Every Hindu home has a small copper pot of water of the Ganga. A few drops of water is poured into the mouth of a dying person since it is considered “holy water”. What is so special about Ganga that it makes it the most “desired river” than the other rivers in the country? It emerges at Gomukh, in the Gangotri glacier, due to the changes in the atmosphere, the ice glacier is melting. Additionally, the glacier receives the rays from the moon, the sun and jupiter which impacts the quality of water. Scientists have said that the Ganga has more oxygen than any other river. Servants of the East India company would carry Ganga water on their 3-month journey to England since it did not deteriorate.
Ganga was a river flowing in the heavens. How did she come down to the Earth? The story starts with a king named Sagara, who performed the Ashwamedha sacrifice for the good of the kingdom. Part of the ritual was a horse, which would be in the lead. This horse was stolen by Indra, a demigod, as he did not want Sagara to become very powerful. He hid the horse in Kapil Muni’s ashram, who was meditating.
Sagara sent his 60,000 sons in search of the horse. They found it tied in the Ashram of the sage. Thinking that he had stolen it, the sons started attacking and insulting him. Kapila Muni had been in meditation for several years. So, when he opened his eyes, the sons were burnt to death and the last rights could not be performed.
Anshuman, a nephew of the 60,000 sons and his son Dilip prayed to Lord Brahma but they were not successful. Only when Bhagiratha, the son of Dilip, prayed to Lord Brahma to bring Ganga to the Earth, Brahma relented and asked Ganga to come down to the Earth and then flow down to the nether regions so that Bhagiratha’s ancestors would be able to go to heaven.