The Legend of Ganga – The river from Heaven.
The legend of Ganga’s descent from the heavens onto the earth has been narrated in the Hindu mythological epic of Ramayana.According to the legend, the only way to liberate the souls of King Bhagirath’s ancestors who had been cursed by Sage Kapil, was if river Ganga descended from heaven to wash away their ashes. However, only Lord Shiva, could sustain the weight of her descent. Accordingly, King Bhagirath with his intense meditation, was able to please Lord Shiva, who caught the descending Ganga in his dreadlocks, softening her journey to earth. That is why the strand of Ganga that flows through Gangotri is called the Bhagirathi, and is venerated above all others as the true source of the Ganga.
Seeking the Celestial River.
The Milky Way is referred to as “Akash Ganga” colloquially in Hindi and “Swar Ganga” in Sanskrit language, meaning the Celestial Ganga.
Seeking to capture this legend in an image juxtaposing Shiva with Akash Ganga, that is the Shivling Peak with the galactic centre of the Milky Way,
I had to persevere through three nights of cloud cover camped at Tapovan (14,000 ft.) above the Gangotri glacier. Finally on the fourth night, the setting moon lit up the Shivling peak (21,377ft.) from the west as the galactic centre rose in the eastern sky from behind the Bhagirathi peaks (22,398ft), to move towards and seemingly merge with the Shivling, before it was enveloped in the clouds.
