Ganga Dussehra festival and its importance

Ganga Dussehra Festival and Its Importance

Ganga Dussehra, also known as Gangavataran. This festival is celebrated every year on the tenth day of Shukla Paksha of Jyeshtha month with great enthusiasm all over India. This festival is one of the most important Hindu festivals celebrated to worship the river Ganges. On this holy day there is a huge crowd on the banks of the Ganges.

Ganga Dussehra is celebrated by Hindus mainly in the states of Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Bihar and West Bengal, where the river flows. Rishikesh, Varanasi, Haridwar, Allahabad, Patna and Garhmukteshwar are the main places of celebration.

According to Hindu mythology, Ganga descended on earth on this day. Sage Bhagirath had brought Mother Ganga to earth for the salvation of her ancestors, hence Mother Ganga is also worshiped in the form of Mokshadayini, impure holy Ganga. On this day, by consuming Ganges water or bathing in the Ganges, one attains salvation, gets rid of unintentional sins and sufferings and destroys ten types of sins.

In many states of India, many rituals such as offering of floating lamps in the river and Maha Aarti are organized on this festival in the main dhams. The Yamuna River is also worshiped at many places and kite flying programs are organized.

Devotees take holy dip in Yamuna at places like Mathura, Vrindavan and Bateshwar and offer watermelon and cucumber offerings, not only that, drinks like lassi, sharbat and shikanji are also distributed.