxes can sometimes be found. Freshwater dolphins of two species, river and Gangetic sharks and other freshwater fish are found in the river.

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Most biodiversity is preserved at the mouth of the river, at the junction with the Bay of Bengal in the Sundarban region, where very many forms of poorly studied and rare flora and the jewel of the region’s fauna, the Bengal tiger, are still common. Typical fishes of the area include Notopteridae, Carpus, Clarium frog catfish, creeping Guram and Chanos.

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Agriculture and Fisheries

The water from the river is widely used by the people for domestic needs. A huge volume of it is taken by industrial facilities throughout the region. Even more water is used for irrigation of agricultural land. The Ganges and its tributaries, thanks to the fertile soil of the Indo-Gangetic Plain, play an important role in the economies of India and Bangladesh, providing irrigation water to vast areas of these countries. The main crops grown in this region are rice, sugarcane, lentils, oilseeds, potatoes and wheat. Along the banks of the river, near marshes and lakes, beans, pepper, mustard, sesame and jute are also grown on fertile soils.

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To irrigate the land in the Doaba region between the Ganges and Jamna rivers, the long Ganges Canal (or Upper Ganges Canal), 1305 km long, was built by the British government in 1848. In 1878, a continuation of this canal, the Lower Ganges Canal, was opened. Now the Ganges Canal runs from the city of Haridwar southward to the city of Aligarh, where it branches into two branches to the cities of Kanpur and Etawah, respectively. The first branch runs roughly along the Ganges, while the second branch runs along the Jamna to the town of Hamirpur.

The Ganges River has traditionally been rich in fish, gavial crocodiles and the local species of Gangetic soft-shelled turtles. Despite the decline in the numbers of these animals in modern times, they are all caught and consumed by the coastal population. Fishing is most developed at the mouth of the river, where an extensive network of fish processing plants has been built. There are also many fishing opportunities along the river, although there is still a problem of high water pollution and, as a consequence, a decline in the fish population.

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Pilgrimage and tourism

Tourism is another related and often the main activity of the people of the region. The main type of tourism is pilgrimage, the service of which forms a significant part of the economy of the holy cities (Haridwar, Allahabad and Varanasi) in the central regions and, to a lesser extent, in the upper reaches of the river. The rapids of the Ganges River in its upper reaches (from Gangotri to Rishikesh) are also a popular rafting destination, attracting hundreds of outdoor enthusiasts during the summer months.

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Ganga legends and references in classical literature

There are many legends of Hinduism associated with the river. The river Ganges and its personification in the person of the goddess Ganga, are mentioned in the oldest Indian literary works, particularly the Vedas, Puranas, Ramayana and Mahabharata. The common feature of all these legends is its celestial origin. At the beginning of time, the Ganga was exclusively a celestial river, but later descended to earth, flowing now in all worlds of the Hindu cosmography. Most legends are connected with its birth, with its descent to earth and with certain episodes of its stay on earth. The legends emphasize Ganga’s ability to purify or remove sins, her significance as a symbol of motherhood, and her importance as a mediator between worlds.

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There are several versions of Ganga’s birth. Thus, according to the Ramayana, Ganga was the daughter of Himavan, the possessor of the Himalayas, and his wife Mena, she is the sister of the goddessParvati. According to another legend, the sacred waters from Brahma’s kamandalu were personified in the image of this goddess. Later Vaishnava interpretations of this legend describe that the water in the kamandalu was obtained by Brahma from the washing of Vishnu’s feet. According to the Vishnu Purana, the Ganga came out of the big toe of Vishnu’s left foot. In any case, it was raised up to Swarga (heaven) and ended up in the care of Brahma.

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The most famous legend associated with the Ganga is the legend of Bhagiratha as told in the Ramayana and Bhagavat Purana. When KingSagar, the ruler of a major Indian state, performed ashwamedha, the royal rite of horse sacrifice, the horse disappeared, possibly stolen by Indra, and the king’s sons blamed the theft on the sage Kapila. Kapila, however, destroyed and cursed the princes, leaving the only chance of their salvation the immersion of their ashes in the waters of the Ganga. The new ruler of the state, Bhagiratha, took up the task. He was forced to perform tapas for many years for the satisfaction of Brahma and Shiva. Bhagiratha first requested that Brahma should order the Ganga to descend, and then that Shiva should take the mighty stroke of its falling waters to the earth. Thus Bhagirathi succeeded in accomplishing the tasks, and the upper reaches of the river were named Bhagirathi after him. According to other variants of this legend, Shiva trapped Ganga in a trap made of his hair and released it in small rivulets. Shiva’s touch granted Ganga even greater sacred significance. Since then, the river has flowed through all three worlds: Swarga (heaven), Prithvi (earth) and Naraka (hell), hence its name Tripathaga – “traveling through the three worlds.”

