The Ganges is one of the world's greatest rivers. Its wide valley stretches across northern India and Bangladesh from the Himalayas to the Bay of Bengal. It is one of the most fertile of all agricultural regions. Its rice and other crops feed most of India and Bangladesh, where it is known as the Padma. The river is also an important trade artery.
Millions of Hindus venerate the Ganges as a "life-giving river" because their crops depend on its waters. To them the Ganges is sacred. They call it Gangamai, meaning "Mother Ganges." They believe that bathing in its waters washes away sin. To die on its banks assures eternal peace to the soul.
The Ganges is about 1,557 miles (2,506 kilometers) long. The Ganges Valley, or basin, is 200 to 400 miles (322 to 644 kilometers) wide. The total drainage basin covers an area of about 376,800 square miles (975,900 square kilometers). The river starts in an ice cave on the southern slopes of the Himalayas, some 10,300 feet (3,140 meters) above sea level.

It flows eastward and empties into the Bay of Bengal. Its mouths form a vast delta. At the delta it is joined by the southward-flowing Brahmaputra River. Their combined delta is the largest in the world. The delta begins more than 200 miles (322 kilometers) from the Bay of Bengal and lies mostly in Bangladesh. It is largely a tangled swampland.

Answered by Vipan Thapar , an ibibo Master, at 8:29 PM on September 12, 2008

well,The Ganges (IPA: /ˈgænʤiːz/, also Ganga pronunciation (help·info), Devanāgarī: गंगा, IAST: Gaṅgā in most Indian languages) is a major river in the Indian subcontinent flowing east through the eponymous plains of northern India into Bangladesh. The 2,510 km (1,557 mi) river begins at the Gangotri Glacier in the Indian state of Uttarakhand, in the central Himalayas, and drains into the Bay of Bengal through its vast delta in the Sunderbans. It has enjoyed a position of reverence for millennia among India's Hindus, by whom it is worshipped in its personified form as the goddess Ganga.

The Ganges and its tributaries drain a large – about one million square kilometres – and fertile basin that supports one of the world's highest-density human populations. It should be noted that almost half of the population of India live on one-third of the landscape within 500 km of the Himalayan range along the Gangetic plains north of Devanagari.

In his book Discovery of India, Jawaharlal Nehru writes,

The Ganges, above all is the river of India, which has held India's heart captive and drawn uncounted millions to her banks since the dawn of history. The story of the Ganges, from her source to the sea, from old times to new, is the story of India's civilization and culture, of the rise and fall of empires, of great and proud cities, of adventures of man…
source:en.wikipedia.org/ wiki/Ganges

Answered by Debashis , an ibibo Master, at 10:39 AM on September 11, 2008

Millions of Hindus venerate the Ganges as a "life-giving river" because their crops depend on its waters. To them the Ganges is sacred. They call it Gangamai, meaning "Mother Ganges." They believe that bathing in its waters washes away sin. To die on its banks assures eternal peace to the soul.
http://www.mydivineplanet.co m/theholyganga/sacredganga.htm

Answered by My creations , an ibibo Master, at 4:54 PM on September 10, 2008

Ganges is considered as the most sacred river of the Hindu Mythology. River Ganges is very much popular in India and is worshipped as a goddess. Ganga is the most revered river in the world. River Ganga is unique in itself with its mind blowing length and width. Many other rivers of the world exceed Ganga on these aspects but none of them can match the reverence and affection that is shown to Ganga by the people of India and the world.

According to the Puranas (Holy Scriptures of Hindus), the sight, the name and the touch of Ganga takes away all sins. As per Hindu thoughts, bathing in the river on special occasions causes remission of sins and facilitates the attainment of salvation. It is considered that Ganga bestows blessings of the highest order. People come from far and near to immerse the ashes of their kin in the waters of Ganga, with a belief that the ashes would go to heaven.
Gangajal, the water of Ganga, is regarded as the most pure and sacred water on this earth. Ganga water is used in various religious ceremonies of Hindus. Even Science has proved that Ganga water is pure and bacteria free. Gangajal can be kept for years without any problem.

According to Hindu Mythology, Ganga is considered as the celestial creature of heaven and it descends on the earth to rinse away the sins of the mankind. On the earth, Ganges or Ganga originates from the Gaumukha, Gangotri glacier in the central Himalayas, located in Uttarakhand, India. This is acknowledged as one of the holy pilgrimages of India.

