GANGES, gadjez, one of the greatest rivers of Asia, and "the sacred river of the Hindus,') rises in the Himalaya Mountains, in the prov ince of Garhwal, northern India. It is formed by the junction of two head streams, respec tively called the Bhagirathi and the Alaknanda, which unite at Deoprayag, 10 miles below Srinagar, 1,500 feet above the level of the sea. The Bhagirathi which flows from an ice cave in a snow field, 13,800 feet above sea-level, is usually considered the source of the Ganges from its being a sacred stream in Hindu mythol ogy; but the material claims of the Alaknanda are preferable, as it flows farther and brings a larger volume of water to the junction. At Hardwar, about 30 miles below the junction of the head streams, and about 120 miles north northeast of Delhi, the river is only 1,000 feet above sea-level. Here it enters the great valley plain of Hindustan, and flows in a southeast by south direction until it discharges itself by numerous mouths into the Bay of Bengal, a dis tance exclusive of windings of fully 1,100 miles, Its length, with deviations, is calculated at about 1,500 miles. During its course it is joined by a number of large rivers, the principal of which are the Jumna and Son, joining on the right bank; the Ramganga, Gumti, Gogra, Gan dak and Kusi, on the left bank. Some of the principal cities on the Ganges and its branches, descending the stream, are Cawnpore, Allaha bad, Benares, Patna, Behar, Murshidabad and Calcutta. The Ganges is navigable for boats of moderate size nearly 1,300 miles from its mouths. It is a great feeder of irrigation and navigation canals. (See GANGES CANAL). Its utmost breadth is about three miles, with a maximum depth of about 30 feet in the dry sea son, and 60 feet in the wet. Its descent is com puted at four inches per mile; its current in the dry season is less than three miles an hour; in the wet season five or six. The quantity of water discharged into the ocean is estimated at 500,000 cubic feet per second during the flood season, and 100,000 during the remaining eight months of the year. Its current brings down a great quantity of mud, which in the course of ages has contributed to form the wide delta which belongs to it in common with the Brah maputra. The delta, intersected by numerous branches, extends from east to west from 80 to 200 miles, and commences about 200 miles, or 300 by the course of the river, front the sea. A part of it is an uninhabited region called the Sundarbans, overgrown by jungle, infested with tigers and crocodiles. The westernmost deltaic branch of the Ganges, called the Hugh, is the only branch commonly navigated by ships; and vessels drawing 26 feet are safely piloted up to Calcutta. The construction of embankments, and continuous dredging, are necessary to keep a clear channel. The Ganges, as the Padna,
continues eastward until it joins the Jamuna, the main branch of the Brahmaputra, which flows through the estuary of the Megna, the deltaic boundary on the east, into the Bay of Bengal. The periodical inundation of the Ganges commences about the end of April with the tropical rains. It rises gradually till it at tains, near the commencement of the delta, a height of 32 feet above its ordinary level. By the end of July, the flat country of Bengal is overflowed to the extent of 100 miles in breadth, leaving visible little but tops of trees and vil lages, which are often built on artificial mounds above flood mark. After the middle of August the water begins to recede, and decreases till the period of the next inundation.
That part of the Ganges which lies between Gangotri, the first temple and pilgrim resort on its banks, 10 miles from its source, and Saugor Island, below Calcutta, is held particularly sa cred. Wherever the river runs from south to north contrary to its usual direction, and at the junction of its affluents, it acquires a more pecu liar sanctity. Its junction with the Jumna at Allahabad (q.v.) forms the most generated place of Hindu ablution. The Hindus believe that this river rises immediately from the feet of Brahma, and that it possesses great and miraculous cleansing powers, on account of its divine origin. There is a scientific basis for this universal faith among Hindus, repeated and careful experiments showing that the river pos sesses extraordinary but hitherto inexplicable antiseptic qualities.
It is an imperative duty of the Hindus to bathe in the Ganges, or at least to wash them selves with its waters, and to distribute alms, on certain days. Whoever dies on its banks, having drank of its waters before his death, is thought to be exempted from the necessity of returning into this world and commencing a new life. Whenever, therefore, a sick person has been given over by the physicians, his relations hasten to carry him to the bank of the Ganges, in order that he may drink of the holy water, or be immersed in the river. Such as live too far from the river to admit of this always preserve some of the precious water, as a sacred treasure, in a copper vessel, that it may be given them in the hour of death. This water is, therefore, a considerable article of commerce in India. It is also customary, after the dead have been burned, to preserve the remains of the bones and the ashes until an opportunity offers of throwing them into the Ganges.
The name Ganges signifies merely the stream (Sanskrit Gangfi). In Hindu mythology the river, personified as the goddess Ganga, held a position equal in importance and interest to that which the stream (the stream par excel lence) holds to-day.