Ganga Dussehra is celebrated on the tenth day of Shukla Paksha of Jyeshtha month. According to the Hindu calendar, the month of Jyeshtha falls between May and June. This day is also called ‘Gangavataran.’ This word is made up of Ganga and Avataran. There used to be a king known as Sagar in Ayodhya, the city of Ram Ji. He had two queens, out of which one queen had 60 thousand sons, and the other had only one son. The King organized Ashwameva Yagya to expand his kingdom. He left his horse to travel all over India and tell all the kings.
Maharaj Indra did not want to allow this Yagya of King Sagar to be successful, so he kidnapped the horse. All the sons of Raja Sagar started searching for this horse. Even after searching all the Earth, nothing was found of the horse. After which, the King ordered to search in Hades, digging through hell. Excavation began in Hades. At the same time, there was the tomb of Mahamuni Kapil, who was absorbed in severe penance. There was also a horse near his tomb, seeing which the King’s sons got confused, and they started shouting, due to which Kapil Maharaj’s penance was disturbed. Due to his severe penance, the King’s 60 thousand sons became a pile of ashes.
The remaining son went to his father and told the whole thing. Here Maharaj Garuda also came, who told King Sagar only one way to get salvation for his 60 thousand sons. He said that the King would have to bring the Ganges to Earth by doing penance. As soon as the Ganges comes to the Earth and falls upon the ashes of his sons, they will all be freed. Sagara and his son did penance but could not succeed. After this, Raja Sagar’s grandson Bhagirath was born. He continued this unfinished work of his ancestors and succeeded.
Bhagirath demanded Brahma Ji to send Ganga to the Earth. Brahma Ji told him that the Earth does not have enough strength to bear the weight of the Ganges, so he should take help from Lord Shiva. He can send the Ganges to the Earth by himself. The Ganges was in the Kamandal of Brahma, which he incarnated in the hair of Shiva.
Bhagirath now again did severe penance for Shiva. He stood on one thumb for years. During this, the Ganges remained in Shiva’s locks for many years. She wanted to get out of it and go to the abyss. However, she got lost in such complex hairs and could not find her way out. Pleased with Bhagirath’s penance, Shiva appeared before him and assured of fulfilling the boon.
After this, seven streams of Ganga Ji came to the Earth through the Bindusara of the Himalayas. As soon as it came to the Earth, the human race was disturbed to see the enormous form of Ganga. They felt an earthquake. On the way through which the Ganges was coming out, there were also ashrams of many sages, one of which was Maharaj Jahu’s. Seeing Ganga coming, he understood that it was some demon’s play, and he took it inside his mouth. All the deities, including Bhagirath, disobeyed him. In present times ganga dussehra in uttarakhand is considered as one of the most sacred festival.