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Several other legends about Ganga are connected with her role as a mother. Thus, according to “Skanda-purana”, it was ablution in the waters of Ganga that gave life to Ganesha, created by Shiva and Parvati from the mixture of their bodies. In addition, according to the “Mahabharata”, Ganga was the mother of the bodily incarnations of the Vasu gods, whom (except Dyaus or, in their earthly incarnation, Bhishma) she drowned immediately after birth to free them from mortal life, to which they were cursed by the rishi Vasishtha.

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In art, Ganga is depicted as a sensuous and beautiful woman carrying an overflowing jug in her hand, which symbolizes the richness of life. She is often depicted sitting on her vahana, Makara, an animal with the body of a crocodile and the tail of a fish.

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Rites and ceremonies associated with the river

The Ganges is most important to Hindus, who make up the vast majority of the population along its banks. Of all the rivers in the world, it is the river that is most revered. The waters of the Ganges, according to legend, have the power to purify and remove sins, and the river itself remains a symbol of holiness and purity, despite the physical pollution of its water.

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The main ritual associated with the river is simply bathing in its waters. Residents of the surrounding areas often come to bathe in the river daily. Many pilgrims from all over India and other countries come to the river solely for the purpose of performing the sacred ablution, which is considered mandatory at least once in a Hindu’s life. The best time for ablution is dawn, at which time Hindus also pray to the sun. After ablution, Hindus pray to one or more deities and offer them gifts, usually fruits, sweets, and flowers.

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Also an important ritual performed on the ghats of the Ganges is Aarti. During this ritual, lighted lamps made of tree leaves with a wick dipped in ghee are presented to the gods. It is believed that the longer the lamp burns, the greater the chances of the Hindu asking the gods to fulfill the request. An important element of this ritual is songs dedicated to the gods, sung at the same time as the offering.

The Ganges is a popular burial site. Since the river in Hinduism is the link between Earth and Heaven, it is believed that when Hindus throw the ashes of their dead relatives into the waters of this river, they help them to attain moksha (salvation) and enter heaven. Therefore, cremation at any place along the river is desirable for Hindus. Often people carry the dead across the country to this place, and fires are constantly burning on the banks of the river to burn the dead. If cremation on the banks of the river is not possible, relatives can later bring the ashes to the Ganges, and some companies offer to transport them even from abroad and perform appropriate ash scattering ceremonies. The poorest Indians, however, often, because of the perceived high cost of cremation wood, the cost of electric crematoriums, and the cost of Brahmanas, find the ceremony excessively expensive, and simply throw the dead bodies into the water.

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Numerous pilgrimage centers on the river hold festivals on certain Hindu holidays, attracting thousands to tens of millions of visitors. The largest festival is the Kumbha Mela, held every three years in one of four cities, two of which, Haridwar and Allahabad, are on the banks of the Ganges. This festival, held in 2007 in Allahabad, attracted about 70 million people. Another major festival that is held every year in Varanasi is the Ganga mahotsava. This festival is not only a religious festival but also a big cultural event in the life of the country. It showcases folk songs and dances, among other things.

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The water of the river is highly valued among Hindus. Pilgrims often fill containers with this water and take them home or to the local temple. Brahmans, and now entire companies, are engaged in the commercial supply of this water to other parts of the country. A jug of Gangetic water can be found in almost every Hindu home. It is used in all major Hindu ceremonies, particularly for washing a newborn child, during a wedding, before death (as the “last meal” on earth) and during funerals when it is not possible to transport the ashes of the deceased to the river itself. In addition, this water is the basis of many traditional medicines in India.

Although the river’s great religious significance is only for Hindus, Indian and Bangladeshi Muslims also use the river for religious purification of the body when praying.

