The Ganges River, according to India’s first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru: “The Ganges … is the river of India, which has held India’s heart captive and drawn uncounted millions to her banks since the dawn of history only does it sustain millions of farmers, but also city dwellers.
Some trivia about the spiritual significance of Mother Ganga in Hindu religious context. 1  During the early Vedic Age of the Rigveda, the Indus and the Sarasvati River were the major sacred rivers, not the Ganges although there is a mention of Ganga in one of the rare verses in Rigveda.  The Hallowed River. Hindus believe that rituals performed by the river Ganga multiply in their blessedness. The water of Ganges, called 'Gangajal' (Ganga = Ganges; jal = water), is held so sacred that holding this water in hand no Hindu dares to lie or be deceitful. The various myths associated with Ganga and staunch Hindu beliefs associated with the river sanctify it as a goddess. Hindus view goddess Ganga as a fair complexioned beautiful woman wearing a white crown with a water lily and a water pot in her hands, and riding her pet crocodile. (62) The River Ganga. In Hindu culture, there are many famous rivers that we hold dear because of their spiritual significance. Ganga is one of them. Let's take a closer look at where this great river starts from. It all begins at the Gangotri Glacier, a huge area of ice (five by fifteen miles), at the foothills of the Himalayas (13,000 ft) in northern Uttar Pradesh. The Ganges basin is India's widest and most heavily populated region. In the western part of the Gangetic Plain, the river provides water for crops through a wide canal system whose major branches are the Upper Ganges Canal and the Lower Ganges Canal. Pollution of the Ganges River. Despite the religious significance and daily importance of the Ganges River for the people of India, it is one of the most polluted rivers in the world. Pollution of the Ganges is caused by both human and industrial waste due to India's rapid growth as well as religious events. The Ganges River is considered their most sacred river and it is worshiped as the goddess Ganga Ma or Mother Ganges (About.com). According to the Myth of the Ganges the goddess Ganga descended from heaven to dwell in the waters of the Ganges River to protect, purify and bring to heaven those who touch it. The Ganges River, also called Ganga, is a river located in northern India that flows toward the border with Bangladesh (map). It is the longest river in India and flows for around 1,569 miles (2,525 km) from the Himalayan Mountains to the Bay of Bengal. The Ganges River is considered their most sacred river and it is worshiped as the goddess Ganga Ma or Mother Ganges (About.com). According to the Myth of the Ganges the goddess Ganga descended from heaven to dwell in the waters of the Ganges River to protect, purify and bring to heaven those who touch it. It is auspicious to drink from the Ganga in the hour before death, and many Hindus ask to be cremated along the Ganga and to have their ashes immersed in the river. As we have seen, this river holds a special significance in the hearts of Hindus. The Ganges basin is India's widest and most heavily populated region. In the western part of the Gangetic Plain, the river provides water for crops through a wide canal system whose major branches are the Upper Ganges Canal and the Lower Ganges Canal. In Hinduism, the river Ganges is considered sacred and is personified as a goddess known as Ganga. It is worshipped by Hindus who believe that bathing in the river causes the remission of sins and facilitates Moksha (liberation from the cycle of life and death) the water of Ganga is considered very pure.  Ganges is considered as purest of all rivers, according to Hindu mythology. It is believed that all the sins of a person taking a plunge into Ganges with sacred and selfless s … oul and heart have their sins washed away. Its length is 2500 kms. Hindus consider the Ganges as a holy river because they believe that the Ganges had been sent by the god Shankar, because he was pleased by a sage who wanted the region to hav … e water. This glacier is the source of the river Bhagirathi, which joins with the river Alaknanda to form the might river Ganga at the rocky canyon-carved town of Devprayag. The Ganges basin is India's widest and most heavily populated region. In the western part of the Gangetic Plain, the river provides water for crops through a wide canal system whose major branches are the Upper Ganges Canal and the Lower Ganges Canal. This is the significance of the Ganges River, according to India’s first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru: “The Ganges … is the river of India, which has held India’s heart captive and drawn uncounted millions to her banks since the dawn of history. Not only does it sustain millions of farmers, but also city dwellers. This and its tributaries provide the water source for the major cities of New Delhi, Allahabad, Patna, Varanasi, Kolkata, and Dhaka, capital city of Bangladesh. The Ganges River runs 1557 miles long.
http://www.sohamtimes.org/2014/10/ganga-the-eternal-mother/ http://hinduism.about.com/od/godsgoddesses/a/ganga.htm http://kids.baps.org/thingstoknow/hinduism/62.htm http://geography.about.com/od/culturalgeography/a/Ganges-River.htm http://geography.about.com/od/culturalgeography/a/Ganges-River.htm http://kids.baps.org/thingstoknow/hinduism/62.htm https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ganges_in_Hinduism http://www.answers.com/Q/What_is_the_significance_of_the_ganges_river_in_hinduism http://kids.baps.org/thingstoknow/hinduism/62.htm http://www.globalprayerdigest.org/index.php/issue/The-Ganges-River-The-Heart-of-Indian-Civilization/
What spiritual significance does the ganges