Ganga River

The Ganges or Ganga, is a transboundary river of Asia which flows through India and Bangladesh The 2,525 km (1,569 mi) river rises in the western Himalayas in the Indian state of Uttarakhand, and flows south and east through the Gangetic Plain of India and Bangladesh, eventually emptying into the Bay of Bengal.The Ganges is a lifeline to millions who live along its course.It is a most sacred river to Hindus, and worshiped as the goddess Ganga in Hinduism.It has been important historically: many former provincial or imperial capitals (such as Patliputra, Kannauj, Kara, Kashi, Allahabad, Murshidabad, Munger, Bharampur, Kampilya and Kolkata) have been located on its banks.

This river is the longest in India.During the early Vedic age of the Rigveda, the Indus and the Sarasvati River were the major sacred rivers, not the Ganges. But the later three Vedas gave much more importance to the Ganges.The Gangetic Plain became the centre of successive powerful states, from the Maurya Empire to the Mughal Empire.

The Ganges is a sacred river to Hindus along every fragment of its length. All along its course, Hindus bathe in its waters, paying homage to their ancestors and to their gods by cupping the water in their hands, lifting it and letting it fall back into the river; they offer flowers and rose petals and float shallow clay dishes filled with oil and lit with wicks (diyas).On the journey back home from the Ganges, they carry small quantities of river water with them for use in rituals (Ganga jal, literally water of the Ganges).