THE RIVER GODDESS GANGA

GODDESS GANGA
Ganga (also known as the Ganges) is considered as the holiest river in Hinduism. She is depicted as an extremely beautiful woman, with a white crown adorning her head.
The crocodile is her vahana. She is depicted with a water lily in her right hand and a lute in her left hand. Though the word “Ganga” is mentioned only twice in the Rig Veda, the deity received more significance in the scriptures that were written in the post-Rig Veda era.

Ganga is also known as Vishnu Pada (one who takes birth from Lord Vishnu’s feet). There is a legend that Ganga was produced from the sweat of Lord Vishnu’s feet. Lord Brahma caught it and filled in his kamandala

The tale of Ganga’s descent to Earth from heaven is very popular.

There ruled a king named Sagara in Ayodhya. He had 60,000 sons. When his power and strength increased, King Sagara decided to perform the Rajasuya Yagna. What is so special of this yagna, and who all can perform this yagna?) Indra, the king of the gods, was alarmed by this yagna as he realized that King Sagara would become very powerful once he performed this yagna, and was afraid that he might dethrone him. So he stole the horse of the Ashwamedha Yagna (Rajasuya has been mentioned earlier) and took it to patal. He quietly kept the horse where Sage Kapila was meditating, and went away. Searching for the horse, Sagara‘s sons eventually reached patal and saw the horse standing near Sage Kapila. Mistaking the sage as the thief, they started beating him. His meditation broken, and subjected to such humiliation, his anger reduced all the princes into ashes.

Narada broke the news of his sons’ fate to King Sagara, who was deeply shocked. He prayed to Sage Kapila, and begged pardon, seeking that his sons be brought back to life. Kapila advised him to bring Ganga on the earth and then to patal and when the ashes of his sons are touched by Ganga, they would get salvation.

Seeing no hope in bringing /Ganga to earth, the king renounced his throne and went to the forest by giving his throne to his only surviving son.After many years, Bhagiratha, the great grandson of Sagara, took the responsibility of bringing Ganga to Earth. Taking Shiva’s blessing, he started his mission of bringing Ganga to Earth. Bhagiratha feared that the Earth would be washed away if Ganga fell directly on the Earth. So Ganga’s descent from the heavens was broken into three parts. Lord Shiva “locked” Ganga in his matted hair and controlled her power and force, allowing only a small part of Ganga to flow through the Earth. Bhagiratha, by blowing his conch, showed her the way to flow and ultimately she reached patal and flowed over the ashes of the long-dead sons of Sagara.

Ganga in the Three Worlds
With Ganga’s descent to the Earth, the gods feared that her absence in heaven may create problems. Ganga was needed in heaven as well to wash off their sins. They prayed to Lord Brahma to solve their problem. Brahma assured them that a part of Ganga would remain in heaven too. Consequently, Ganga exists in the three worlds: heaven, Earth and patal. She is known as Mandakini in heaven, Ganga in Earth and Bhagirathi in patal.

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KING OF THE GODS-INDRA

In Hindu mythology, Indra is depicted as the king of the gods, and subsequently as the king of heavens. Airavata, the elephant is his vahana. Airavata appeared during the churning of the sea. Indra’s reign extends for a hundred divine years.

He resides in Mount Meru in heaven, and his capital is narrated as a place of ecstasy and pleasure: it’s full of beautiful houses and palaces, gardens, diamond pillars, with thrones and furniture made of gold. It is 800 miles in circumference and 40 miles high. Fragrant flowers spread their aromas enticing all. Apsaras (nymphs) charm the inhabitants with music and dance.

Indra is depicted with four hands. With two hands, he holds a lance; the third hand carries a thunderbolt. The fourth hand is empty. Sometimes he is also depicted with two arms and with eyes all over his body. In this appearance, Indra is also called Sahasraksha, which means “The Thousand Eyed”. In this appearance, Indra carries a thunderbolt in his right hand and a bow in his left hand.

Indra is the god of firmament. As per our mythology, refreshing showers come at his command. In Vedic verses, the valour of Indra is described in a story. The clouds that the winds brought from the sea refused to rain, till Indra forced them to pour down on Earth. In some other verses, he is mentioned as the twin brother of Agni, and Agni is mentioned as a twin brother of Heaven and Earth, it can be assumed from the verses that Indra is also the son of Heaven and Earth.

Although Indra is regarded as the king of gods and Heaven, Indra is hardly given any importance in religious rituals and he is not popular in the present day and age. Still, he is worshipped in a few places in India before any auspicious festival, with the expectation of good weather. Temples dedicated to Indra is also not common in localities inhabited by Hindus.

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MAHALAKSHMI VRAT

Mahalakshmi Vrat can be observed from the eighth day (ashtami tithi) of Shukla Paksha in the month of Bhadra (mid-September to mid-October) to the eighth day of Krishna Paksha in the month of Ashwin (mid-October to mid-November). This vrat continues for 16 days. Our scriptures place a great deal of importance on Mahalakshmi Vrat. If a person observes this vrat by following the rituals, it generates great results: all the wishes of the devotee are fulfilled. The importance of the Mahalakshmi Vrat has been narrated with a comparison in our scriptures:
Just as Prayag is the best place for pilgrimage and Ganga is the best river, Mahalakshmi Vrat is also the best vrat to observe.

Vrat Vidhan (Rules for the Vrat)

Our holy scriptures have laid down the following rules for observing the Mahalakshmi Vrat:
On bhadrapad shukla ashtami tithi, wake up early in the morning and wash your hands and face 16 times. Bathe, put on fresh clothes and establish the pratima (idol) of Mahalakshmi which is made of chandan and other sacred materials.
Next, tie 16 knots by a rope of 16 threads and worship each knot by chanting this mantra: Mahalakshmi namah.

Take16 durva and 16 akshat. Continue the vrat for 16 days and on the eighth day of Krishna Paksha in the month of Ashwin give end (or “end”?) the vrat after ratrijagran.
On the sixteenth day, untie the sacred rope of 16 threads and place it near the idol of Goddess Lakshmi. In this vrat, you should spend one full day subsisting on fruits only.
After the vrat, 16 deepaks (traditional handmade lamps) should be made of flour and these should be donated to honest and needy people with dakshina.
Worshipping the Elephant as a vahana of Lakshmi

The elephant is a vahana of many deities, and it is worshipped as a vahana of Goddess Lakshmi as well. It is believed that people may be blessed with wealth and prosperity by worshipping an elephant.

There is an interesting story about the significance of elephant worship as a vahana of Mahalakshmi, which is popular in many regions of India.

A king had two wives. The first wife had many sons but the second wife had only one. The first wife made an elephant out of clay and worshipped it. But the second wife was deprived of this and she was unhappy. When her son asked her why she was so dejected, she told him of her desire to worship an elephant. Since Indra’s vahana was an elephant – Airavata – the son approached Indra for Airavata, and gave it to his mother. She was overjoyed and worshipped a real, flesh-and-blood elephant. As a result of her worship, her son became a famous king. As this incident spread far and wide, people started worshipping elephants.

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