According to Hindu mythology, if a person breathes their last in Varanasi and cremated at the banks of the Ganges, they will attain salvation. It is also believed that if a person dies somewhere else and their ashes can be brought and immersed in the Ganges, the departed soul will attain salvation.
Where is the Gangotri glacier located?
The Gangotri glacier is situated in the Uttarkashi district of Uttarakhand, from where the river Bhagirathi flows and meets the Alaknanda in Devprayag. Ganga is formed after this confluence. Ganga River flows from here and fall into the Bay of Bengal. Gangotri is a pilgrim place for Hindus. There is also a temple dedicated to Ganga.
Let us tell you that Devprayag is situated at an altitude of 830 meters above the sea level. Its nearest city is Rishikesh, which is 70 kilometres away. This place is considered to be one of the Panch Prayags of Uttarakhand state.
Do you know how Devprayag name is formed? There is also an ancient story behind this. We all know that Devprayag is a pilgrimage associated with Lord Shri Ram. According to the ancient legend, in a Sat Yuga, a Brahmin named Dev Sharma had done a very harsh penance then; Lord Vishnu gifted him a boon that this place would be famous with his name in the long run. From then onwards it was started to be called as 'Dev Prayag'.
Tributaries of Ganges from the north: Yamuna, Ramganga, Karnali (Ghaghra), Tapti, Gandak, Kosi.
Tributaries of Ganges from the South: Chambal, Son, Betwa, Ken, Southern Tons.
Some more facts about River Ganga
- Do you know that river Ganges is the fifth most polluted river in the world?
- Compared to other rivers, the river Ganga has more than 25% oxygen level.
- It is said that the water of Ganga has special power to fight with bacteria.
- The water of the Ganges never deteriorates.
- A special research in Delhi's Research Centre has found that mosquitoes cannot be born in Ganga water.
- British laboratory found that if bacteria were mixed in the Ganges water, then all the bacteria will die within 3 hours.
- D.S. Bhargava, University of Environment Engineer Roorkee studied and found that Ganga is the only river in the world which can disintegrate organic waste 15 to 25 times faster than other rivers all over the world.
- Ganga and Brahmaputra are the largest river delta in the world, spread over an area of 59,000 sq. Km.
- In the past few decades, the Ganga has moved up to 500 meters from its original course in Hardwar. Since 1990, in Bihar also some parts of the river have moved back from its original course up to 2.5 km.
Therefore, we can say that the important tributaries of river Ganges are Bhagirathi and Alaknanda. When these two rivers meet in Devprayag, sacred River Ganga is formed and this place is famous as Devprayag Sangam. No doubt this pilgrimage site has its own importance.