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Name - Though westerners call India's mighty river "Ganges," it's known as "Ganga" in Hindi.

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Length - Originating from the Gangotri glacier at Gaumukh in the Indian Himalayas, the river runs about 2,525 km (1,570 mi) before meeting the Bay of Bengal in east India.

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Sacred - The Ganges is worshipped by Hindus as it is personified as a goddess.

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Rituals - Hindus bathe in its waters as part of different rituals throughout the year.

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Goddess - The goddess Ganga is described in sacred texts and in art as a beautiful, fair-complexioned woman wearing a white crown with a water lily. She is often depicted riding a crocodile and holding a water pot.

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Mother Ganga - Because of her significance, Hindus refer to her as "Mother Ganga."

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Ganga's mythical origins - The goddess Ganga is the daughter of Mena and Himavat, the personification of the Himalaya mountains.

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The river's mythical origins - In Hinduism, the Ganges river resulted when Vishnu (while incarnated as the dwarf Brahmin) took two steps to cross the universe.

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The river's mythical origins - Upon taking the second step, Vishnu accidentally opened a hole in the wall of the universe with his big toe, allowing streams of water to flow out.

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Crossing place - The river is considered a tirtha, a Sanskrit word that means "crossing place, ford," in this case a crossing point between heaven and earth.

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Kumbh Mela - The festival, inscribed on the UNESCO's Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, is a pilgrimage in which Hindus gather to bathe in the holy river.

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Kumbh Mela - Four fairs are held in rotation at one of the following places: Haridwar, Allahabad (or Prayag), Nashik district (Nashik and Trimbak), and Ujjain.

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Festival date - The date of the celebration is determined according to the Vikram Samvat, the Hindu calendar, which uses lunar months and solar sideral years.

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The first Kumbh Mela - Though the festival's exact age is uncertain, some scholars say that the earliest surviving historical accounts of the Kumbh Mela date back to the 7th century.

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When is it celebrated? - The Kumbh Mela is celebrated once every three years at one of the rotating locations, and thus, takes 12 years to return to each place.

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Pilgrimage - The Kumbh fair takes place when Jupiter enters Aquarius and the sun enters Aries.

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The nectar - The planetary position is said to medicate the waters of the Ganges and turn it into nectar.

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The nectar - In Hindu mythology, gods and demons agreed to work together to create the nectar of immortality, called amrit.

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Kumbh Mela mythological origin - But when the divine healer appeared with the pot containing the nectar that was to be shared, a fight broke out between the gods and demons.

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Kumbh Mela mythological origin - The demons managed to run away with the pot, prompting the gods to chase after them, which resulted in a fight of mythological proportions.

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Kumbh Mela mythological origin - The struggle lasted 12 days and 12 nights, equivalent to 12 human years.

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Kumbh Mela mythological origin - The god Vishnu was able to finally seize the golden pot containing the nectar of immortality.

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Kumbh Mela mythological origin - During the struggle, Vishnu is said to have dropped some of the nectar on four locations: Prayag, Haridwar, Ujjain, and Nashik.

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The four locations - Kumbh Melas is now observed in these four locations.

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The nectar - The pot is what gives the festival its name: "Kumbh" means pot or pitcher and "Mela" means fair or festival.

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The pot - The pot is an important symbol associated with the Ganges River.

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The pot - The earliest recorded materials associated with the Kumbh Mela can be traced to river festivals during which pots of grains were soaked in the waters of the holy rivers and put to seed with the rest of the grain.

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The pot - The river festivals have also been associated with fertility rituals.

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The pot - The pot, or the Kumbh, has also been said to symbolize the Mother Goddess and the womb.

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The pot -

As givers of life and agents of fertility, the holy rivers act as bridges between heaven and earth, the eternal divine and the mortal humans.

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Holy men -

Kumbh Mela is the largest gathering of gurus, sadhus, and holy men.

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Holy men - They come from all parts of India and belong to an array of different sects and traditions.

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Holy men -

From ashrams, monasteries, caves, and palaces, these religious figures hail from rural towns, cities, clearings in dense forests, and the remote icy heights of the Himalayas.

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Holy men - The Hindu world contains hundreds of sects and subsects of sadhus, or holy men.

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Holy men - The holy men can be broadly divided into two groups, the Vaishnavas, followers of Vishnu, and the Shaiva, followers of Shiva.

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The Naked Ones -

The fiercest ones are the Nagas—the Naked Ones—who sit by their ritual fires during the festival covered in ash with matted hair flowing to the ground as they accept obeisance and charity from the millions of pilgrims.

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Holy pilgrimage -

Some of the sadhus come humbly, carrying only the belongings of a holy man, such as the water pot, the fire tongs, a shoulder bag, and a blanket. 

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Holy pilgrimage - Others come with an entourage of disciples following the guru like an army.

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Varanasi - One of India's most sacred places is found along the Ganges at Varanasi, a city in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.

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Varanasi - This is one of the oldest inhabited cities in the world and is considered the holiest of the seven sacred cities in Hinduism and Jainism.

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Other festivals - Every year, believers take to the river banks to celebrate the Ganga Dussehra.

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Ganga Dussehra - The festival celebrates the descent of the sacred river to earth from heaven.

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Ganga Dussehra - The festival takes place on Dashami, the 10th day of the waxing moon of the Hindu calendar month Jyeshtha, the third month of the year. In 2018, it fell on the Gregorian-calendar equivalent of May/June.

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Ganga Dussehra - On this day, believers take a dip in the river, which is said to wash them of their sins.

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Ganga Dussehra - Devotees call forth the goddess Ganga while lighting incense and a lamp. They also offer sandalwood, flowers, and milk.

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Ganga Dussehra - Additionally, devotees may also feed flour balls to fish and other marine life.

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Durga Puja - Another annual Hindu festival, Durga Puja features elaborate temple and stage decorations, scripture recitation, performance arts, revelry, and processions over the course of several days.

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Durga Puja - This is the celebration of the goddess Durga's victorious battle against the shape-shifting, deceptive, and powerful buffalo demon, Mahishasura.

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Durga Puja - The celebration is particularly popular in West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha, Assam, Tripura, Bangladesh and the diaspora from this region.

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Durga Puja - The festival is observed in the Hindu calendar month of Ashvin, equivalent to September or October on the Gregorian calendar.

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Ashes - Those who die by or near the Ganges are believed to have their sins washed away before they reach the heavenly abode.

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Death and the river - It is common to cremate bodies on the banks of the Ganges and to cast the ashes into its waters.

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Death and the river - The famous Ghats of Varanasi and Haridwar are among the holiest funeral destinations for Hindus.

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Death and the river - According to Hindu tradition, the celebration of someone's passing is a vital and sacred part of the human experience.

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The afterlife - Hindus believe that devotees have a better chance of improving their status through reincarnation if they have a strong connection to the Ganges.

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Reincarnation - Hindus believe that the soul is eternal and exists through cycles of transmigration and rebirth.

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Reincarnation - After death, the soul returns to the physical realm in a new body.

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Reincarnation cycle - This cycle of reincarnation is called samsara.

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Ganges River -

This is why karma is such an important tenet in Hinduism. And as the bridge between worlds, the Ganges offers the best chance to connect with that cycle.

See also: Blue planet: a photo tour of the ocean depths

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