Hindus celebrate many festivals and holidays throughout the entire year, and many of these festivals take place along the banks of Ma Ganga.
Kumbh Mela
The largest of these festivals are the various Kumbh Melas, which take place alternatively in Haridwar, Ujjain, Nashik and Allahabad (Prayag), being celebrated in each place every twelve years. This festival, which dates back to Vedic times, is one of the most sacred of all pilgrimages for Hindus, and literally tens of millions of pilgrims, sadhus and saints come from all over India to participate in the festival.
The story behind the Kumbh Mela is found in several of the Hindu texts. According to the story, the devas (gods) desired to churn the primordial ocean of milk in order to procure the pot (the kumbha) of the nectar of immortality (amrita) which lay at the bottom. In order to do this, the devas enlisted the help of the asuras (demons), promising to share the nectar. Together they churned the ocean for one thousand years, yet when the amrita began to surafce, the asuras desired to steal the pot and not share any of the nectar with the devas. For twelve days and twelve nights, the asuras and devas fought for the pot of amrita.
After the pot of nectar emerged from the sea, Jayant, the son of Indra, ran away with the kumbha in order to prevent the demons from absconding with it. As he ran, he stopped to rest four times. In each place, drops of amrita fell to the earth, landing in four locations: Haridwar, Ujjain, Nashik and Allahabad.
Kumbh Mela holds great importance for Hindus everywhere. The main event of the Kumbh Mela is bathing in the river Ganga which is believed to contain these drops of the nectar of immortality. It is believed that by bathing in Ganga, and particularly by bathing during the Kumbh Mela, people are freed of all past karma they have committed, and the way for the attainment of moksha, or liberation, is cleared. It is said in the scriptures that taking one single bath in Ganga during the Kumbh Mela has the same effect as performing millions of other rituals.
Chhat Puja
The Chhat Puja is a Hindu festival dedicated to honoring the sun god Surya, in order to give thanks for sustaining life on earth. However, this festival also directly involves Ganga. The rituals of this festival take place over four days and are very rigorous, including bathing, fasting without water, standing in water for long periods of time, and offering arghya to the sun.
On the first day of Chhat puja, worshippers take a bath in Ganga and bring her water home to prepare offerings for the Sun. After a day of fasting, worshippers return to the banks of Ganga on the third day to make prayers and offerings to the setting sun. On the final day of Chhat, devotees return once again to Ganga at dawn to make offerings to the rising sun, thanking it for the eternal energy it provides.
Ganga Mahotsav
The Ganga Mahotsav is a special five-day festival that is observed in Varanasi created to celebrate the various facets of Ganga. This festival celebrates the spirituality, purity and power of Ma Ganga, the identity and pride Ma Ganga gives the people of India, as well as the nourishment the river provides.
On this day, the gods themselves are believed to come down from heaven to bathe in Ganga. Hundreds of people celebrate Ganga Mahotsav by lighting dias (oil lamps), chanting Vedic mantras, and bathing in Ganga.
Ganga Dussehra
Ganga Dussehra is celebrated in the first ten days of the month of Jyesththa (in June) commemorating the day Ganga came down from the heavens to Earth. On this day, devotees worship Ganga as the mother and goddess, and special pujas and aarti are performed to Ganga. One special ceremony that takes place on Ganga Dussehra is Ganga Chunari, in which the murti (statue) of Ganga is wrapped in 108 colorful saris. During Ganga Dussehra, pilgrims also gather clay and water from Ganga to take home for use in their daily worship.