Trifter

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King Sagar was a forefather of king Dashratha. He was the king of Ayodhya. Once the arranged a great Yajna called Asvamedha or horse sacrifice. One of the jealous gods stole away this horse. King Sagra sent his sons in search of the horse. They found it near the cottage of a famous sage named Kapila. The sage was then in deep prayer and knew nothing about the horse. But the foolish princes thought that it was the sage who had stolen the horse. The abused him and called him a thief. In great rage, the sage cursed them and turned them into ashes.

Many years later, king Bhagiratha, the great-grandson of Sagra, brought the heavenly Ganga down to the earth by the power of his tapa. The holy waters flowed over the ashes of the princess and purified their souls. They were freed from the sage’s curse and were given a place in heaven. 

Even to day the Hindus throw the ashes of their dead into the Ganga. They believe that in this way the souls of the dead are purified and are given a place in heaven.

The Ganga rises from an ice cave in the Himalayas known as Gaumuk, about 20 kilometers south of Gangotri. After flowing for about 2500 kilometers through Utter Pradesh, Bihar and West Bengal, it falls into the Bay of Bengal at Ganga Sagar.

The story of Ganga is really the story of India’s civilization. It is the story of her rise and fall, of her victories and defeats, and of her joys and sufferings. Many rivers of other countries like the Nile in Africa, the Amazon in South America, and the Danube in Europe are longer than the long. It is the 15 longest rivers in Asia and the 39 longest rivers in the world. But no river anywhere in the world is as beloved of her people as the Ganga.

To many people of Hindus it is Mother Ganga- Ganga Miya. It is believed that a dip in the holy waters of this river washes off all the sins of one’s life. Its water, respectfully called Ganga water, is considered so pure that countless Hindus keep it at their homes in bottles. They use it at all their religious ceremonies from birth to death.