Himalayan source,
Washing sins, giving life,
Ocean calls her home.
Today, on the eve of Makar Sankranti, I came across an intriguing painting of Goddess Ganga. The Philadelphia Art Museum describes this painting in their collection in the following words:
Goddess Ganga is the divine personification of the most important river in India, the holy Ganges. In this painting, she rides rippling waves atop her vahana (vehicle), depicted as an enormous Rohu, an Indian carp common in rivers across North India. Breaching the water are crocodiles, and a tiny elephant, likewise associated with water and often shown as a marine animal in Indian painting. The white-robed goddess holds a vessel full of sacred river water and a lotus flower, a symbol of purity and abundance. In the sky, egrets and water birds soar across monsoon clouds.
The Ganga River (or River Ganges) is the most sacred river in Hinduism, central to rituals, pilgrimages and livelihood for millions. It is a trans-boundary river which originates from the Gangotri Glacier (Uttarakhand) as Bhagirathi River, becomes Ganga at Devprayag, flows east to join the Brahmaputra River in Bangladesh and forms the Ganges Delta before flowing into the Bay of Bengal. Millions of Hindus travel every year in mid-January to Ganga Sagar Island – at the confluence of River Ganga – seeking salvation (moksha). As per ancient legend, sixty thousand sons of King Sagar, who were reduced to ashes by the curse of Kapil Muni, found liberation when King Bhagirath, performed strict penance and persuaded Goddess Ganga to come down from heaven to Sagar Island, flow over the ashes and thereby liberate their souls.
In Hindu iconography, Ganga River is depicted as a Goddess riding a ‘Makara’, the powerful mythical sea creature. In Sanskrit, Makara means “sea-animal / crocodile”. Ganga Makara is a hybrid of a land animal (elephant or deer) and an aquatic animal (usually a fish, dolphin, or a snake, even a peacock with a floral tail), symbolizing control over both land and water as a life-giving force. Though ‘Makara’ may be represented in different ways, its form is usually resembles a crocodile. The ‘Makara’ is believed to be the guardian of thresholds that protects houses and temples. The Makara motif is very common in Indian temple architecture and jewellery, e.g. the Makara-head bangles / bracelets.
The Makara of Goddess Ganga indicates the great cultural significance of aquatic life, especially fish in Indian religion, socio-cultural norms and household rituals. The ‘Matsya’ in Hinduism, most notably, is the first avatar (incarnation) of Vishnu who took the form of a gigantic fish to save the Vedas and humanity from a cosmic flood, thus ensuring the continuity of life and knowledge on Earth. Another legend, mentions a fish that overheard Lord Shiva instructing Parvati, his consort, about the secrets of yoga, and was transformed into a Siddha by Shiva. In day to day life, apart from being a culinary delight, fish represent good fortune; and conjugal harmony (when in pairs) in a wedding context. In Bengal Patachitra paintings, multiple fish swim together, suggesting material abundance, as well as lives flowing in harmony.
The Ganga Makara has far-reaching relevance today in a world faced with an unprecedented global environmental crisis. Ancient people revered the fish as a bio-indicator of aquatic health. As per an inscription in the Thiksey Monastery (near Leh, Ladakh), people send out a prayer to God: “Please fill the streams with fish to keep the Himalayas alive forever.” Buddhist wisdom underlines the abundance of fish in rivers as an indicator of Himalayan aquatic health which sustain lives and livings of millions of people. The Ganga Rohu (Labeo rohita) for instance, is a vital Indian Carp in the Ganges River ecosystem as a plankton-feeder that supports biodiversity and fisheries. Hence, in ancient times, fishes were protected by being associated with the Gods and Goddesses: Hatmehit (ancient Egypt), Poseidon (ancient Greece), Oannes (Mesopotamia) and Dagon (ancient Syria) are some examples across the world. The 17th century painting by an unknown artist from Mandi (HP) in the Philadelphia Museum of Art makes sense as it depicts the worship of Goddess Ganga by river creatures as the Goddess sails on her ‘vahaana’ – a huge Rohu carp. The painting depicts the symbiotic relationship of man and nature. Human greed has, however, rendered the relationship ‘exploitative’.
