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Ganga 
in Indian Mythology & Sculpture
By
PRABHAKAR BEGDE

http://www.tourindia.com/htm/homepage.htm May 2001

We hold rivers in great reverence. The rivers are female divinities, food and life bestowing mothers. As such, they are prominent among the popular divinities represented in the works of art of the classical period.

The most holy of rivers, the best known and most honoured, is the Ganga or Ganges. She is personified as Goddess Ganga. The river rises from an ice bed, 13,800 feet above the sea level in the Garhwal Himalayas.

There are various legends associated with Ganga’s descent from heaven to earth in the epics and Puranas such as the Mahabharta, Devi Bhagavata and the Bhagawata Purana etc.

According to the Bhagavata Purana, Ganga had its origin during the incarnation of Vishnu as Vamana. When Vamana measured the three worlds in three steps, the nails of his left feet were raised high. They caused a pore on the upper side of the universe. Ganga, starting from the finger of Vishnu’s feet, fell in heaven and is therefore called Vishnupadi.

Taming of the Ganga by mythical figure Bhagiratha is beautifully depicted in the famous Besnagar sculpture, now in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. This sculpture belonging to the Gupta period is of about 500 A.D., from lintel of a temple at Besnagar. Here Ganga stands gracefully on the back of a makara whose mouth is held open by a small male figure who is depicted as taming the monster, symbolizing the taming of the Ganga by Bhagiratha. As always, she is portrayed as a beautiful maiden with lower half of her body resembling flowing water which reflects the myth that formerly the Ganga was a celestial river. The story of Ganga’s descent to the plains should be viewed in this context.

Ganga is often identified with Parvati, consort of Lord Shiva, or one of the other forms of mother goddess like Annapurna, goddess of food and plenty. Ganga’s form varies according to local tradition. Thus in South India she is represented as mermaid, swimming in water with folded hands, wearing a crown, and bearing on her forehead the Saiva mark in sacred ashes. In Bengal she is depicted as a woman, coloured white (denoting her cleansing and purifying qualities), crowned and seated on her vahana, a makara. In her right hand she holds a lotus, in her left a lute.

Ganga has always remained a symbol of purity and holiness. Even the remembrance of her name purifies devotees, a look at the river and a bath in her waters assure sanctity. According to legend, the waters of Ganga flow into every river in India at a certain time each year; these streams then assume the great holiness of Ganga herself and the power to purify pilgrims.

The story of Goddess Ganga is one of the most important themes in Indian mythology which has inspired the artists and sculptors. The doorway of every temple in India is guarded by an anthropomorphic representation of river Ganga. In the South, Ganga usually appears on the both jambs, but in the North, Ganga is represented on one jamb and Yamuna on the other. On these portals Ganga is represented as a damsel holding a water vessel and standing on her mount, the tortoise. These celestial guardians are seen most frequently on sanctuaries dedicated to Siva. They are also often present in shrines to other deities and even appear in the Vakataka caves at Ajanta.

One of the most beautiful representations of Ganga and Yamuna flanking a doorway is from a Gupta temple in Dah Parvatiya in Assam. Indian museums have several such representations of Ganga and Yamuna personified on door jambs. Each river goddess is shown on her mount and is accompanied by attendants, one of whom raises a parasol over her head. The swans that flutter above, with garlands of lotuses or lilies in their beaks, suggest the cool fragrance of an aquatic environment.

Ganga has been represented in art and sculpture in various forms. She is seen as the celestial stream and as the triple stream, as a damsel, pride incarnate, who rushes down on Siva’s head, and as the river mother feeding the children of the soil with her water of plenty.

At Elephanta, Ganga is seen on the locks of Siva Gangadhara, at Paattadakal she is depicted as a mermaid dancing on the locks of Siva which swirl as he performs the virile tandava dance. A beautiful sculpture of Sena period shows Ganga standing by the wish fulfilling tree, which is a symbol of heaven, with a pitcher in her hand, indicating prosperity through abundance of water.

Ganga acquired many names indicating her various incarnations, the geographical regions through which she flowed and personages with whom she was associated. These are: Visnupadi (flowing from the foot of Vishnu), Haimavati (flowing on Himavan’s lap, daughter of Himavan), Alaknanda (from the ‘locks of Siva’), Bhadra-soma (blessed drink), Abharaganga or Akasaganga (the celestal Ganga), Devabhuti (heaven born), Mandakini (gently flowing, the milky way), Bhagirathi or Bhagirathasuta (from Bhagirtha), Patalaganga and many more. 

 

 

 

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