Ganga represents the innermost pristine coolness, piety and purity. River Ganga enriches the spiritual lives of millions and millions of Indians for whom the river is divine. Holy River Ganga personifies Goddess Ganga who descends to the earth to rinse away the sins of the mankind. The river Ganga itself embodies all the characteristics India is known for: mythical, serene, all pervading and assimilative.
source; http://www.iloveindia.com/spir ituality/goddesses/ganga/index .html

Answered by Tingtong , an ibibo Master, at 8:08 PM on September 09, 2008

Winding 1,560 miles across northern India, from the Himalaya Mountains to the Indian Ocean, the Ganges River is not a sacred place: it is a sacred entity. Known as Ganga Ma—Mother Ganges—the river is revered as a goddess whose purity cleanses the sins of the faithful and aids the dead on their path toward heaven. But while her spiritual purity has remained unchallenged for millennia, her physical purity has deteriorated as India’s booming population imposes an ever-growing burden upon her. The river is now sick with the pollution of human and industrial waste, and water-borne illness is a terrible factor of Indian life. But the threat posed by this pollution isn’t just a matter of health—it’s a matter of faith. Veer Badra Mishra, a Hindu priest and civil engineer who has worked for decades to combat pollution in the Ganges, describes the importance of protecting this sacred river: “There is a saying that the Ganges grants us salvation. This culture will end if the people stop going to the river, and if the culture dies the tradition dies, and the faith dies.”

Answered by Anju Singh , an ibibo Master, at 5:58 PM on September 09, 2008

The Ganges is one of the world's greatest rivers. Its wide valley stretches across northern India and Bangladesh from the Himalayas to the Bay of Bengal. It is one of the most fertile of all agricultural regions. Its rice and other crops feed most of India and Bangladesh, where it is known as the Padma. The river is also an important trade artery.
Millions of Hindus venerate the Ganges as a "life-giving river" because their crops depend on its waters. To them the Ganges is sacred. They call it Gangamai, meaning "Mother Ganges." They believe that bathing in its waters washes away sin. To die on its banks assures eternal peace to the soul.

The Ganga has an exalted position in the Hindu ethos. It is repeatedly invoked in the Vedas, the Puranas, and the two Indian epics, the Ramayana and the Mahabharata Ganga is a goddess, Ganga devi, one of two daughters of Meru (the Himalayas), the other being Uma, consort of Shiva. In her youth, Indra had asked for Ganga to be given to heaven to soothe the Gods with its cool waters. The story of its descent to earth appears in slightly different forms in Ramayana (Bala Kanda: Vishwamitra narrates it to the child Rama), Mahabharata (Aranya Parba: Agastya narrates it to Rama), and in the Puranas. These myths are variously dated between 2000 to 400 BC.
visit www.mydivineplanet.com

Answered by Jyothi , an ibibo Master, at 11:22 AM on September 09, 2008

The Ganges is a major river in the Indian subcontinent flowing east through the eponymous plains of northern India into Bangladesh. The 2,510 km (1,557 mi) river begins at the Gangotri Glacier in the Indian state of Uttarakhand, in the central Himalayas, and drains into the Bay of Bengal through its vast delta in the Sunderbans. It has enjoyed a position of reverence for millennia among India's Hindus, by whom it is worshipped in its personified form as the goddess Ganga.

The Ganges and its tributaries drain a large – about one million square kilometres – and fertile basin that supports one of the world's highest-density human populations. It should be noted that almost half of the population of India live on one-third of the landscape within 500 km of the Himalayan range along the Gangetic plains north of Devanagari.

For more visit ;

http://en.wikipedia.org/w iki/Ganges

Answered by Ashish Yadav , an ibibo Wizard, at 10:43 AM on September 09, 2008

Many a things,information and knbowledge descend from the ancestors.These are wisdoms that have come from a lot of experiences.In the Satya Yuga, the Ganga had be benevolent enough and munificent in her blessings. It came directly from the Heavens.Brahma helped her descend, Shiva help it to gather its force.All these contribute to the sanctity of this river.Is not it a wonder that the water from the Ganges remain unspooiled even years after is preserved.That is one scientific reason that you will certainly appreciate.
Then the scriptures and the Holy Books all appreciate it and pray to it.That makes it all the more pious and holy.
You have only to learn to respect the sacred scriptures, the wisdom of the matter will automatically open to you.

Answered by Vijay Kayal , an ibibo Master, at 7:15 PM on September 08, 2008