The Ganges River is a sacred river and the embodiment of supreme power in India

Each nation has its own, individual anda truly revered symbol, a religious guardian, or even the very embodiment of a higher power. Hindus have such supreme and divine power, which can be touched, is the Ganges River. If a traveler who has fallen into the spicy land of India, calls a blessed water body by name, which we know from the lessons of geography and history - the Ganges, the Indians will irritate him with irritation: "Not the Ganges, but the Ganges." Because they call the river a feminine mode, identifying it solely with the feminine principle of the divine essence of the god Vishnu.

Honored as the earthly embodiment of the universal forceThe Ganges River gathers millions of people on its shores. They aspire to the sacred waters with an irresistible desire to wash away all their sins, to be purified by reason and body. Hindus believe that the Ganges River has healing properties and is a kind of shepherd who lets go of sin. When a Christian wants to repent, he goes to church. When a Hindu is bad at heart, and he wants to get rid of the yoke of sins, he dives into the Ganges. It was thanks to India that the expression "to wash away one's sins" became famous throughout the world. The water of the river is sacred, the same can be said about the cities located on the banks of the Ganges. These include Allahabad, Rishikesh, Varanasi, Hardwar and many others.

The rivers of India are a huge number of reservoirs,flowing as in the mountains of the Himalayas, and wading through the expanses of valleys and lowlands. However, none of them is so revered and sacred for the Hindus as the Ganges. There are a lot of legends associated with the appearance of this water sleeve. One of them reads as follows. In the heavenly paradise flowed a delightful river, the waters of which had medicinal and healing properties. Somehow, having learned about this, an Indian king, Bagirat, began to pray to Lord Shiva (one of the hypostases of the god Vishnu) that he would give a piece of a magnificent pond and his children - Hindus. The man's requests have been heard, and since then the inhabitants of the country are enjoying the sacred waters that the Ganges River gave them.

The second legend sounds completely different. It is told to me by the brahmanas at the Vaisnava Devi temple in the Himalayas. Little is known that the wife of Shiva - Sati (Devi) - had several hypostases, one of which was the female principle, the symbol of the mother - the goddess Mata Rani. It is with her name that the origin of the river is associated.

Once upon a time in the high mountains of the Himalayaslived a pastor who devoted his whole life to the ministry of Mata Rani. In the same village lived the evil Bheiron, who did not believe in any powerful force, except his own. He dreamed of eradicating faith in a goddess and making all people believe only in themselves. Bheiron sought to find Mata Rani and kill her. In order to give the man a chance to think better, the goddess disappeared into the cave of the Himalayas, on the way to which she struck a staff on a mountain mound. The earth split, and crystal-clear water poured out of it, which gave rise to the Ganges River.

It is believed that the sacred waters are not only washed awayall sins, but also serve as a path to a new world for the dead - they are the vehicle to paradise. Therefore it is not surprising that a huge number of deceased Indians seeking to get there, gives shelter to the Ganges River. Corpses of the deceased are burned at special funeral pyres. After the burning, the ashes are collected in an urn, and relatives, settled in a boat, disperse it over the sacred waters of the river.