Ganges River

River Ganges
A major river of India
General
Confluence in Devprayag
Country	India
States	Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal,
Cities	Haridwar, Kanpur, Allahabad, Varanasi, Kolkata
Source	Gangotri Glacier, Uttarakhand, India
Mouth	Bay of Bengal
Length	2,525 km
Left Tributaries	Mahakhali, Karnali, Kosi, Gandak, Ghaghra
Right Tributaries	Yamuna, Son, Mahananda
Basin	896,000 sq.km
Discharge	14,270 cu.m/sec
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The Ganges (India: Ganga; Bangladesh: Padma) is a major river system in the Indian subcontinent which flows west to east through North India's Gangetic plains, traversing 2,525 km in the course to discharge into the Bay of Bengal through its vast delta in the Sunderbans and Bangladesh. Several important tributaries discharge into the Ganges, which is the world's third largest river by discharge volume after the Amazon and Congo rivers. The headstreams of the River Ganges in India's upper course are famous tourist attractions important to local economies, for spiritual tourism and rafting in Rishikesh.

The Ganges river basin is India's largest, irrigating the northern states of Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Bihar, Jharkhand, and West Bengal. Important Indian cities on its banks include Kanpur, Patna, Kannauj, Kashi, Allahabad, Varanasi, and Kolkata. These cities generate large amounts of domestic and industrial pollution which has caused the 'holy' Ganges to die. The environmental degradation generated considerable protest and, in 1985, the Indian government implemented a Ganga Action Plan for river rejuvenation.

The Ganges has been sacred to Hindus since ancient times and worshipped as the Goddess Ganga. Hindus make pilgrimages to it, especially to its sources and the cities of Haridwar, Varanasi and Allahabad (the Triveni confluence of the River Yamuna). On its banks are ghats (cremation pyres) and ritual steps for immersing ashes in the water of dead Hindus and performed ritual ablutions.

Geography

The Ganges is traditionally divided into two parts: the upper course (about 800 km from the source to the city of Kanpur), lower course (from Kanpur to the Farakka Barrage).

Upper Course (Himalayas and foothills)

Source of the Ganga, Gaumukh     Morning mist over the Ganges at Kaudiayala, Uttarakhand     A beach on the banks of Ganges, Rishikesh

Course of the Ganges

Course of Ganges River and tributaries

Tributaries

Other than the Yamuna, the major water-rich tributaries of the Ganges flow to the left. Originating mostly in the Himalayas, they mitigate the low dissolved oxygen and pollutant concentration of the main stream. However, some of these tributaries also cause the largest flood hazard zone of the Ganges and regular overflowing of its high water banks causing destruction. The natural drainage network is now greatly altered by dense networks of artificial irrigation channels. Consequently, the Ganges and Yamuna have much of their flow diverted into irrigation canals and water treatment plants.

Cities on the Ganges

Rishikesh

Varanasi

Kolkata

Barisal, Bangladesh

The valley of the Ganges is one of the most densely populated places on the planet. Below are the largest of the cities located directly on the river. The list is sorted along the course, with the exception of the delta (in the state of West Bengal and Bangladesh). Most of West Bengal and almost a third of the territory of Bangladesh enter directly into the Ganga basin. Specified in the list of the city are located mainly on the distributaries Hooghly and Padma (main channel) as well as numerous small ducts.

• India :

State of Uttarakhand :

Rishikesh (59,600) well known for rafting in Rishikesh

Haridwar (175,100)

State of Uttar Pradesh :

Farrukhabad (275,750)

Kannauj (71530)

Kanpur (2,767,031)

Allahabad (1,117,094)

Mirzapur (233,691)

Varanasi (1,201,815)

State of Bihar :

Ara (203,395)

Chhapra (178 835)

Danapur (158488)

Patna (1,683,200)

Munger (187,311)

Bhagalpur (398,138)

State of Jharkhand :

nil

State of West Bengal :

Baharampur (160,168)

Krishnanagar (139,070)

Barasat (237,783)

Barrackpore (144,331)

Kolkata (4,486,679)

Howrah (1,072,161)

Alipore

Haldia (170,256)

• Bangladesh :

Rajshahi (472,775)

Khulna (855,650)

Barisal (210,374)

Jessore (243,987)

Pabna (138,000)

Chandpur (94,821)

Sequence of tributary confluence

Alaknanda joins Dhauliganga (at Vishnuprayag), Mandakini (at Nandprayag), Pindar (at Karnaprayag), Mandakini (at Rudraprayag) and ultimately Bhagirathi (at Devaprayag) from where onwards, it is known as Ganges River. The Bhagirathi is considered the prime source stream, fed by melting glacial snow and ice from peaks such as Kamet and Nanda Devi.

