A river of northern India and Bangladesh rising in the Himalaya Mountains and flowing about 2,510 km (1,560 mi) generally eastward through a vast plain to the Bay of Bengal. The river is sacred to Hindus.
Ganges River
Dictionary:
Gan·ges (găn'jēz')  also Gan·ga
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A river of northern India and Bangladesh rising in the Himalaya Mountains and flowing about 2,510 km (1,560 mi) generally eastward through a vast plain to the Bay of Bengal. The river is sacred to Hindus.
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| Britannica Concise Encyclopedia: Ganges River |
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| The Religion Book: Ganges |
The symbol of washing away impurities is prevalent throughout religious traditions, and a number of sacred rivers throughout the world have been used for this purpose. In Israel it was the Jordan. In Persia, the Tigres and Euphrates. In Egypt, the Nile. In India, it is the Ganges. Flowing from the head of Shiva, high in the Himalayas, down past Benares, the Ganges attracts legions who flock to its banks to bathe and purify themselves. It is considered a strong female presence, and its religious significance probably harks back to ancient times, predating the duality of pure and impure.
Sources: Ellwood, Robert S., and Barbara A. McGraw. Many Peoples, Many Faiths. 6th ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1999.
| Asian Mythology: Ganges |
The Ganges, or Gaṇgā, is the sacred “white river” of purification and salvation among Hindus (see Hindu entries, Descent of the Ganges). In the Mahābhārata (see Mahābhārata) the personified Gaṇgā is the mother of the hero Bhīṣma (see Bhīṣma).
| Columbia Encyclopedia: Ganges |
Ganges (găn'jēz) or Ganga (gŭng'gä), river, c.1,560 mi (2,510 km) long, rising in the Gangotri glacier in the Himalayas in Uttaranchal state, India, and flowing generally southeast through NE India across a vast plain to the Bay of Bengal in Bangladesh; the most sacred river of Hindu India. The fertile Ganges plain is one of the world's most densely populated regions; rice, grains, oilseed, sugarcane, and cotton are the main crops. Because of its location near major population centers, however, the river is highly polluted.
The upper Ganges supplies water to extensive irrigation works. The river passes the holy bathing sites at Haridwar, Allahabad (where the Yamuna River enters the Ganges), and Varanasi. Below Allahabad the Ganges becomes a slow, meandering stream with shifting channels.
The lower Ganges is joined by the Brahmaputra River W of Dhaka, Bangladesh, to form the Padma, its main channel to the sea. The united rivers branch into many distributaries, forming the vast and fertile Ganges-Brahmaputra Delta, which stretches from the Hugli River on the west to the Meghna on the east. The delta region covers roughly 25% of India's total territory and supports upwards of 300 million people. The delta's southern fringe, a great wilderness of swamp, dense timber forest, small islands, and tidal creeks, is known as the Sundarbans; it has been the site of land reclamation projects. This low-lying area has repeatedly suffered great devastation from cyclones and coastal flooding. Kolkata, India, and Chittagong, Bangladesh, are the delta's main seaports.
| Geography: Ganges River |
| Translations: Ganges |
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 | gangetic |
| Farraka Barrage |
| Gaṇgā |
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 | Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2007. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. Read more |
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| Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. © 2006 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. All rights reserved. Read more |
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| The Religion Book. The Religion Book. 2004 ©Visible Ink Press. All rights reserved. Read more |
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| Asian Mythology. A Dictionary of Asian Mythology. Copyright © 2001, 2002 by David Leeming. All rights reserved. Read more |
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| Columbia Encyclopedia. The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition Copyright © 2003, Columbia University Press. Licensed from Columbia University Press. All rights reserved. www.cc.columbia.edu/cu/cup/. Read more |
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| Geography. The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Edited by E.D. Hirsch, Jr., Joseph F. Kett, and James Trefil. Copyright © 2002 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved. Read more |
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| Translations. Copyright © 2007, WizCom Technologies Ltd. All rights reserved. Read more |
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Mentioned in
- gangetic
- Farraka Barrage
- Gaṇgā
- Bihar (region of east-central India)
- Padma
- Bhagalpur (city of northeast India on the Ganges River)
- Khulna (city of southwest Bangladesh)
- Gomati River
- Haridwar (city of northern India on the Ganges River)
- Hugli (channel)
- Kanpur (city of northern India on the Ganges River)
- Patna (city of northeast India on the Ganges River)
- Yamuna (river of northern India)
- Barisal (city of southern Bangladesh)
