Ganga Dussehra
{{Short description|Hindu festival}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2021}}
{{Use Indian English|date=September 2021}}
{{Infobox holiday
|holiday_name= Ganga Dussehra
|type= Hindu festival
|image= File:Ganga Dashara Festival, 2005 at Har ki Pauri, Haridwar.jpg
|caption=Ganga Dussehra at Har Ki Pauri, Haridwar in 2005
|nickname=
|official_name=
|frequency = Annual
|observedby=Hindus
|significance = Descent of Ganga from the heaven
|date= Dashami (10th day) Jyeshtha month (Hindu calendar)
|month = May / June
|date2016= 14 June
|date2017= 4 June
|date2018= 23 May
|observances=Worship of Goddess Ganga and Bathing in Ganges river
}}
Ganga Dussehra, also known as Gangavataran, is a Hindu festival celebrating the avatarana (descent) of the Ganges. It is believed by Hindus that the holy river Ganges descended from heaven to earth on this day.{{cite news|last1=Agnihotri|first1=Sanjana|title=All you need to know about Ganga Dussehra|url=http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/ganga-dussehra-june-significance-history/1/691870.html|accessdate=4 July 2016|work=India Today|date=14 June 2016}} Ganga Dussehra takes place on Dashami (10th day) of the waxing moon (Shukla Paksha) of the Hindu calendar month Jyeshtha. The festival celebration lasts ten days, including the nine days preceding this holy day.
Celebration
File:Ganga Dashara, at Haridwar.jpg in 2005]]
Ganga Dussehra is observed by Hindus mainly in the states of Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Bihar, and West Bengal, where the river flows. Haridwar, Varanasi, Garhmukteshwar, Rishikesh, Allahabad, and Patna are the main locations of the celebrations,{{cite news|title=Country celebrates Ganga Dussehra today, devotees to take holy dip|url=http://post.jagran.com/country-celebrates-ganga-dussehra-today-devotees-to-take-holy-dip-1338434794|accessdate=5 July 2016|work=JagranPost|date=31 May 2012}} where devotees gather at the banks of the Ganges and perform aartis (a religious ritual in which a light lamp is moved clockwise circularly in front of a deity as a part of prayer) to the river. Taking a dip in the river on this day is believed to bring the devotee to a state of purification and also heal any physical ailments he may have. In Sanskrit, dasha means ten and hara means destroy; thus bathing in the river during these ten days is believed to rid the person of ten sins or, alternatively, ten lifetimes of sins.{{Citation |last=Eck |first=Diana |author-link=Diana Eck |chapter=Gangā: The Goddess Ganges in Hindu Sacred Geography |page=144 |editor1-last=Hawley |editor1-first=John Stratton |editor2-last=Wulff |editor2-first=Donna Marie |title=Devī: Goddesses of India |year=1998 |publisher=University of California / Motilal Banarasidass |isbn=978-8120814912}}
On the same day, the river Yamuna is also worshipped and kite-flying events are organized. Devotees take a holy dip in the Yamuna at places like Mathura, Vrindavan, and Bateshwar, and give offerings of watermelon and cucumber.{{cite news|title=Thousands take dip in Yamuna on occasion of Ganga Dussehra despite alarming pollution levels|url=http://www.firstpost.com/india/thousands-take-holy-dip-in-yamuna-on-occasion-of-ganga-dussehra-in-mathura-vrindavan-3517357.html|accessdate=19 June 2017|work=Firstpost|date=4 June 2017}} They distribute drinks such as lassi, sharbat and shikanji.
In 2017, an estimated 15 lakh people celebrated the festival in Haridwar.{{cite news|last1=Jaiswal|first1=Sheo S|title=8 drown during Ganga Dussehra celebrations in Haridwar|url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/dehradun/8-drown-during-ganga-dussehra-celebrations-in-haridwar/articleshow/59005752.cms|accessdate=19 June 2017|work=The Times of India|date=6 June 2017}} At the Dashashwamedh Ghat in Varanasi, several rituals such as deep daan (offering of floating diyas to the river) and maha aarti are conducted.{{cite news|title=Religious rituals mark Ganga Dussehra|url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/varanasi/Religious-rituals-mark-Ganga-Dussehra/articleshow/47467481.cms|accessdate=4 July 2016|work=The Times of India|date=29 May 2015}} In Patna, a grand aarti is performed in the evening by priests at Gandhi Ghat and an 1100m garland is offered to the river at Adalat Ghat.{{cite news|last1=Tripathi|first1=Piyush Kumar|title=Proposal for brick kiln control|url=http://www.telegraphindia.com/1140608/jsp/bihar/story_18488724.jsp|work=The Telegraph|accessdate=4 July 2016|date=8 June 2014}}{{dead link|date=February 2023|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}