gangadevi
the mother goddess The Kumbha Mela and the Ganges River (Ganga) have become synonymous in the minds of many people due to their being inexorably linked through Indian religious tradition. As the Kumbha Mela is the greatest spiritual festival, so the Ganges is believed to be the greatest spiritual river. Throughout the ages, the Ganges has played a dramatic part in the spiritual lives of the Indian people. It is said that to know the Ganges is to know India and her people. The river is strong, proud, and overbearing; she is also humble, peaceful, and stern; she is.always changing yet ever the same.
The ganges is worshiped as a mother goddess, gangadevi, and her celestial water is believed to possess supernatural power. Mother Ganges is many things to many people. She is the provider for the millions who reside in the agricultural communities along her banks; she is the bestower of benedictions for the pious, and the redeemer of sins for the sinful; she is the healer of disease for the sick; and for the dying, she is the giver of liberation from the cycle of birth and death.
The devout deeply believe in the powers of the ganges water. It is said that if one bathes in the ganges or even sprinkles three drops of ganges water on his head, he becomes freed from past sins (karma). The ganges is believed to have such purging effects on the impurities of the soul that if one even remembers the name of the Ganges, he acquires such merit that he easily attains a place in heaven.