Ganga Jayanti ,India

Good morning.

Yesterday was Ganga Jayanti.

Ganga Jayanti

 There is perhaps no other river in the world that is worshipped and honoured as much as the river Ganga. As a goddess, Ganga is known by many other names— Mandakini, Bhagirathi, Jahnvi and Vishnupadi.

 The story goes that a king named Sagara had sixty thousand sons and decided to perform the ashvamedha yajna, a ritual for his kingdom. The horse meant to be used in the ritual was stolen by Indra.

 The king then sent all his sons to search for the horse, which they managed to locate in the underworld next to the meditating sage, Kapila. Believing that the sage had stolen the horse, they hurled abuse at him and caused his penance (tapasya) to be disturbed. Opening his eyes for the first time in several years, the sage’s gaze instantly burned all the sons of the king to ashes.

 Since their last rites had not been performed, it is said that the souls of the sons wandered on earth. In order to liberate them, one of the descendants of Sagara, Bhagiratha who belonged to the Ikshvaku clan prayed to Brahma to bring Ganga down to Earth so that her waters could cleanse the souls of his ancestors and release them to heaven.

 Brahma however told Bhagiratha that the flow of Ganga while descending to earth would be so strong that the earth would be destroyed. It was then that Lord Shiva was approached to break Ganga’s descent to earth.

 Ganga arrogantly thought that she would fall on Shiva head and drag them both to the underworld. But Shiva trapped her in the locks of his hair and let her out in small streams. The stream that remained on Earth helps purify souls there. This is how Bhagiratha’s ancestors were liberated and Ganga came to flow on earth and is also known by the name Bhagirathi.

 Even now, Ganga is worshipped on earth and it is believed that bathing in the river causes a person’s sins to be forgiven and hastens  the attainment of moksha (liberation from the cycle of life and death).

Bade Ganeshji Ka Mandir , Ujjain.

Good morning.

Todays Temple Is Bade Ganeshji Ka mandir in Ujjain.

Bade Ganeshji Ka Mandir glorifies the city of Ujjain. Ganesh is considered to be the most benevolent God that blesses his followers with wealth and prosperity. He has a very sweet figure with a tusk of an elephant and is considered to be the favorite son of Parvati, or Goddess Durga.

It is located very near the Maha Kaleshwar Temple. Bade in Hindi means large, and Mandir in Hindi means a temple, so the entire phrase Bade Ganeshji Ki Mandir means The Temple of the Big Ganesh Statue.

The Bade Ganeshji Ka Mandir is situated near the reservoir of the MahaKaleshwar Temple and consists of a large idol of Sri Ganesh. Ganesh is the son of Parvati and Lord Shiva and is the most worshipped deity in India.

He has a tusk that makes him look more adorable and lovely. Being the most benevolent God, he blesses his followers with Health, Wealth and Prosperity. The middle of the temple gate at Bade Ganeshji Ka Mandir is adorned with a Panchamukhi image of Lord Hanuman. In Hindi, Panchamukhi means Five Faced. Hanuman is supposed to impart strength and power to his followers.

Today, the temple is also a popular training center for imparting education on astrology and the Sanskrit language.

This city had once been the pride of India. It was ruled by the King Asoka, the great Mauryan Ruler who had an ambition for a vast Kingdom. But the War of Kalinga changed him and he was transformed into a benevolent King whose only concern was the benefit and comfort of his subjects. So, he embraced Buddhism that taught the doctrine of Universal Love towards all men. Asoka was the sole individual responsible for the far-reaching fame of Buddhism. After Asoka, the Mauryan King Viramaditya or Chandragupta -II came to the throne and his court was adorned by the nine gems that were specialists in nine various subjects. They were popularly known as Navaratna.