Ganga Dusshera

The Ganga Dusshera was celebrated in Patna in a big way on Tuesday. Thousands of devout took a dip in the Ganges and brought a bit of the clay from the banks of the river home. The 10 day festival begins on Amavasya and comes to an end on Dashami.

Ganga Dusshera marks the day when Ganga descended on the Earth from her heavenly abode. According to legend, Sage Bhagirath, was able to please Devi Ganga and she agreed to come down to Earth. However Ganga was afraid that there would be widespread destruction on Earth if she descended swiftly from a great height. Bhagirath once again prayed to Lord Shiva who agreed to help him. Eventually, Ganges entered the locks of Lord Shiva and from there descended on the Earth.

The Ganga Dusshera is a festival of immense importance all along the Ganga belt especially in towns like the Allahabad, Patna, Varanasi to name a few. It is said that Ganga descended on Earth on this day.

Yes, I know of this festival. My sister who lives in Patna told me about this festival. She joined thousands of others in taking a dip in the river Ganga in Patna. It is said that Ganga arrived on Earth on this day.

Since early morning there was a big crowd of devotees thronging the banks to offer prayer and seek blessings. It is customary to offer fruits, food etc to the priests on this day. In the evening, my sister attended the Ganga Arti at Gaighat organized by the Ganga Sewa Nidhi of Benares.

Dear Joyshree
I think that while worshipping the river is OK we should spare a thought for the river. The river in Patna is so polluted that a certain chief minister performed the Chaat Puja in a swimming pool.
It is no easy task to wash away the sins of the devout particularly when the waters are already polluted. I understand that on the occasion of Ganga Dusshera some local voluntary groups organized a special cleanliness drive at a couple of the Ghats. Happily, on the occasion of the Ganga Dusshera, the present Chief Minister Sh Nitish Kumar announced a project of Rs 1000 crore to reduce the pollution in the river by cleaning up the drains.