The River Ganges or Gaṅgā - VI

Water also has a purifying aspect and running water in this context is considered the best. Thus the ritual of having a bath in a river is considered as a purificatory rite by all the civilizations in the world. In India also a bath in a river is held in high esteem; however, a bath in the river Ganges is considered as the best. This is because the waters of the Gaṅgā are considered as exceedingly pure and have been proved to have miraculous healing properties. This beneficience of the Ganges is what makes her a mother, and Hindus, since Vedic times, consider the river Ganges as their mother or Mā Gaṅgā.

On birth, a child is bathed in Gaṅgā water to purify the child. On death, drops of Gaṅgā water are poured in the corpse's mouth, so that the passage to heaven is obtained. Every religious rite is considered incomplete without the presence of Gaṅgā water or Gaṅgā Jal. The Hindus consider being cremated on the banks of the river Ganges an auspicious funeral rite. The ashes are later scattered in the waters of the river Ganges. Thus, from birth to death of every Hindu, the Gaṅgā is inexplicably woven into the warp and weft of individual and societal existences. Even in modern day India, the worship of Gaṅgā continues unabated and the ancient Vedic customs and rituals are still followed with equal zest and vigour. Mā Gaṅgā or mother Gaṅgā bestows innumerable earthly gifts and Mokśa or ultimate liberation from the karmic cycle of birth and rebirth. It is said that if a dying man looks on the Gaṅgā and utters the name of Nārāyaṅa during his last breath, he is sure to attain Mokśa. Such is the celestial and beneficial power of Mā Gaṅgā.