Name	Mouth of	Discharge (MQ) [m³/s]	Length [km]	Catchment- area [km²]	Swell [m.]	Estuary- height [m.]	Confluence- place
Headstreams
Alaknanda	left	440	240	12587+	4350	460	Devprayag
Bhagirathi	right	260	254	7820	4120	460	Devprayag
Tributaries
Ramganga	left	490	596	32493	3110	130	Ibrahimpur
Yamuna	right	2940	1376	366223	6387	74	Sahon
Ghaghara	left	2980	1080	127950	4800	48	Chapra
Son	right	900	784	71259	600	46	Dinapur
Gandak	left	1640	630	46300	7620	44	Sonepur
Kosi	left	2160	835	95156	7000	34	Kursela

Ganges in Indian religion

Ganges in Hinduism

Goddess Ganga, Ellora Caves, Maharastra, Archaeological Survey of India monument number N-MH-A51

The River Ganges is generally regarded, since ancient times, amongst the world's most important and holiest rivers. It is held sacred by Indians, especially Hindus, and is also worshipped in its anthropomorphic form as the Goddess Ganga, emerging, from Bhagirathi her source, at Gangotri Glacier (in the Central Himalayan state of Uttarakhand) at Gaumukh (elevation 3,892 m). Ganga is embodied at Devprayag when the rampant Alaknanda joins swirling Bhagirathi. Numerous other streams join Himalayan Ganga, among these Mandakini, Dhauliganga, Bhilangana and Pindar are significant.

Ganges in the Doab

Triveni Sangham - Kumbha Mela - Allahabad January 2001, India

According to legend, Allahabad Triveni (triple confluence) is one of the four places where the celestial bird Garuda spilled the immortality elixir Amrita from its holy pitcher, and why Hindus hold major Hindu festival - Kumbh Mela, or "Festival of pitchers."

Allahabad (Prayag also - "the confluence" or Aggra - "place of sacrifice"), located at the confluence of the Ganges with the Jumna (Yamuna), is considered the place where Brahma was brought first sacrifice after creating the world. This is the second of the four places where Garuda spilled amrita, and is also the venue for the festival of Kumbh Mela. This is where the legend comes to the surface and joins the sacred river Ganges Rig Veda - Saraswati, which later disappears from the surface of the Earth.

Ganges in West Bengal

The sanctity of the Ganges in Bengal predates the arrival of Indo-Aryans. After their arrival and association of Ganga river with Aryan purity, important places of pilgrimage came up at Nawadeep, Triveni, Katwa, Ganga Sagar and Kalighat (near Kolkatta).

Ganges in Islam

Mosque on the banks of the Ganges River India, Auguste Borget, oil on canvas, 1846

Leading Islamic clerics in India have agreed that it is the duty of both Hindus and Muslims to protect and save the Ganges, a national river, as both communities live on its banks and earn livelihood from it. "Ganga Jamni tehzeeb" is an ancient tradition in the Awadhi doab area for the co-existence of Hindus and Muslims by participating in each others social functions. "Ganga Jamni tehzeeb" fuses the best elements of Persian and Mughal cultures ensuring Khayal, Ghazal, Thumri, Kathak and Banarsi Raas rang flourish.

Ganges in Bangladesh

The portions of the eastern sub-delta of the Ganges is known as "Padma" and had no religious significance or historical places of pilgrimage for Indians unlike in West Bengal along the banks of the Bhagirathi-Hooghly section known a "Adi Ganga". The eastern deltaic portions mainly in Bangladesh were always cut off symbolically from Indo-Aryan culture and mythology.

Ganges in Buddhism

From a discourse on "Dharma":

• And again, Subhuti, suppose a woman or a man were to renounce all their belongings as many times as there are grains of sand in the river Ganges; and suppose that someone else, after taking from this discourse on dharma but one stanza of four lines would demonstrate it to others. Then this latter on the strength of that would beget a greater heap of merit, immeasurable and incalculable.