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

Each nation has its own, individual and sincerely 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 correct him with irritation: "Not the Ganges, but the Ganges." Because they call the river a female lad, identifying it solely with the feminine principle of the divine essence of the god Vishnu.

Honored as the earthly embodiment of universal power, the 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 oppression of sins, he dips into the Ganges. It was thanks to India that the expression "to wash away our sins" became famous throughout the world. The river water is considered sacred, the same can be said of 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 both in the mountains of the Himalayas, and wading through the expanse 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 people of the country have enjoyed 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 connected.

Once upon a time, in the high mountains of the Himalayas, a pastor lived all his life dedicated 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 from it, which laid the foundation for the rise of the Ganges River.

It is believed that the sacred waters not only wash away all sins, but also serve as a way to a new world for the deceased - they are the vehicle to paradise. Therefore it is not surprising that a huge number of dead Hindus seeking to get there, gives shelter 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, settling in a boat, disperse it over the sacred waters of the river.