Ganges is
one of the major rivers of the Indian subcontinent, flowing east through the
Gangetic Plain of northern India
into Bangladesh.
The 2,510 km (1,560 mi) river rises in the western Himalayas in the
Uttarakhand state of India,
and drains into the Sunderbans delta in the Bay of Bengal.
Ganges is considered as a holy river by Indians and worshipped as the goddess Ganga. It is believed that bathing in the river Ganga causes the remission of sins and facilitates the attainment
of salvation or nirvana.
This deep-rooted truth is proved by the fact that
people travel from distant places to immerse the ashes of their kin in the
waters of the Ganga at Varanasi
or other places located on the banks of this holy river. Some of these sacred
places, located on the Ganga, are Varanasi,
Haridwar and Prayag (Allahabad).
As soon as the day begins, devout Hindus begin to give their offerings of
flowers or food, throwing hand full of grain or garlands of marigolds or pink
lotuses into the Ganges.
