Ganga and Yamuna Rivers
Ganga and Yamuna Rivers
The Yamuna River and the Ganges are considered the most sacred rivers in India The Yamuna begins at Yamunotri in the Himalayas. The Ganges starts near Gangotri, where it is called the Bhagirathi River. When the Bhagirathi meets the Alakananda River it takes the name Ganga. The Ganges meets the Yamuna and the invisible, or underground, Saraswati at Allahabad (Prayaga).
Several other important rivers meet the Ganges such as the Gandaki, Kosi, Son, and Karnali on its way to the Bay of Bengal. About 450 km before reaching the Bay of Bengal, the Ganges divides into several rivers. The widest river goes into Bangladesh, and another branch heads south through Mayapur and Calcutta before reaching the Bay of Bengal at Gangasagar It is called the Hugli when it passes through Calcutta. The numerous holy places along the Ganges include Gangotri, Haridwar, Kankhal, Prayaga(Allahabad), Varanasi, Mayapur, and Gangasagara.
The Srimad Bhagavatam (5.17.1) glorifies the Ganges in the following words: "Sukadeva Gosvami said: My dear King Lord Vishnu, the enjoyer of all sacrifices, appeared as Vamanadeva in the sacrificial arena of Bali Maharaja. Then He extended his left foot to the end of the universe and pierced a hole in its covering with the nail of his big toe. Through the hole, the pure water of the Causal Ocean entered this universe as the Ganges River. Having washed the lotus feet of the Lord, which are covered with reddish powder, the water of the Ganges acquired a very beautiful pink color. Every living being can immediately purify his mind of material contamination by touching the transcendental water of the Ganges, yet its waters remain ever pure. Because the Ganges directly touches the lotus feet of the Lord before descending within this universe, she is known as Vishnupadi. Later she received other names like Jalmavi and Bhagirathi."
Srila Prabhupada writes in his purport to the above verse: "The water of the Ganges is called patita-pavani, the deliverer of all sinful living beings. It is a proven fact that a person who regularly bathes in the Ganges is purified both externally and internally. Externally his body becomes immune to all kinds of disease, and internally he gradually develops a devotional attitude toward the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Throughout India, many thousands of people live on the banks of the Ganges, and by regularly bathing in her wate they are undoubtedly being purified spiritually and materially. Many sages including Sankaracarya, have composed prayers in praise of the Ganges, and the land of India itself has become glorious because such rivers as the Ganges, Yamuna, Godavari, Kaveri, Krishna, and Narmada flow there. Anyone living on the land adjacent to these rivers is naturally advanced in spiritual consciousness.
Water from the Ganges does not get contaminated, even if stored for years. The purity of the Ganges is documented through Mr Henkin's research in the book The Ganga Trail. Water was taken from,the mouth of a sewer as it emptied in the Ganges and after six hours all t germs were dead. A corpse floating into Ganga was towed to the shore and water taken from beside it was found to be swarming with cholera germs, but after six hours all the germs died.
"In India there are five sacred rivers but the Ganges is the most sacred. River Ganges and Bhagavada gita are chief sources of transcendental happiness for mankind, and intelligent persons can take shelter in them. Even Sripada Sankaracarya recommends that a little knowledge in Bhagavadgita and the drinking of a little quantity of Ganges water saves one from the punishment of Yamaraja." Srimad Bhagavatam.
And from the purport to Bhagavatam (1.19.6): "Lord Ki lotus feet are always besmeared with tulsi leaves, and thus as soon as his lotus feet contact the water of Ganges and Yamuna, the rivers become at once sanctified.The Lord, however, contacted the River Yamuna more than the Ganges. According to the Varaha Purana, as quoted by SnIa Jiva Goswami, there is no difference between the water of the Ganges and the Yamuna, but when the water of the Ganges is sanctified one hundred times, it is called the Yamuna."
While taking bath in the Ganges or other holy rivers one should not make the water impure by spitting into or throwing any dirty substance in it.One should not wash clothes on its bank. |
