Culture’s Contribution to Ganga’s Plastic Problem
In this next chapter, we look at the unique cultural aspects of the Ganges River and how this has impacted the pollution problems in India
The Ganges River (also known as the Ganga) originates at the Ganotri glacier in the western Himalayas, and flows through the Gangetic Plain of North India, downstream into West Bengal and eventually into the Bay of Bengal. As one of the most sacred rivers to Hindus, ritual bathing is performed very often in the Ganges as it is an essential part of the Hindu pilgrimage. The ashes of the cremated are also deposited in the river. Personified as the Indian goddess Ganga in ancient texts and art, the Ganges River is considered a tirtha – a crossing point between heaven and Earth where prayers and offerings are mostly likely to reach the gods and where blessings from heaven are most likely to reach the people. The reasons why the Ganga is considered a tirtha is tied to the creation myths of the Ganges River.
The Myths behind the Ganga
The myth of the Ganga is found in the Mahabharata, one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India considered by Hindus to be Itihasa (history in Sanskrit). The Mahabharata tells of two families – the Pandavas and Kauravas – fighting in
the Kurukshetra War for the throne of Hastinapura. The text contains philosophical and devotional material such as the four “goals of life” .
There are several myths about the Ganges in the Mahabharata. Personified as the goddess Ganga, Ganga’s mother is Mena and her father is Himavat, the personification of
“Hindus consider bathing to be particulary cleansing of sin when it’s performed at one of the seven sacred rivers such as the Ganges”
the Himalaya mountains. One of the myths had Ganga marrying King Sanatanu but their relationship is ended when Ganga is found to have drowned her children. Some myths in the Mahabharatha have her as the mother of Bhisma, others say her son is Skanda (Karttikeya), the Hindu god of war with Agni, the god of fire, being the father.
In Hindu mythology, the Ganges River was created when Vishnu, one of the holy trinity of gods in Hinduism, in his incarnation as the dwarf Brahmin, took two steps to cross the universe and stubbed his big toe on the wall of the universe on his second step, thereby spilling some of the waters of the Mandakini (the Mandakini River joins the Bhagirathi River to form the Ganges River). With Bhagiratha, the great mythological king, concerned to find that 60,000 of King Sagara’s ancesters had been incinerated by the stare of Kapila, the vedic sage, Bhagiratha asked Kapila how these ancestors could reach heaven. Kapila told Bhagiratha to pray earnestly to Vishnu and perform ascetic deeds for a millennium. Touched by Bhagiratha’s peity, Vishnu agreed to let Ganga descend to earth so she can wash over the ashes of the 60,000 ancestors, purify them and let them ascend to heaven. Worried that Ganga might wrought untold damage to the Earth if she were to merely drop down from heaven, Shiva offered to gently lower Ganga in his hair carefully to Earth, taking 1,000 years. Bhagiratha then guided Ganga across India, where she split into many distributaries and washed the ashes of Sagara’s ancestors in her sacred waters.
The Ganga as Tirtha
Hindu devotees consider bathing to be particularly cleansing of sin when it is performed at one of the seven sacred rivers such as the Ganges, Indus, Yamuna, Godavari, Kaveri or Saraswati. Hindus go on a pilgrimage (called a tirthayatra) to carry out a vow, an act of devotion, to appease a god or to seek prosperity. The pilgrims will usually bathe (snana), encircle the temple or holy place, and make an offering or carry out a religious rite in honour of their ancestors.
Ecological Repercussions of the Overuse of Ganga
These cultural practices are an essential part of the people’s beliefs but unfortunately, this has resulted in the Ganges being polluted with a lot religious offerings wrapped in non-degradable plastics. Serving as a lifeline to the 400 million people living on its banks, the Ganges River suffers from extreme pollution and is the world’s sixth most plastic polluted river in the world.