देवि सुरेश्वरि भगवति गंगे त्रिभुवनतारिणि तरल तरंगे |
शंकर मौलिविहारिणि विमले मम मति रास्तां तव पद कमले ||
In the hills of Uttarakhand, she is not one river, she is all the streams from the one source of life. Each confluence is holy, but the one that births Ganga is at Devprayag. The confluence of the vivacious Bhagirathi, descending from the Gangotri Glacier, and the pacific Alaknanda, whose journey begins from the lotus feet of Shree Hari himself. Most devout of her believers, that once a king turned sage, penanced to all the gods to allow Her to descend down on the Earth, to free his ancestors from sin. The river cuts through the Himalayas and descends through the heart of a country to meet the Bay at the holy Gangasagar. Through her journey, she takes many forms. To the humble Himalayas, she is the playful daughter, who wishes to journey forth clasping the hands of her sisters. In the plains, she is the all-forgiving mother, who sustains them in life and carries them gently to moksha after life. After all, the oldest living city of the world, found itself on the tips of the cosmic Trishul, by her banks. Her farewell forges the largest mangrove delta in the world in two countries, the Sundarbans. Before, alike millions who seek her current for comfort, she sinks deep into the sea.
Today, the all-giving mother suffers from such love we pour into her. Unfortunately, it is this devotion that earned her a spot in the Most Polluted Rivers in the World. One on end, thousands take to her banks for devotion, their lamps lit and chants emanating from their hearts. One the other, we continue to harm.
Isn't it life after all, to hurt those who care for us the most?
As someone, who lives on her banks and has seen devotion in all ways.
Mokshdayini, Paapnashini Devi Ganga, ko kalpanik Saraswati banne me der nahi.
