Ganga Dashahara is celebrated every year between May and June. Hindu people celebrate this festival very significantly because Ganga was fall down at this day from heaven to earth. According to the Hindu calendar, Ganga Dashahara or dashami is celebrated (at tenth day of the month) in waxing moon of the month of Jyestha.
Devotees take holy bath during this festival of Ganga Dashahara at the Varanasi Ghats. At this day devotees gathers at the banks of the river Gange and take a soak in the Holy water of the Ganges in order to get rid of from the ten sins (dasha means ten and hara means to destroy).
One who cannot trip to the river Gange, can take bath at his home by mixing some amount of Gange Jal to the normal water, he will achieve the same benefit. At this occasion, devotees keep fast for full day and even they do not drink water for full day and in the evening they take bath and break their fast (by taking only fruit) after moon rise. After bath they offer jal and agarbatti to the Gange and then break their fast.
Ganga Dashahara 2016 would be celebrated by the people at Tuesday, on 14th June.
Ganga Dashahara 2015
Ganga Dashahara 2015 was celebrated by the people at Thursday, on 28th May.
Ganga Dashahara 2014
Ganga Dashahara 2014 was celebrated by the people at Sunday, on 8th June.
Religious and Cultural Beliefs and Significance
Woman in India offer floating lamps in the sacred water of the river Ganges. Hindu takes bath in the Holy water and washes out their sins. They also offer flowers as well as rose petals with the clay diyas filled with oil or ghee lit with wicks. They bring holy water of Gange to their home for other puja purposes. The Ganges is the incarnation of all holy waters in Hinduism. Gange has been an emblem of purity in India from the long time for culture and civilization.
History of Avatarana or Descent of the Ganges
According to the Ramayana, Mahabharata and several Puranas, the history of Avatarana of Gange begins with a clever king Kapila. It is considered that Kapila was doing intense meditation but bothered by the sixty thousand sons of the King Sagara. Then Kapila burn them with his irritated stare and diminishes them to ashes, and send out them to the netherworld. They can get their salvation only by the holy water of Ganga. That time Gange was in heaven. The great offspring of those sons was the King Bhagiratha who was much worried to renovate his ancestors. He had done a great Tap for years to bring Gange on the earth.
Finally he granted the reward of Ganga’s fall to earth from heaven. Gange gave him a Vardan that she is agree to go to earth but her tumultuous and force full water flow will definitely destroy the earth. Bhagiratha convinced Lord Shiva on his habitat Mount Kailash to control the flow of Ganga to earth by the coils of his matted hair. Lord Shiva got agreed to Bhagiratha for Ganga descends on earth. She then led by Bhagiratha down to earth at Haridwar flowing together with the Yamuna, at Prayag and Kashi and finally meet to the Ganga Sagar, ocean. In this way, Bhagiratha became successful in giving peace to the souls of his ancestors.