The Holy Ganga river is one of the world’s most ancient & famous rivers of all time. Ganga is such a river whose water is different from any other river on the Earth. Ganga is such a river that flows not only on the earth but also in the expression of the public in the form of proverbs and idioms. People believe that sins get destroyed by bathing in the Ganga river ―which is not true however.
Due to its popularity and glory, it became a part of spiritual rituals performed by Hindu devotees. What is the secret of Ganga water? Why does the Ganga water never spoil over time? How did Ganga originate? How did it come to Earth? Read till the end to know all of it along with Ganga River’s History & Origin.
Why Is Ganga a Holy River?
With no scriptural-basis, it is a widely held belief among Hindus that bathing in the holy water of the Ganga River cleanses a person of all sins and brings new sanctity to life. Because of its purity and sacredness of Gangajal it is linked to nectar in Indian beliefs. The ashes of the deceased are also thrown into this river, which is thought to represent a portal to heaven. Thousands of pilgrims pay their respects to the Ganga, which has a lot of mythical significance.
History of Ganga River
The Ganga River begins in the Himalaya Mountains in Gomukh, where the Gangotri Glacier meets Ganga. When this glacier’s ice melts, it creates the clean waters of the Bhagirathi River. The Bhagirathi River meets the Alaknanda River as it runs down the Himalayas, forming the Ganga River.
The Greek ambassador Megasthenes (350–290 BCE) was the first European explorer to mention the river Ganga. India, again, boasts several rivers both vast and navigable, which, having their sources in the mountains which reach along the northern frontier, pass the level region, and many of these, after merging with one other, descend into the river known as Ganga. Now, this river, which is 30 stadia wide at its source, travels from north to south and empties into the ocean.
Ganga River Latest Map
India accounts for around 79 percent of the area of the Ganga basin. The basin encompasses 11 states:
- Uttarakhand
- Bihar
- Uttar Pradesh
- Rajasthan
- Madhya Pradesh
- Himachal Pradesh
- Haryana
- Jharkhand
- Chhattisgarh
- Delhi
- West Bengal
Haridwar, Rishikesh, and Varanasi have famous Ganga Ghat. Ganga water pollution is rising day by day which is making the water adulterated with pollutants. Due to the high inflow of lichens and mosses from lakes and ponds during the rainy season, Ganga turns pale green in color.
Length of Ganga River
The total length of the Ganga river which starts from Gaumukh in Uttarakhand is about 1560 Miles or 2510 Kilometres and its basin area is about 1.32 million km².
Route of Ganga River
The Ganga River surges in the southern part of the Himalayas, on the Indian side of China’s Tibet Autonomous Area. Its 5 headstreams are the Alaknanda, Bhagirathi, Pindar, Mandakini, and Dhauliganga. All of these originate in the hilly region of northern Uttarakhand state.
Direction of Ganga River
The sacred river is fed by melting water from the Himalayas, as well as water from tributaries and rains. The Ganga River travels south and east from the Himalayas, carving a canyon as it exits the mountain range. It flows through northern India before draining into the Bay of Bengal. Many of the Ganga’s tributaries originate in the neighbouring countries of Nepal, Bangladesh, and China’s autonomous region called Tibet.
Real Story of the Origin of Ganga River
In paintings and sculptures, we have seen the river Ganga coming out of the hair of Shiv ji. We have heard folklore about how Shiv ji brought the Ganga River from the sky onto the Earth using his hairs (Jata). While the real story of the origin of the Ganga river is something else. In reality, the Ganga river flows from a place called “Jata Kundli” in Shivlok and not from the Jata (hair) of Lord Shiva.
■ Read in Hindi: कैसे हुआ गंगा नदी का उद्गम, क्या है इसका इतिहास, आखिर क्यों गंगाजल खराब नहीं होता?
All the gods and goddesses have their world (Loks). Just as Brahma Ji has his world (Brahma Lok), Vishnu Ji has his world (Vishnu Lok) and Shiva Ji has his world (Shiv Lok). There are lakes and rivers in every world. Similarly, there is a place where water is flowing from Vishnulok to Shivlok in the form of the river Ganga. Jata Kundli is a huge dam situated at the topmost place of Shivlok, where the water of Ganga is stored.
The Jata Kundli dam took 6 months to fill completely and then it started overflowing and revealed itself at Gaumukh in Uttarakhand where it got freezed, from where it flows in various parts of India. This shows that the Ganga does not belong to Shivlok. It was sent from Amar Lok i.e. ‘Satlok’ and flowed from Brahmalok to Vishnulok to Shivlok and then to earth.
How Did Ganga Come to Earth?
Why is the water of the Ganga the cleanest and clearest in the whole world? How is this possible? The water of river Ganga is clean and holy, and there is no other water source on this whole earth that has similar water. It is because Ganga was sent from ‘Satlok’, which is the supreme most place and the only imperishable abode. There is a Mansarovar full of Nectar (Amrit) in Satlok, out of which only a handful was sent to Brahmlok in the form of River Ganga. Brahmlok is the world of Kshar Brahm or Jyoti Niranjan, the father of Brahma, Vishnu, and Mahesh and from there again Ganga came to Brahmalok then to Vishnulok and then came to a place called Jata Kundli in Shivlok.
Role of Bhagirath in the Arrival of Ganga to Earth
After coming to Shivlok, it was brought to earth by the king Bhagirath through penance. The water started to overflow from the Jata kundli dam. Just then, Bhagirath started doing penance to bring Ganga on earth. Shiv Ji saw the overflowing water and knew that it would flow to earth now, so Shiva appeared to king Bhagirathi and “blessed” that it would arrive. Ganga would come to earth even if no one did penance or give blessing to bring her because she was sent by Supreme Father Supreme God Kabir Saheb for the purpose that we can get proof as a sample on earth that in reality, the water of Ganga has come from that imperishable world which never gets destroyed. Satlok is the place from where only a handful of Ganga has come in the form of vapor and yet Ganga is the largest river of India.
The Imperishable World Satlok
Satlok is the place of Param Akshar Brahm KavirDev (Lord Kabir Saheb). Nothing gets spoiled there, nor do its residents die or grow old. There are imperishable lakes and mountains of Ghee, Milk, Butter, and Honeydew in ‘Satlok’. Where we all souls used to live peacefully and happily. According to the Vedas, in every age, the Supreme God Himself comes and plays the role of a Tatvdarshi Saint, and after giving initiation, takes us to the native place by sharing true spiritual knowledge.
The master of Satlok is imperishable, unchangeable, supreme, omnipotent, omnipresent, merciful, and immortal, His name is Almighty God Kabir Saheb. He is the supreme entity that exists. In that imperishable world, nothing is destroyed. Everything is everlasting and is available to everyone in unlimited quantities. There is no sorrow, suffering, or grief, etc. The souls residing there are called ‘Hans’ and they remain young forever. In Satlok there is no disease, no pain, no depression, no worries, no fear, no old age, and no death.
How Can the Imperishable World ‘Satlok’ Be Attained?
It is a humble request to the entire human society to start listening to the nectar speech of Saint Rampal Ji Maharaj and understand the true spiritual knowledge that can give us supreme peace and happiness. Start preparing to go back to our real home ‘Satlok’ by taking name initiation from Saint Rampal Ji Maharaj and by doing true worship of Almighty God Kabir based on Holy Scriptures of all the religions from where Ganga came to this Kaal Lok.