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Pilgrimage centers

The Ganges is considered a sacred river throughout its entire length, but most of the river is lacking in transportation infrastructure and is difficult to access, and only a relatively small number of towns along its banks have become important centers of pilgrimage and tourism.

The first of these settlements is Gangotri, located at the source of the Bhagirathi River, the main source of the Ganges. This settlement is built around a central temple dedicated to the Ganges and is among the four sites of the Chota Char Dham pilgrimage route, which also includes Yamunotri, which is located near the source of the Ganges’ main tributary, the Jamna (Yamuna). Due to significant pollution of the river’s water downstream, water for ceremonies in other parts of India is usually drawn here.

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Further downstream is the town of Devprayag, where the Bhagirathi merges with the Alaknanda to form the Ganges River proper.

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The next pilgrimage center is the town of Rishikesh, the world center of yoga. Although the city contains many temples, not many of them are actually dedicated to the river proper, so the city is considered secondary to the pilgrimage.

The Ganges then flows down the Ganges River, where it flows through the city.

Next, the Ganges flows past the city of Haridwar, where the river first enters the Indo-Gangetic plain and the Ganges Canal branches off from it. Traditionally, Haridwar is considered one of the most important pilgrimage centers on the river. The city plays an important role for both Vaishnavas and Shivaites, and its name can be translated as “Vishnu’s Brahma” (spelled Haridwar) or “Shiva’s Brahma” (spelled Hardwar). It is believed that Vishnu left his footprint in the city when he himself performed ablution in the waters of the Ganges. Also according to legend, it is one of the four districts where the heavenly bird Garuda spilled the elixir of immortality amrita from its jug, hence the largest Hindu festivals, the Kumbha Mela or “festival of jars.”

Allahabad (also Prayag – “place of confluence of rivers” or Aggra – “place of sacrifice”), located at the confluence of the Ganges with the Jamna (Yamuna), is believed to be the place where Brahma made the first sacrifice after the creation of the world. It is the second of the four places where Garuda spilled amrita and is also the site of the Kumbha Mela festival. It is here that legend has it that the sacred river of the Rig-veda, Saraswati, comes to the surface and joins the Ganges, which later disappears from the Earth’s surface.

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The next pilgrimage center on the river is Varanasi (also Benares or Kashi), the city most associated with the river itself and its religious significance. The city is also famous for its folklore and is considered the cultural capital of India. According to legend, Varanasi is one of the oldest cities on Earth and was founded by Shiva about 5,000 years ago. Now the city is visited by more than a million pilgrims every year, not only Shivaists and Vaishnavites, but also Buddhists and Jains.

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Downstream the river overflows much more, and the monsoons make its annual floods extremely destructive, so that the worship of the river gradually fades away and the towns downstream do not have as much religious significance associated directly with the river.

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Of the cities in the river delta, Rajshahi, a landmark for Bengalis, has the greatest religious significance. It was here that one of the largest Hindu festivals, Durga Puja, originated, which is still an extremely important festival and is held in many other places. The festival celebrates the arrival of Rama, who intends to marry Durga at her father’s house in the Himalayas. The festival is characterized by the creation of sculptures of the goddess for which clay is collected from the Ganges. In Muslim Bangladesh, Rajshahi is the main center of this Hindu festival and is a large carnival attended by people from all walks of life and all religions.

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Symbolic meaning and references in popular culture

The symbolism of the Ganges and its frequent references in literature are primarily due to its immense importance in the lives of a large number of people living on its banks and directly or indirectly dependent on it. “Besides its religious significance, the Ganges is a place of work for carriers, fishermen and laundresses, a watering place for livestock, elephants and wild animals, a source of life-giving silt necessary for the growth of rice, and a place of morning toilet and bathing in the hot Indian summer. All this, however,” as Mark Twain wrote after his first trip to India, “does not, however, deprive this eternal river of its beauty, nor does it prevent it, from time immemorial, from charming to the point of madness those who come to its banks.”

The river Ganges occupies an important place in Indian classical literature and folklore, from Vedic times to Bollywood. The Ganges has been comprehensively described in classical literature by ancient, medieval, and modern poets and novelists who wrote in a variety of languages. Many popular Indian movies revolve around this river, and even more popular songs. For example, the song Jis desh mein Ganga behti hai (“I live where the Ganges flows”) is an extremely popular song in India. This popularity is largely due to the river’s association with India itself, of which it is an important symbol.

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