Ganga in Hindu tradition

In Hindu tradition the Ganga river is a deity and its waters are holy. In Hinduism the very name Ganga collectively represents all bodies of water. The symbolic and religious importance of Ganga is unchallenged in India.

The Ganga has an important position in Hindu culture and mentioned in all Hindustan's sacred books. In Hindu mythology Ganga is the daughter of the mountain god Himavan or Himalaya.

Hindus believe that bathing in the river cleanses one's sins, and Ganges water is used extensively in Hindu ritual.

Mythology of Ganga

The story of Ganga’s descent begins with the arrogant ruler 'Sagara' consumed by ambition to conquer the world and destroying all who challenge him. With his power growing and nobody to stop him, the gods in Heaven intervene and fool him into conducting an Ashwamedha (horse) sacrifice reserved for the gods. The sacrificial horse is stolen by God 'Indra' and Sagara’s 60,000 equally arrogant sons (born of his first wife) follow it into sage Kapila's hermitage where they are turned to ashes by angry sage for daring to disrupt his meditation. With King Sagara dying of grief, salvation of King Sagara's line it seems is doomed for generations.

Sagara's son 'Bhagiratha' (from his second wife) after becoming King then does great penance for his father. Deeply stirred by the fate of his ancestors, he leaves his throne to undergo two long and arduous penances in the Himalayas to bring Goddess Ganga to Earth so that her holy water could be used to liberate the souls of his ancestors and release them to heaven. His penance greatly pleases the gods and Lord Brahma permits Ganga to descend to Earth while Lord Shiva agrees to absorb Ganga's powerful descent in his locks of hair, which alone can withstand Ganga's earth shattering force.

With Ganga safely on earth, Bhagiratha performs his third penance and Lord Shiva releases Ganga in several streams. Ganga then follows Bhagiratha across mountains, forests and plains to his ancestors’ ashes at Ganga Sagar. Having purified their ashes and paved their way to heaven, Ganga disappears into the ocean.

NB: This myth is regarded as a simple description of the hydrologic cycle.